Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels has been fantastic through the first two games of the 2025 season. The sixth-year senior is using all of his talent and experience to expose two weaker opponents.
Against Fresno State and Wagner, Daniels has completed 36 of his 45 pass attempts, an amazing 80 percent completion rate. He’s thrown for 456 yards, seven touchdowns, and only one interception. He’s accumulated all of these positive stats in about five quarters' worth of action, since he was pulled early in both contests.
He’s also been effective rushing the ball so far, gaining 65 yards on 11 carries, good for 5.9 yards per rush. No one can disagree that he is off to a promising start to the season.
There is only one worry in Jalon Daniels’ game for the Kansas football team
Daniels has played so well, and fans should be excited for what he’s done in the first two games. There is really only one negative thing to consider, and it almost feels wrong to point it out.
At the very end of the first half, with the game already well in hand, Daniels did something that he did several times last season, and it was something that cost the Kansas football dearly a year ago.
He threw an interception. In this instance, not only did he throw a late-half interception, but he threw it in the endzone. Yes, the defensive player made a great play by peeling off his assigned receiver, then making an athletic play on the ball to make the interception.
Daniels shouldn’t have thrown the ball. It was tight coverage anyway, and he tried to force it in. He obviously didn’t see the defensive back underneath. This is the type of play he made several times last year, and KU cannot afford him to make those types of bad plays moving forward.
It didn’t hurt the Jayhawks at all against Wagner because the game was already a blowout, but if it happens again, against Missouri next week or during Big 12 conference play, it could prove costly.
There’s no immediate cause for concern, other than that Daniels has a recent history of similar mistakes. It is something to watch out for in upcoming games. It is quite possible that it was a one-off mistake, due to a lack of focus in a lopsided affair.
Daniels has been so good this year and has solidified himself as the second-best quarterback in school history. In the Wagner game, he became just the second signal caller at KU to surpass the 7,000-yard passing mark, and the second to throw for more than 50 touchdowns. Only Todd Ressing tops him in both categories.
Hopefully, it was just a blip, and it won’t repeat itself. Daniels is such a talented player in so many aspects, including leadership, it would not be surprising if he never makes that same mistake again.
KU will need to play its best against long-time rival Missouri on Saturday, and hopefully, Daniels will lead the Kansas football team to victory.