It sounds as if one of the biggest factors in the decision to name Montell Cozart Kansas University’s starting quarterback for the 2015 season may have been his feet.

While first-year KU coach David Beaty said Cozart’s arm was strong enough to “make all the throws,” it’s his potential to hurt opponents as a runner that made him stand out from the rest of KU’s quarterbacks.

“He’s got that threat of the two things,” offensive coordiantor Rob Likens said. “And that presents problems to the defense. If everybody drops back in coverage and somebody doesn’t contain he could turn it into a 10- to 15-yard gain.”

In five starts last season, Cozart did not do that nearly enough. In addition to finishing with sub-par passing numbers — 23 of 63 for 227 yards, 0 TDs and 2 interceptions — Cozart took off and ran just 66 times in seven games. Those 66 totes, many of which painted Cozart as a reluctant ball carrier, produced just 214 yards, one touchdown and an average of just 3.2 yards per carry.

Kansas quarterback Montell Cozart heads up the field on a run against Southeast Missouri State during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014 at Memorial Stadium.

Cozart said added weight and body fat made him both more comfortable and confident as a runner this year. And Likens said he had seen solid progress in that area since the spring. But that’s not to say the junior starter is quite where Likens and company want him to be.

“He’s getting better,” Likens said. “It still needs to improve, but he looks a lot more comfortable and we talked about that. He’s gotta wear two hats. I expect him to be a pocket passer, go through his reads, look down field and not look to get out of the pocket, and he does that really well.”

But Likens also expects and needs the leader of his Air Raid offense to identify the right time to run with as much regularity as he reads the secondary while looking to pass.

“You kind of have to get him to get out of the pocket and (encourage him to) do what he can do,” Likens said.

Asked to divulge the best way to get Cozart to do more of that, Likens gave two solutions.

“You can (call it),” he said. “But you (also) could limit his reads. As you progress in this offense, you might have five across-the-field reads and you could just break it down and say, ‘Hey, man, one, two, ain’t there, take off.’ Stuff like that.”

Like his coach, Cozart himself seems to be getting more comfortable with the offense and his role in it by the day. He knows he needs to be tougher. He knows he needs to run more. And he said he was looking forward to showing people that he can do both at the Big 12 level. He credits the guidance of Beaty and Likens for helping him get to a point mentally where he feels comfortable enough physically to let his natural skills take over.

“I’ve learned as much in the past two weeks as I’ve learned in my football career,” Cozart said. “Just paying attention to defensive structure has helped me a lot and has given me a lot of confidence.”