Kansas football: Finding rhythm in the air is crucial for Jalon Daniels
Kansas football quarterback Jalon Daniels has shown promise this season and finding a rhythm throwing the ball could be what the Jayhawks need.
Kansas football added another loss last week, losing by 30 points at home. While it wasn’t a pretty scene for the Jayhawks, the offensive production starting to pick up. We saw much more action out of the pocket from freshman quarterback Jalon Daniels, and that’s a good sign considering that the offense will likely be revolving around him going forward.
Daniels threw for 165 yards against Iowa State, which is impressive compared to his previous appearances for the Jayhawks. There’s no doubt he has a strong arm, and it proved effective against the Cyclones. He found Kwamie Lassiter II multiple times on Saturday, and Lassiter needed this break after a rather depressing start to his senior season.
With the visible talent from Daniels, I’m hoping we can start to see some more action out of pocket. He can make long throws, but developing chemistry with some of the younger wide receivers is a must. Luckily for Kansas, there is little under half a schedule left for 2020, where we’ll likely see some younger guys get their chance to impress Brent Dearmon and Les Miles.
Kansas football has a solid starter at quarterback right now, and keeping him healthy is a must. Too often I see Daniels scrambling for 4-5 yard rushes, oftentimes finding himself in dangerous hits and uneasy situations. Believe me, I love seeing Daniels come up with huge plays on his merit, but all it takes is one bad hit to send him back to the bench.
The Jayhawks had a decent receiving day last week, and this made the game much more bearable to watch. Daniels was making keen decisions out the pocket and this was an excellent look for Kansas. We were finding ways to convert on third down, at least more often than we have been all season. Daniels featured a “so-so” completion rate of 18 for 33 attempts, where were averaging 5 yards per pass which is huge for this offense. All things considered, the Jayhawk’s offense is making solid improvements.
It’s a little hard to predict how our receiving talent will translate to next season, we are going to lose significant talent in senior receivers Parchment, Lassiter, and Robinson. This paves a path for some younger talent Mason Fairchild and Luke Grimm to step up and fill in the gaps. Improving our production offensively is a must for the Jayhawks, it’s been embarrassing watching them this season, and serious work will need to be done.
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Daniels will need to find his niche over time, and that may be challenging heading into the offseason. Embracing the next recruiting class is going to be a factor, and the big question on everyone’s is whether or not we’ll see Pooka return. Regardless, Jalon Daniels should take advantage of his opportunities in Big 12 play because this is perfect timing for him to get as many snaps as possible. He’s been put in charge of leading this offense, and so far I think he’s a good fit going forward.