Kansas quarterbacks Montell Cozart (2) and Ryan Willis (13) look up the field for receivers during the first day of practice on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015 at the fields south of Anschutz Pavilion.

Forget for a moment trying to calculate the statistical probability of Kansas, with 37,000 high schools across America from which to choose, recruiting its top two quarterbacks from the same school and put yourself in the chair of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy to try to guess which KU quarterback from Bishop Miege High will start Saturday’s 11 p.m. kickoff in Memorial Stadium.

If I were in Gundy’s chair, my guess would be that Montell Cozart will get the nod over Ryan Willis because Oklahoma State brings a steady stream of heat on passers and Cozart, yet to be sacked this season, does a better job of getting rid of the ball under duress than Willis, who has been sacked 16 times this season.

It’s never a good sign for a football team when the idea of playing the backup sounds better until he plays, at which point the former starter becomes more desirable. Given the current state of KU’s offense, limited by a young line, it’s generally the case.

A study of both quarterbacks’ career statistics for Kansas in games against FBS schools doesn’t lead to a definitive conclusion favoring either one. Contrary to what most might think, Willis actually has thrown more passes than Cozart, even when numbers from season-openers against FCS schools are included, 432-386.

Against FBS schools only, Cozart has completed 52 percent of his passes, Willis 54, a virtual dead heat. Cozart has averaged 5.3 yards per pass attempt, Willis 5.7, the slightest of advantages to Willis. Both quarterbacks have one interception every 25 throws. Willis produces a touchdown every 42 throws, Cozart every 50, again, the slightest of edges to Willis.

The biggest difference comes in sacks, where Willis has produced one sack every nine throws, Cozart one every 15.

None of the career numbers are good for either quarterback, which leads to the hope that Tyriek Starks, red-shirting freshman from New Orleans, will win the job in the spring.

“He’s the first guy that we recruited in the offense for the offense and he’s a talented guy,” Beaty said at his weekly Tuesday press conference.

That statement called attention to the hidden cost of Beaty identifying, hiring and trusting what he considered after one season to be the wrong man, Rob Likens, to install his version of the Air Raid offense.

Although it’s true that Starks is the first QB given a scholarship since Beaty took over coaching the offense and quarterbacks, Starks is the third quarterback on scholarship since Beaty was named head coach.

Deondre Ford, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior out of Waco, Texas, was signed after throwing 18 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions in two seasons for Dodge City Community College. Ford, fourth on the depth chart, started one game last season for Kansas and appeared in two. He completed 11 of 23 passes for 132 yards and an interception and was sacked twice.

Kevin Kane, now defensive coordinator at Northern Illinois, and Rob Likens, demoted from offensive coordinator although he technically still has the title, were the lead recruiters for Carter Stanley, third on KU’s depth chart.

Neither Ford nor Stanley has been able to move ahead of either Miege QB on the depth chart. Playing Starks this season never was an option. He came to Kansas with the “raw” label, which means he’ll have a lot of ground to make up in a short amount of time to win the job in the spring.

Asked where Starks needs the most seasoning, his high school coach, KU running backs coach Tony Hull said: “Just understanding the overall totality of the offense, understanding some of the more complex reads that come with it. However, he’s doing a great job of working hard to learn it. One thing about Tyriek, he’s a football rat. He’s going to work off the field and he’s going to work in the film room. He’s going to put a lot of time into developing on and off the field.”

Both Cozart and Ford suffered season-ending injuries early in 2015 and had a year of eligibility restored, which means all six quarterbacks on this season’s roster will be eligible to compete in 2017: Starks, Cozart, Willis, Stanley, Ford and Keaton Perry.

By this time next season, we should know if one of the six is ready to ready to stop the QB door from spinning for the first time in the years since Todd Reesing packed Memorial Stadium.