When Kansas’ 5-7 2025 campaign ended, the game’s most important position opened up, as Jalon Daniels had officially exhausted his college eligibility and Kansas had to find a new quarterback of the future.
Now, with several teams, that means opening up the checkbook and scouring through the available talent via the NCAA Transfer Portal. And while Kansas did pick up former Rice quarterback Chase Jenkins, the lone addition of Jenkins immediately signaled that the Jayhawks felt like they had enough quality on their roster to get themselves back to postseason football.
From the second spring practice rolled around, the talk of the camp was the quarterback battle; it quickly saw redshirt junior Cole Ballard and redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall leading the way. This was a competition that lasted months before Marshall was deemed QB1 in late August.
Now, losing a battle for the most prized and important position has to be a tough pill to swallow, but when speaking to the media earlier this week. Marshall spoke about the immediate aftermath of finding out he was going to be the guy next season.
“He [Cole] congratulated me, me and him hugged, and then he told me, ‘It's time to work,’ so I said, ‘Let's work, and let's lead the team,’” quoted Marshall to the media.
Marshall was a former 3-star recruit and Michigan high school state champion, with power-conference offers from West Virginia, Syracuse, Pitt, Ole Miss, Michigan, Maryland, Louisville, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Boston College and the Jayhawks.
“…Since the first day I came into this program, Cole was the first person to show me love, and he's done nothing but that. So it does mean a lot to know he's still behind my corner, and I’ll be in his corner, too,” finished Marshall.
Marshall redshirted the 2024 campaign, but was able to see valuable minutes off the bench last year. While Marshall only threw for 28 yards over just three passes, on the ground he generated tons of buzz, finishing with 160 yards across 15 carries, including a 43-yard rush in the Jayhawks' 38-21 win over Oklahoma State, ultimately their final win of the season.
What does this backup role mean for Ballard?
First, it is worth mentioning that Ballard was recently nominated as a team captain heading into this season, which is an accomplishment in and of itself for a former walk-on. Second, while earlier this week, Leipold emphasized that this wasn’t going to be a constant quarterback-switch situation, he does expect Ballard to get time on the field this season, so it's not like Ballard’s career as a Jayhawk will be consigned to the bench.
However, the most important thing Marshall or Ballard can do is influence winning. Last season marked the second in a row that Kansas came up plays short of a bowl game and instead of back-to-back five-win seasons, KU should be off of four straight bowl games. But now is as good a time as ever to set the record straight, as the Jayhawks will be hosting FCS side LIU, Friday September 4, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. CT and streaming available on ESPNU.
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