photo by: Mike Yoder

Kansas freshman quarterback Ryan Willis, right, throws from inside the end zone in the first-half against the West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, at Memorial Stadium.

At times during his freshman season, Ryan Willis took such vicious hits it became so difficult to watch live that the stomach couldn’t handle watching the replay.

Yet, Willis, a sophomore, said he never grows tired of watching football film.

“The more live reps you see, the better you feel,” Willis said. “It’s all about reps and experience and it’s all about film study. Once you get in that room, you know what they (defenses) are doing. You start breaking it down and you learn what works and what doesn’t.”

It’s homework, but not of the tedious variety, he insisted.

“I love it,” he said “It’s watching football on TV, basically. I always joke whenever I’m watching an NFL game with my parents. I’m like, ‘Oh, Cover 2.’ I don’t watch the ball anymore. I’m looking at the defense. Your eyes get trained to it. It’s weird.”

Willis puts himself behind center and studies the field while watching TV, as opposed to most of the rest of us ball-watchers.

“You’ve got to,” he said. “It’s part of the job. It’s 24/7 every day of the year.”

Second-year Kansas head coach David Beaty has not said yet whether Willis or Montell Cozart will start when the Jayhawks open their season Sept. 3 at Memorial Stadium, but the tea leaves whisper that Willis has the edge.

Cozart suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth game last season. He threw an interception every 105 throws and a touchdown pass every 52.5 passes. Willis threw an interception every 31.5 throws, a touchdown every 35 passes.

Willis makes more accurate medium and long throws. Cozart, beloved by teammates, has superior mobility and experience.

Trimming interceptions ranks high among Willis’ improvement needs. His ability to take advantage of speedy receivers, such as Texas A & M transfer LaQuvionte Gonzalez, downfield gives him an edge on Cozart.

“That’s been my forte, I guess,” Willis said of his long throws. “I like to be a gunslinger out there, kind of have a Brett Favre, just go-for-it-if-you-can mentality.”

Willis not only proved he has plenty of arm strength, he showed toughness playing through painful groin strains.

“Our quarterbacks, those guys are talented,” Beaty said. “I mean, they are stinkin’ talented. But if they can’t stand up, you’ll never know. We’re only going to be as good the guys up front.”

On paper, the O-line looks like KU’s shakiest position because of its huge age and experience deficit compared to most teams. Cozart and Willis are competing for a very difficult job.