Kansas football: Jalon Daniels leads all returning quarterbacks in QBR
Kansas football quarterback Jalon Daniels leads all returning FBS quarterbacks in QBR by quite a wide margin.
One of the most electric players in recent Kansas Jayhawks history, Jalon Daniels, put the program on the map last season. Despite battling injuries for much of the year, he led Lance Leipold’s team to their first bowl game in more than a decade. He holds lofty expectations heading into his senior year with the highest QBR among all returning quarterbacks.
The California native has improved considerably in each of his seasons in Lawrence, and it has paid off in a big way. In 2022, he threw for 2,014 yards and 18 touchdowns on a 66.1 completion percentage. Although he doesn’t have the largest sample size, it was enough for 247 Sports to place him at No. 1 in their QBR formula.
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He sits ahead of Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and several other prominent names on the list.
https://twitter.com/247Sports/status/1675523472448184320
247 Sports analyst Brad Crawford wrote this about Daniels:
"Are you surprised who landed at No. 1 from an efficiency standpoint? In terms of playing within a system and maximizing his skill set, few quarterbacks were better than Daniels last season with the Jayhawks. On third-and-manageable, you just got the feeling watching Kansas that Daniels was going to make the right play and move the chains. The Jayhawks led the Big 12 last season in third-down conversation rate (50.6%) and Daniels’ escapability was a major reason why. His 544-yard passing performance in the bowl loss to Arkansas is a potential precursor to becoming one of the nation’s best at the position this fall."
What makes Daniels even more valuable to the team is what he brings with his legs. He’s the perfect player for the Lance Leipold RPO-style offense, totaling 425 rushing yards and seven touchdowns last season. A player with his arm talent and rushing ability cannot be found just anywhere.
If he can stay healthy in 2023, there’s no reason why he can’t be a Heisman consideration. Jayhawks fans are privileged to have such a dynamic quarterback under center for their team.
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