Kansas offensive coordinator Rob Likens holds a pad upright as receivers DeAnte Ford, left, and Steven Sims Jr. practice coming off a block during the first day of practice on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015 at the fields south of Anschutz Pavilion.

Now that Montell Cozart has been named starting quarterback, it’s time to look at the most promising targets he’ll look for when a pass play is called. To Cozart’s detriment, tight end Jimmay Mundine and receivers Nigel King and Nick Harwell have exhausted their eligibility. They all had a knack for getting open and consistently catching what was thrown their way.

No point in fretting over their departures, including King’s, the one that stings the most because he had a remaining year of eligibility that he bypassed to enter a draft during which his name was not called.

The coaching staff did a nice job of picking up a pair of immediately eligible transfers over the summer to buttress a frighteningly thin receiving group.

Joshua Stanford, a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech, is the most talented of the group. Size (6-foot-1, 200 pounds), speed, hands. He has all the physical tools. Yet, except for a brief stretch he did not translate the tools into production at Virginia Tech. In the second half of a game at Boston College and both halves of a game at Miami the next week, Stanford combined for 13 catches, 278 yards and his only college touchdown. Before and after that, he didn’t make much noise. Last fall, he left the program for four weeks and didn’t get to play much when he returned. Stanford left the program in December and has two remaining seasons of eligibility. His inconsistent past makes him a gamble, but one worth taking given the state of the roster.

Kansas receiver Josh Stanford gets up for a catch during practice on Monday, Aug. 10, 2015 at the fields south of Anschutz Pavilion.

First-year KU head coach David Beaty has praised Stanford’s attitude and expressed the belief that Kansas might be a better fit for his personality than was Virginia Tech.

True freshman Steven Sims also has generated plenty of positive talk from the coaching staff.

“There is always one guy in camp we talk about as coaches every year, both ways,” offensive coordinator Rob Likens said. “There’s always one guy everybody talks about is going to be the guy when he comes in and he goes (points downward) and then there’s always a guy you’re not expecting and you go ‘Wow!’ And he was one of our ‘wow!’ guys, for sure. So we’re excited about him.”

Likens explained what caught his eye about Sims, a lightly recruited 5-10, 170-pound native of Houston.

“You never know how freshmen are going to come in,” Likens said. “Some freshmen — I don’t want to use the word scared — but they look around and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, this game is so much faster than high school. These guys are so much bigger than the guys I’ve gone against, and you know what, I think I’m going to redshirt this year.’ ”

Not Sims.

“Oh, no,” Likens said. “He didn’t do that at all. Now, he didn’t flinch. He came in here and competed every second of every down he was in there and acted like he belonged. Really, that’s the difference between guys that redshirt and guys that don’t. They come in here and act like they belong.”

Quincy Perdue, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound Alabama-Birmingham transfer, caught two passes for the Blazers last season, one for a 75-yard touchdown. Maybe — which always is another way of saying maybe not — he has improved in the areas that kept him on the sidelines.

Despite Mundine’s departure, Kansas remains well-stocked at tight end, where Florida transfer Kent Taylor, third-year sophomore Ben Johnson and true freshman Jace Sternberger all bring pass-catching skill.

Overall, it’s not a very proven cast, but if Cozart can make quick decisions and throw accurately in a quick-hit offense, more often than not there should be enough available targets for him to hit.