The Kansas Jayhawks are set for what is bound to be an important sixth year under head coach Lance Leipold.
After back-to-back bowl-less seasons, the Jayhawks were swept up by several changes all across the team, but there appears to be one battle that stands out above the rest. Quarterback No. 1.
Stepping into a QB1 role at a Big 12 school like Kansas is hard enough. To do it as you replace Kansas’ cult hero Jalon Daniels feels almost impossible. That is what either Cole Ballard, Chase Jenkins or Isaiah Marshall is going to be forced to do in just a few months, and the fact that we emerged from Spring without a clear No. 1 stepping out adds even more to the concern.
Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports labeled the Jayhawks as the conference’s 10th-best Big 12 team thanks to the aforementioned QB battle, along with Kansas’ shaky defensive unit last season, and their lack of “obvious star power”
Defensive woes clipped Kansas’ wings
During the 2025 campaign, the Jayhawks finished No. 95 in the country in total defense, allowing 409.5 yards per game and largely representing a team that could never find its form during the season’s most important moments.
For example, when the Jayhawks fell 42-31 against the Missouri Tigers, it was just a four-point game with 1:49 to play, where the Tigers were in the game of milking clock to force Leipold and Co. to use all their timeouts. Instead, missed assignments and over-commitments led to a 65-yard run down the sideline to ice the game.
Two games later, Kansas was tasked with another thriller, this time against conference foes Cincinnati. Kansas was up 34-30 with 1:45 to play, until the Bearcats offense shredded through Kansas’ secondary before running back Tawee Walker walked into the endzone for a two-yard rushing touchdown, giving the game to Cincinnati.
Lastly, against the Arizona Wildcats, the Jayhawks were up 24-20, in what would have been the game to clinch bowl eligibility, with 39 seconds to play, and instead, Arizona’s Quincy Craig was given acres of space to run into, leading to his eventual touchdown.
Kansas will have to look elsewhere for its newest star
When you look at who could step into Daniels’ shoes, the options at best feel limited. The natural candidate is likely Kansas State transfer running back Dylan Edwards, and deservedly so. His change of attitude and strong first year with the Wildats make him a contender, but Edwards has also struggled with injuries, and while during the Spring he seemed convinced he was ready to get back on the field, there will be a bit of rust for any player coming off a four-game season.
Wideout Cam Pickett has been tipped by Through The Phog as someone who could also have a career year, but with the unknowns at the quarterback position, Pickett’s effectiveness is up in the air until the season fully gets underway.
The return of associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki has often been tabbed as Kansas’ greatest get during the offseason, and he very well may be. Kotelnicki was a key factor in Leipold’s best seasons, and since his departure to Penn State, things have never looked the same.
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