Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels joked that his teammates called him "Unc" heading into his final season of college football because he was one of the sport's oldest players.
But that is all about to change as he prepares to find his home in the 2026 NFL Draft. He'll be the same age as the younger guys, and compared to the majority of the league, a young buck himself.
In an exclusive interview, Daniels discussed the upcoming transition from "Unc" to NFL rookie, and how he's preparing himself for the next chapter.
"It is kind of insane, because I came into college at 17 years old and I'm leaving at 23 years old. There are people on my team that called me that, and I'm like, 'Don't you know I'm only two years older than you?"
Now, a former mentor to younger players himself, Daniels is ready to be mentored and become a sponge rather than a veteran.
"I'm excited to hopefully be a part of a group of veterans that I can learn from, and I know this game has a lot more aspects to learn and is different from the college level."
Even though he won't be taking the lead of an NFL team himself, at least initially and without knowing what the future holds, his experience at Kansas from start to finish is one that he believes he's better for. In fact, he doesn't believe he ever would have reached the stage he is currently on without joining the Jayhawks.
He says they're the only Power 4 program that gave him serious attention throughout his recruitment process, in which he received "very little attention unlike a lot of other guys did." But, from there, Daniels found himself in the early Heisman conversation almost every season, though injuries held him back from fully progressing through it.
"We can speak on the Heisman stuff and all of that nature, but at the end of the day, I would not have ever even been on that list if it were not for the teammates I had out there competing with. I'm a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason, and I'm blessed to be in the position."
The road for Jalon Daniels wasn't always smooth or barrier-free
Things did not go smoothly at first, and Daniels dealt with about every form of adversity that exists at Kansas. He handled it well, as it's nothing new to him as someone who feels he was a bit overlooked in high school.
"We didn't win too many games when I got there," Daniels said. "Literally went 0-9 in my freshman year. To be able to be a part of a transition where me and my teammates and coaching staff were able to make the University of Kansas a respectable program, that's what matters most to me."
That experience also developed him immensely from an intangibles and a mental perspective. He personally and the team itself suffered multiple setbacks at different times, whether that be due to injury or other matters.
"I grew the most in having to put everything back together," Daniels said. "Making sure that I got back to the style of play that I know I'm able to play. I think that the 2025 season for me was the ultimate goal of trying to be able to put together my best play on the field, but also to be able to show my greatest style of leadership."
Many things had changed during this latest season for him, and those around him. In fact, not much of anything was the same.
"Having a whole entire new team, entirely new receiving corps through the transfer portal was something that was very important to me."
Daniels had to once again cement himself as a leader, and had to get to know a lot of people who didn't know him on a deeply personal level. It's something much harder to do than it sounds, and it's something Daniels possesses in his toolbox.
"I knew I had to be able to not only gain the trust of these new people, but also to teach them the way we run things at Kansas," Daniels said. "I'm very proud of how we were able to come together, even though we didn't get the results we wanted at the end of the season. But I think we grew a lot and we always fought in every game, every battle that came our way."
Daniels believes that despite being sidelined for parts of career due to multiple injuries, that what he puts up on tape is still something to be recognized. There's nothing he has feels he has left on the table.
"I think my best attribute is to be able to make plays inside and outside of the pocket, I have the ability to be able to throw with anticipation, to throw with precision and to be able to be accurate with that," Daniels said. "But when the defense takes that away, I have the ability to be able to make somebody miss, flip my hips and make a throw or get past the sticks"
Heading into the NFL, Daniels knows exactly how he defines what he believes a quarterback is supposed to be in the modern era.
"It's a good mix between confidence and leadership. You can't play this position if you're not confident that you can do it. If you don't have the leadership to make sure that all 10 other guys on the field are ready to go ride for you, you're not going to be able to make all the plays that you want to be able to make to help the team win games."
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