Quarterback play has been a significant talking point throughout the 2024 Kansas football season. After Jason Bean led the Jayhawks to a 9-4 record with a bowl win last year, expectations were through the roof for Jalon Daniels. However, he and the offense have massively underperformed, even in spite of last week’s upset win over Iowa State.
Luckily, Kansas has its next potential star standing by for when his moment arrives. Freshman Isaiah Marshall replaced Cole Ballard as KU’s second-string quarterback on the depth chart ahead of Saturday’s matchup against BYU. Jayhawk fans could very well see Marshall in action before the season comes to a close.
Lance Leipold also described Cole Ballard's status as doubtful. That would move Isaiah Marshall to Jalon Daniels' backup, as Marshall is listed on this week's depth chart at QB.#kufball
— Jordan Guskey (@JordanGuskey) November 11, 2024
Isaiah Marshall climbs the Kansas football QB depth chart
Marshall has been touted as the successor to Daniels the second he committed to the university. According to 247 Sports, the former 3-star recruit was the 31st-best quarterback in his graduating class. His high school accolades include winning a state title at Southfield and defeating No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood in the playoffs.
Many fans called for Marshall to step in and start at quarterback early in the season when Daniels was playing poorly. However, it was well-known that the program wanted to maintain his redshirt status.
Even if Kansas somehow wins out and makes a bowl game, Marshall has already retained a year of eligibility. If something were to happen to Daniels, head coach Lance Leipold can use the freshman however he pleases without risking the future of the program. He would also be an option under center depending on whether KU keeps it competitive this weekend.
While we won't see the best version of Marshall as a bushy-tailed freshman, it should excite the Jayhawk faithful to have him in the mix moving forward. The fact that he was immediately bumped up the depth chart once redshirting was no longer an issue is a clear vote of confidence from the coaching staff.