Lawndale, California, native Jalon Daniels had led the Kansas Jayhawks through thick and thin. Highs include leading Kansas back into the AP top 25 poll multiple times in his career, with lows largely being narrowed down to the injuries that have hindered the redshirt senior. In 2023, despite a nine-win season, Daniels was forced out of the season early on. Last season saw a combination of injuries to Daniels, combined with at times poor passing decisions, saw Daniels total 14 touchdowns to 12 interceptions with over 2,400 yards as Kansas managed a 5-6 season.
This season, Daniels has been able to find the form that saw him rise as one of the nation’s best quarterbacks. In 2022, Daniels helped lead Kansas to its first bowl game under Lance Leipold, as 18 touchdowns, four interceptions, and just over 2,000 yards saw Leipold’s turnaround of Kansas be kick-started.
In David Cobb’s “College Football QB Power Rankings: Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, Oregon's Dante Moore lead surging Big Ten crop” article, Daniels had moved up to the 24th slot, after being touted as No.25 last week.
This comes after a dominant 41-10 victory, which saw Daniels look surgical at points with three touchdowns and 138 yards, yet a 50% pass completion rate with some errant throws on the run reminded fans of the faults Daniels can still present.
Overall, this season, the Kansas QB has accumulated 817 yards, averaging 8.3 yards per pass with 12 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions.
It is interesting to see how much the legs of Daniels impact his rankings. Thus far, Daniels has rushed for one touchdown and 6.1 yards per carry on 26 rushes.
In Daniels’ career, he has rushed for 20 touchdowns and 1,206 yards with 3.7 yards per carry. That number is impressive when you consider the fact that collegiate football subtracts rushing yards anytime a quarterback is stacked.
The next time for fans to catch a Kansas is this Saturday, as Big 12 play is fully underway, and the Jayhawks are set to take on Cincinnati away from David Booth at 11 AM CT.