Kansas Football: Takeaways from the massive upset win at Texas
By Cade Stout
2. Jalon Daniels and Devin Neal are the offense’s future
Kansas Football wants to build their offensive identity around the run, and they were successful, rushing for 218 yards, which opened up the entire offense.
Devin Neal led the backfield with 143 yards on 24 carries for three touchdowns. The true freshman running back from Lawrence demonstrated that he is the guy to lead this backfield.
With Jason Bean and Miles Kendrick sidelined, Jalon Daniels started at quarterback. He did his job perfectly, going 21 of 30 for 202 yards and three touchdown passes, adding 11 rushes for 45 yards and a touchdown.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝗮𝗹 ©@Dev_Neal23 has been named the @Big12Conference Offensive Player of the Week, becoming the first Kansas freshman to win the award.
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) November 15, 2021
More → https://t.co/W0lxLAevxt pic.twitter.com/tThKlXuQ6s
Daniels made accurate throws, good reads, and held up under pressure, exactly what Kansas needed. His athleticism forced the defense to respect the quarterback run, adding another element to defend.
Before Bean and Kendrick got hurt, the plan was for Daniels to redshirt. Now that he has appeared in four games, he cannot redshirt if he appears again this year. After a great performance, the decision of whether to redshirt him becomes difficult.
Regardless, Jalon Daniels looks like the quarterback to lead the Jayhawks in the coming years.