Montell Cozart is a champion. The former KU football and Boise State quarterback spent last season playing in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders. He wasn’t the starting quarterback for the club, but he joined the team for the 2018 season and ended up getting a pretty nice ring out of the deal.

Not bad for a quarterback looking to make it in the world of professional sports.

"CFL Grey Cup Championship ring looking niceeee!" Cozart tweeted back in May.

They say that, “I’m the one that inspired them”.. CFL Grey Cup Championship ring looking niceeee! @calstampeders pic.twitter.com/JD89a0QB2b — Montell Cozart (@M_Cozart2) May 18, 2019

Cozart’s future plans are still up in the air. He was back at KU’s pro day throwing to various wide receivers — and he actually seemed to draw some interest from some of the scouts in attendance. He has not given up on his dream of playing in the NFL, he told Phog.net.

In fact, after winning the Grey Cup, he’s started to carve out a plan of sorts with regard to his future.

“After that I did a little bit of traveling, was able to go work out in Arizona … and I went to Boise a couple times to see some of those guys,” Cozart said. “And then coming here [to KU] as well, being around these guys, I’ve just been working out, training, trying to get ready for mini camp at the end of May, try to go get another Grey Cup. And I have some interest from some teams down here, so I’m trying to get back down here playing some American football. No disrespect to Canada.”

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That being said, Cozart has enjoyed his time in the CFL. Even if there was a bit of a culture shock, the former KU football quarterback said he felt like he adjusted well.

“I love it. Where I’m at in Calgary, it’s kind of like a lot more outdoorsy, so I’m trying to get out of my shell,” Cozart said. “You know I’m a city guy, being from Kansas City. So trying to get out of my shell and do a little bit of hiking, just exploring a little bit. And I have guys on my team that know the city a little bit that have been there for like five-six years that I can hit up and see, you know, what there is to do in town and stuff like that.

“So I love that. I’m staying downtown, staying in a loft down there. It’s pretty cool to experience. I’m in a whole different country, so it’s pretty nice to experience that.”

One thing that has made the transition easier has been seeing familiar faces. Cozart noted he has teammates who played at Baylor and Texas Tech. Jackson Jeffcoat, a former Texas Longhorn, now plays for Winnipeg. Cozart, was familiar with him, too.

He also came across James Wilder Jr. when his team matched up against Toronto. That was another blast from the past.

“I’m like, ‘James Wilder?’ I’m like, ‘That name sounds so familiar,’” Cozart recalled. “Then they told me, ‘Yeah, that’s him from Florida State.’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah. That’s who I thought. That’s exactly who I thought that was.’”

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Big picture, though, the dream for Cozart remains to make it to the NFL, though the recent change in structure with American football has him excited.

At the time of his interview with Phog.net, the AAF was still operating. Cozart said the model made him hopeful in terms of a path to the NFL, not only for himself, but for other young players, too.

“Oh yeah, I love it. I think it’s a very unique opportunity because you look at the NBA and you look at these other leagues, like MLB, they have a league underneath them,” Cozart said. “Like the G-League. They’ve got Triple-A baseball. Where, for us, it’s either NFL or you’re going up north to the Canadian League. Sometimes you get lost in the shuffle, you know, but the AAF is a good opportunity for guys who may make a camp but get cut, and then you can go in the AAF and play American football and still have the opportunity to come back and play for an NFL team.”

Therein lies one key difference in the way contracts are set up in Canada and how they were with the AAF.

“I read on their contracts, like if you’re under contract [with the AAF] and an NFL team likes you and they want to sign you right there you can leave right away, so that’s pretty dope,” Cozart said. “I know it’s not the same here in Canada. Once you’re locked in your contract, you’re locked in until you’re a free agent, so it’s pretty cool to be able to have that opportunity. And I think it’s going to be the same with — I think the XFL is trying to start or something like that. So I think it’s pretty good that those type of leagues are starting up.”