Kansas football has been revitalized and little has sparked this massive program turnaround more than the much improved quarterback play in recent seasons.
On every level of football, strong quarterback performance is the key to success. Maintaining a high level of play is very difficult. Over the decades, the Jayhawks have had ta number of talented quarterbacks, but not as many as fans have hoped.
That has seemed to change under to leadership of head coach Lance Leipold so far. The school's successes have been reflected by good quarterback play, and hopefully that will continue into the future.
These Kansas quarterbacks could spin the ball better than anyone
No. 10: Bill Whittemore, 2002-03, 4,051 yards
When Mark Mangino took over the Kansas football program in 2002, he inherited a team with only seven wins in the previous two years. His first quarterback was Whittemore.
His first season as a starter was a rough one as the Jayhawks only tallied two wins. Whittemore only connected on 49.5% of his passing attempts, an abhorrent number. He had 1,666 passing yards and 11 touchdowns with just six interceptions.
Luckily, he was much better his second season. He completed 60.5 percent of his passes, for 2,385 yards, 18 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. The team went 6-7, including a Tangerine Bowl loss.
BILL WHITTEMORE KEY STATS
- Completion percentage - 54.6%
- Passing Yards - 4,051
- Passing Touchdowns - 29
- Interceptions - 12
- Rushing Yards - 1,083
- Rushing Touchdowns - 21
Whittemore improved as his team did. He was able to create positive yardage with his legs as well as his arm, and he didn't turn the ball over with a lot of interceptions. He was instrumental in getting the program turned around under head coach Mark Mangino.
No. 9: Chip Hilleary, 1989-92, 4,598 yards
Like Whittemore and Daniels, Hilleary played a key part in the Jayhawks turning things around under head coach Glen Mason. After winning just two games total in 1987 and 1988, the Jayhawks won 21 games during Hilleary's time on campus.
He didn't play much as a freshman, throwing just nine passes, but he played a bulk of the snaps over his final three seasons. He wasn't a terribly accurate quarterback, and even in an era where taking care of the ball wasn't stressed as much as it is now, he threw a lot of interceptions.
He was a good runner, however, and he amassed plenty of rushing touchdowns, including 14 as a junior. In his final year, KU went 8-4, captured their first bowl win in 30 years in the Aloha Bowl.
CHIP HILLEARY KEY STATS
- Completion Percentage - 52.7%
- Passing Yards - 4,598
- Passing Touchdowns - 25
- Interceptions - 27
- Rushing Yards - 1,290
- Rushing Touchdowns - 23
Hilleary helped pull Kansas from the low points in the late eighties to a level of competitiveness in the nineties, and helped lay the foundation for future success under Mason.
No. 8: Jason Bean, 2021-23, 4,662 yards
It is hard to describe Bean's career at Kansas. For one, he improved mightily after he arrived from North Texas, where he played three seasons. He was only supposed to compete for a starting job, and then to hold down the spot so Jalon Daniels could redshirt a year. None of these plans played out as anticipated.
Daniels ended up foregoing a redshirt season, earned the starting position away from Bean, then suffering a number of injuries that thrust Bean back into the starting role. Bean had a lot of ups and downs in both 2021 and 2022, then flourished in 2023 when Daniels went down for the year after just three games.
Bean could have left KU for a bigger opportunity elsewhere after the 2022 season, but he stayed, got his opportunity anyway, and became a KU hero. In 2023, he passed for 2,130 yards and 18 touchdowns, and lead Kansas to a 9-4 record, including their first bowl win since the 2008 Orange Bowl.
JASON BEAN KEY STATS
- Completion Percentage - 60.5%
- Passing Yards - 4,662
- Passing Touchdowns - 38
- Interceptions - 17
- Rushing Yards - 902
- Rushing Touchdowns - 9
Bean's journey is inspiring and he will forever hold a place in Kansas football history for the part he played in turning KU from a laughingstock program into a bowl-winning, competitive program that is in a position to continue to rise.
No. 7: Mike Norseth, 1984-85, 4,677 yards
Norseth wasn't part of any great program turnaround, but he did have a pretty darn good two-year stint with Kansas. While his 1984 season with the Jayhawks was pretty decent, it was a massive 28-11 upset of the then second-ranked Oklahoma Sooners that was the highlight of the season.
His final season on campus was an impressive one. In 1985, Norseth led the Big 8 Conference in 11 passing categories, including passing yards. That season, he threw for an impressive 2,995 yards, which ranked him fifth in the nation as well.
Norseth was selected in the seventh round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, but only played in one game in the NFL, in 1988 for the Bengals.
MIKE NORSETH KEY STATS
- Completion Percentage - 56.1%
- Passing Yards - 4,677
- Passing Touchdowns - 24
- Interceptions - 17
- Rushing Yards - 319
- Rushing Touchdowns - 5
While the Jayhawks didn't have any bowl games, and their record was only 11-12 with Norseth under center, the huge upset of OU, with a future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman on the field, was the program's signature win during his two seasons at KU.
No. 6: Carter Stanley, 2016-19, 5,035 yards
Stanley has the unfortunate distinction of being the KU quarterback during one of the worst stretches in school history. Over his four seasons in Lawrence, the Kansas football won only 9 games while losing 39. Only three of those wins were against Big 12 opponents.
Stanley played in 36 games at KU, but didn't accumlate many impressive stats until his final season. Les Miles had replaced David Beaty, but the level of talent and play remained unchanged. Despite those obstacles, he threw for 2,664 yards as a senior, with 24 touchdowns. Kansas won three games that season, and that big statistical year thrust Stanley up the Kansas football passing charts.
CARTER STANLEY KEY STATS
- Completion Percentage - 59.8%
- Passing Yards - 5,035
- Passing Touchdowns - 37
- Interceptions - 25
- Rushing Yards - 321
- Rushing Touchdowns - 1
It's hard to judge Stanley because if he'd been a good quarterback he'd have been somewhere else, yet he did have a solid senior season against rugged competition. Someone had to play quarterback, and he did as well as anyone could have hoped in those dark seasons.
No. 5: David Jaynes, 1971-73, 5,132 yards
His yearly passing totals might not seem that impressive by today's standards, but for his era, Jaynes' numbers were fantastic. He was sixth in passing yards nationally in 1972, and fifth in 1973. He was 10th in the nation both seasons in touchdowns.
During those two seasons, he threw for nearly 4,400 and had 28 touchdowns. During his playing career at Kansas, the Jayhawks went 15-18, including a Liberty Bowl loss in 1973. They finished that season 7-4.
Due to how sacks were recorded at the time, as lost yards rushing, and how Jaynes was not a running quarterback at all, he's listed as having nearly 500 negative yards rushing at Kansas, which makes that stat fairly immaterial now.
In 1973, he was a Consensus All-American, and was selected in the third round of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He has to be considered a major bust because he threw just two passes in the NFL, and one was intercepted. He was out of the league after one year.
DAVID JAYNES KEY STATS
- Completion Percentage - 51.6%
- Passing Yards - 5,132
- Passing Touchdowns - 35
- Interceptions - 38
- Rushing Touchdowns - 5
When his career was over at KU, he held most school passing records and can be considered the best passing quarterback the school produced over its first 75 years.
No. 4: Kelly Donohoe, 1986-89, 5,382 yards
Like Carter Stanley, Donohoe was a not-so-great quarterback on some really awful teams. KU went 9-34 during the course of his four years in the crimson and blue, only three of which came against Big 8 competition.
During his junior and senior seasons, he threw for a decent amount of yards, but he was an interception machine, throwing 26, and 45 for his career. He makes this list, and is this high strictly on opportunity of playing time.
His last two seasons on Mt. Oread saw him accumulate nearly 4,000 passing yards, but like Jaynes, he didn't have any positive rushing yards in his career.
KELLY DONOHOE KEY STATS
- Completion Percentage - 52.3%
- Passing Yards - 5,382
- Passing Touchdowns - 24
- Interceptions - 45
- Rushing Touchdowns - 12
Donohoe also has the distinction of playing between two of Kansas' better passing quarterbacks in the eighties, not only for KU but also in the Big 8. His numbers just don't compare favorably to Norseth's or Frank Seurer's.
No. 3: Frank Seurer, 1980-83, 6,410 yards
While Kansas only put together a 17-22-5 record during Seurer's tenure, he is without a doubt one of the best passers in school history. In 1983, he led the Big 8 in passing yards with 2,789, which was good for sixth nationally, ahead of such names as Doug Flutie, Chuck Long, and Randall Cunningham.
Like many quarterbacks of this era, however, he did not protect the football very well, throwing an unsightly 56 interceptions in his career. Like Jaynes and Donohoe, the rules did not help a passing quarterback accumulate any positive rushing yards.
Maybe his signature win came as a senior when he led the Jayhawks to a 26-20 win on the road against tenth-ranked USC. His passing skills did lead to a job with the LA Express in the USFL. In two seasons there, he passed for 2,137 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions. The Express eventually signed Steve Young to an historic contract, and the Hall of Famer replaced Seurer as quarterback. Of course, the USFL closed down soon after.
Seurer did get a very brief chance to play in the NFL, joining the Chiefs for the 1986 and 1987 seasons. in nine career games, he went 26-55 for 340 yards, with four interceptions and no touchdowns.
FRANK SEURER KEY STATS
- Completion Percentage - 50%
- Passing Yards - 6,410
- Touchdowns - 30
- Interceptions - 56
- Rushing Touchdowns - 5
It's hard to judge players like Seurer through modern eyes. While his passing yardage numbers aren't eye-popping now, and his interception totals are, for his era, he was an excellent passing college quarterback.
No. 2: Jalon Daniels, 2020-present, 6,751 yards
As Whittemore helped Mangino, Daniels did the same for Leipold. Daniels was already in the program when Leipold arrived, but had a poor freshman campaign with spotty playing time. Daniels played a little as a sophomore, but he led Kansas to an amazing, improbable, overtime road victory at Texas, their first win ever in Austin.
It was only one of two wins for the Jayhawks that year. That win entrenched him as the starting quarterback the rest of the season, and though they didn't win anymore games, KU played much better.
JALON DANIELS KEY STATS
- Completion Percentage - 61.3%
- Passing Yards - 6,751
- Passing Touchdowns - 45
- Interceptions - 24
- Rushing Yards - 1,041
- Rushing Touchdowns - 19
Hopes were high for Kansas and Daniels heading into his junior and senior seasons. KU started out 5-0 in 2022, but an injury derailed Daniels' season and the Jayhawks. That good start allowed them to make the Liberty Bowl, where they lost an exciting game.
Going into 2023, Daniels was named the Preseason Player of the Year for the Big 12, but a back injury limited him to three games, and although Kansas had their best season and first bowl win in 16 years, Daniels watched it from the sidelines.
He returned to campus in 2024, but struggled with his decision-making early in the season, turning the ball over at the end of halves and games, leading to a five-game skid. Daniels and the Jayhawks got back on track and finished strong, but missed a bowl with a 5-7 record. Daniels threw for 14 touchdowns and ran for six more, but he doubled his career interceptions from 12 to 24.
The book isn't closed yet on Daniels, as he has decided to return for his extra COVID year. The Jayhawks lost most of Daniels' weapons from previous seasons to graduation. Still, he is the undeniable leader of the 2025 team, and his experience and talent could produce a terrific final year.
No. 1: (And it ain't close) Todd Reesing, 2006-09, 11,194 yards
Generously listed as 5'11", 200 pounds, Reesing was maybe the greatest college football player ever at Kansas, and that includes Pro Football Hall of Famers Gale Sayers and John Riggins. He has nearly twice as many passing yards as Seurer and only 11 quarterbacks in school history have as many career passing yards as he had in any one of his final three seasons.
He was also the catalyst to the program's greatest season. In 2007, the Kansas football team finished 12-1 and was ranked as high as second. Reesing threw for 3,486 yards, a school-record 33 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions. His passing yardage number that season was only the third best of his career. This season culminated in an Orange Bowl victory.
In his four seasons at KU, the Jayhawks went 31-19, and it was the last hurrah for a program that did a historical nose dive into oblivion after Reesing's final year. He finished in the top eight nationally in passing yards in both 2008 and 2009, and was sixth in touchdown tosses in 2007. No other Kansas football player has thrown for 40 or more touchdowns and Reesing had 90.
TODD REESING KEY STATS
- Completion Percentage - 63.8%
- Passing Yards - 11,194
- Passing Touchdowns - 90
- Interceptions - 33
- Rushing Yards - 646
- Rushing Touchdowns - 15
No one is close to Reesing statistically or in his overall contributions to the program. While there are some players on the current KU roster that are making a mighty impact in turning around a completely broken and irrelevant program into a competitive and very relevant football school, Reesing's numbers stand alone in school history.
There is little chance of any quarterback matching, let alone exceeding, his performance for the Kansas Jayhawks. He was one of a kind and will have a place forever in the hearts of KU fans everywhere.