Jalon Daniels wasn’t a full participant in the Kansas Jayhawks’ spring practices, limited by an injury. Head coach Lance Leipold doesn’t foresee his experienced quarterback being affected during the summer and fall.
Lance Leipold Reassures Kansas Fans That Jalon Daniels Is On Track
A February Kansas release revealed that Daniels had undergone a minor knee procedure, leaving a pair of other returning passers—redshirt sophomore Cole Ballard and redshirt freshman Isaiah Marshall—to take reps behind center for a stretch. Leipold believes Daniels is on track to produce at signal-caller this season, his sixth in Lawrence.
“Yeah, you know, he’s right on schedule,” Leipold said Monday. “He’s doing everything.”
Leipold offered an anecdote to reassure any concerned Jayhawks fans. As he works back to full health, Daniels looks even better as a passer than before.
“Trent Carter, our trainer who does an outstanding job, told me about three weeks ago that he saw Jalon throwing the ball as well as he’s seen him,” Leipold said. “He was throwing with Emmanuel Henderson.” He said, ‘I don’t know how far he threw it, like 70 to 75 yards in the air.’
He goes, ‘Of all the years I’ve worked with Jalon, I don’t know if I’ve seen Jalon throw the ball that far.’ I was asking Jalon, who’s laughing, and he goes, ‘Yeah, I didn’t realize how fast Emmanuel Henderson is, so I’ve got to let go of it sooner. I had to catch up.'”
Daniels decided to return to play for the Jayhawks in December for one more season. He started all 12 games for Kansas last season, passing for 2,454 yards and 14 touchdowns and scrambling for 439 yards and six scores on the ground.
Daniels has played 37 games at Kansas—he was injured for parts of his third and fourth campaigns with the team—and has developed into a solid quarterback for Leipold, who’s turned the Jayhawks around after Les Miles’ disastrous tenure.
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Miles went 3-18 over two go-rounds before Leipold was tapped. Kansas has been ranked in the Associated Press poll in the past three seasons.
Daniels has accounted for 64 touchdowns as a collegian, including 45 air strikes. His 14.4 yards per completion led the Big 12 last season, but the Jayhawks slipped to 5-7 after a 9-4 mark in 2023. Daniels will work with a new offensive coordinator this time, as Jim Zebrowksi was promoted to replace Jeff Grimes, who took the same post at Wisconsin.
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