There are several sayings in the sport of football that have rung true for centuries. One of the most notable is the classic “If you have two quarterbacks, you have none.” This has been used to beat up on teams that are looking to employ a multi-quarterback system. Something that the Kansas Jayhawks are looking to do with redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall and redshirt junior Cole Ballard.
On paper, this is a great idea; both quarterbacks have seemingly performed well during the offseason, and with a battle clearly being defined by the smallest of margins, it could make sense to put either in depending on the situation.
In actuality, this idea typically begins to crumble. The biggest detractor is that neither quarterback can be at full confidence or freshness if they are constantly getting chopped and changed around. To pour more salt in the wounds, if one quarterback specializes in running and he is brought in, it can often key defenses on the team’s incoming play.
Yet, as of publishing, this is still the plan; the Jayhawks will be looking to use both and when speaking with the media earlier this month, passing game coordinator Jim Zebrowski spoke on using both quarterbacks.
“There's two types of competitions…I think there's some competitions where there's two guys, like, we have to pick one. And there's two guys, and I really like both,” opened Zebrowski.
Neither quarterback has a wealth of experience but both have been impressive enough that during the NCAA Transfer Portal, the only quarterback brought in was redshirt junior Chase Jenkins who is projected to be the third string.
“We really like both these dudes. Whoever gets it is gonna make us really good. So that's how I look at it,”
Ballard has flashed relatively brightly throughout his career, but Marshall’s redshirt freshman season got fans excited as his ability to churn out yards on the ground beyond garbage minutes was a sight to see.
Heading into the season, Ballard brings 654 all-purpose yards to go along with 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Marshall, meanwhile, brings 188 all-purpose yards, having played six games less than Ballard.
“So I think for the fans out there, you got two really good dudes, really good players that are gonna be really good. Whoever plays is gonna play really well.”
The Jayhawks have to be more efficient than last year
In what was former quarterback Jalon Daniels’ last season in the 2025 campaign, the Jayhawks’ offense consistently struggled, especially towards the latter of the season. From October 11th onwards, KU only posted more than 21 points once out of a possible six games, which came in a blowout 38-21 win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
In total, KU finished the season with the nation’s 77th-best offense that went for 368.8 yards per game, including 60th in rushing (157.8 yards per game) and 88th in passing (211.0). Since the end of last season, KU has been able to reacquire former associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki to the same role, meaning he is in charge of the offense, hopefully a sign of better things to come.
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