As of publishing, the Jayhawks are 14 days away from launching the 2026 season. Fall camp is wrapping up, and the starting depth charts across the nation are undergoing their final chiseling. That is of course, unless you are talking about Kansas’ quarterback situation.
Right now, the Jayhawks are still in the midst of finalizing their No. 1 quarterback with the options appearing to be stuck between Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall. Below will be a synopsis of what they each have done throughout their career until now.
Cole Ballard: The redshirt junior has risen from former walk-on to true QB1 contender. Ballard’s on-field leadership has been praised and his development from his true freshman season until now is impressive. Ballard enters the year with 445 passing yards 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, with an extra 209 yards on the ground.
Last season, Ballard totaled 108 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception and a 45.5% completion rate. Ballard added 92 yards on the ground as well.
Isaiah Marshall: Marshall joined from the class of 2024 as the nation’s 37th-ranked quarterback and the No. 603 prospect. Marshall held offers from power-conference schools like West Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Ole Miss, Michigan, Maryland, Louisville, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Boston College.
Marshall is currently a redshirt sophomore who saw his first career action last season, where he finished with 28 passing yards on just 3 passes and 160 yards on the ground for a 10.7 yards-per-carry average. Marshall’s biggest highlight came on a 42-yard rush in Kansas’ 38-21 win over Oklahoma State, their last of what turned into a 5-7 season, marking back-to-back bowl-less years for the program.
While both quarterbacks have shown flashes, the fact that neither has stood out as the team’s clear No. 1 starter goes to show that there is clearly still work to be done.
No matter the starter, the Jayhawks' quarterback ranking is planted at the bottom of the Big 12
Jordan Mendoza of USA Today took on the tall task of ranking each quarterback in the Big 12, and Kansas was listed dead last at No. 16 under either Ballard or Marshall.
“There's a big hole to fill in Kansas, and plenty of questions that make it the toughest quarterback situation in the Big 12.”
Whoever is eventually deemed the starter heading into week one against LIU will be replacing longtime quarterback Jalon Daniels, who helped oversee the best period of KU football since the Mark Mangino era.
“Marshall started one game in 2025, but spent the majority of his playing time running. Ballard has appeared in 15 games in three seasons, but mostly in mop-up duty with just 64 total pass attempts. Lance Leipold has quite the predicament on his team trying to figure out who can handle the job without much to show for it.”
Leipold has iterated that the Jayhawks will likely be using both quarterbacks throughout the season, which poses an unfortunate “two quarterbacks means none” conundrum that will have to be evaded if the Jayhawks want to reach Leipold’s third bowl game in six years.
More Kansas Football News
Add us as a preferred source on Google