Montell Cozart probably should have had a place right next to Todd Reesing in Kansas football lore.

Reesing, as you might recall, was the overachieving 5-foot-11, 200-pound quarterback of the Jayhawks during the program’s pinnacle — a 20-6 run during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons that included an Orange Bowl victory.

Reesing threw for 11,194 yards and 90 touchdowns in Lawrence, KS, and, when he left — along with head coach Mark Mangino — there was no heir apparent.

Over the next four seasons, under Turner Gill and Charlie Weis, Kansas went 9-39. But, while the Jayhawks were struggling, just down the road, in the Kansas City suburb of Roeland Park, a star was being born at Bishop Miege High School.

Cozart was lighting folks up. During his junior and seniors seasons Cozart passed for 5,207 yards and 56 touchdowns, picked up first team all-state honors, and was named the 2011 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year. After leading the Stags to the state championship game in 2012, Cozart chose the Jayhawks over Kansas State, West Virginia and Minnesota.

Those three programs, by the way, combined for 24 wins and three bowl games in 2012. But Cozart signed up to play for 1-11 Kansas.

Why?

“I went there from the beginning to make a difference and get the team back to the Insight Bowl days, the Orange Bowl days when they were going out there competing, winning ball games,” says Cozart, who will next play in the Tropical Bowl in Daytona Beach, FL, on Sunday.

Unfortunately for the local quarterback who stayed home with hopes of putting the Jayhawks back on the map, things did not go according to plan.

Weis unnecessarily burned Cozart’s redshirt in 2013 — all so that the freshman could throw 63 passes on the season. In 2015, Cozart threw for 752 yards through the first four games, only to go down for the remainder of the year with a shoulder injury. Finally, in what would be his last year at Kansas, Cozart found himself in a quarterback competition that drastically tempered his production.

So, having graduated, the former Jayhawk took advantage of an opportunity to move to greener — or, in this case, bluer — pastures, transferring to Boise State for his final year of eligibility.

It has worked out quite well.

Cozart completed 63 percent of his passes for 754 yards, 10 touchdowns, and just one interception — while rushing for 361 yards and four touchdowns — as the Broncos’ change-of-pace alternative to junior quarterback Brett Rypien.

And, while Kansas continued to struggle mightily without Cozart, Boise State won a Mountain West Conference Championship and the Las Vegas Bowl with him — providing the proverbial bow upon a remarkable season of redemption.

He came to Boise with one year, one shot left in his collegiate career. And now, QB Montell Cozart will play for a Mountain West Championship this Saturday! Check out this week's feature on Boise State's versatile QB. #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/7wGFahz2ow

— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) November 30, 2017

“My favorite memory would just be the chemistry our team had that led us to being champions,” Cozart says. “I’m proud of the way that I ended my college career, winning a conference championship and a bowl. I’d not been a part of anything like that before.”

Cozart has the athleticism to play positions other than quarterback, but he intends to remain behind center at the next level — and, though he has NFL aspirations, he’s open to the CFL if that’s what it takes.

Cozart shined at the Tropical Bowl on Sunday, flashing both the arm and the speed that has NFL talent evaluators interested in him. 

He will spend the next month-or-so training in Kansas City before performing at Boise State's pro day later this spring. As for where he will line up at an NFL Training Camp this summer? No one can be sure. But he will be lining up somewhere.