Kansas football: Despite injury, Jalon Daniels primed to start Jayhawks’ opener
Jalon Daniels is expected to start the Kansas football regular season opener against Missouri State after dealing with a back injury during preseason camp.
Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold released the team’s depth chart for the upcoming matchup this Friday, and Jalon Daniels is listed at the top of his position group.
The face of Kansas football has been nursing back tightness since fall camp began on Aug. 1. Coming off a year in which he threw for 2,014 yards, 18 touchdowns, and led the Jayhawks to their first 5-0 start since 2009, Daniels has lofty expectations heading into this season.
Although he was expected to suit up against Missouri State — an FCS school about 3 hours away from the University of Kansas — this move confirms his availability.
If Daniels is limited, the coaches can always fall back on Jason Bean, a former North Texas quarterback with outstanding dual-threat capabilities. He was KU’s full-time starter before going down to injury in 2021, and filled in for Daniels in several games this past season when he suffered a shoulder injury vs. TCU.
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Coach Leipold thinks Daniels is the player who can put Kansas in the best position to come out on top.
“We just released the two-deep, and that’s kind of where we’re at right now and where we’re going. He hasn’t practiced a lot, but he went through everything today, and yeah, we’re planning on playing everyone who is available.”
The Jayhawks could probably put out their second team and still take down the Bears, who lost head coach Bobby Petrino and most of their offensive production over the offseason. If the game goes in KU’s favor early, Daniels will likely not run more than a few drives with the offense.
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