Of all the questions facing Kansas football next season, the biggest has to revolve around how the Jayhawks will handle a quarterback situation that, for the first time in six years, will not see Jalon Daniels under center in some capacity.
While Daniels was not the perfect player and his game had flaws, he was hardly the reason why Kansas had gone on to lose 14 games over the last two seasons of his career.
Who are the likeliest candidates to replace Kansas’ cult hero?
Stepping up for the NFL-bound Daniels will be Rice redshirt junior Chase Jenkins, or Cole Ballard, or redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall. It is worth noting that Marshall was originally recruited by returning associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki in Kotelnicki’s first stint at KU before moving on to Happy Valley.
Jenkins is the only quarterback with valuable experience, having spent last season as a starter at Rice. With the Owls, Jenkins notched 1,025 yards on a decent 69.2% completion rate, with nine touchdowns to go with just two interceptions though the air, with a further 531 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. By no means bad, but it doesn’t jump out as a player ready for the next step quite yet.
Ballard and Marshall have gained a majority of their respective minutes in garbage time situations, with Ballard earning 108 yards through the air last season, to go along with one touchdown and one interception, on a 45.5% completion rate.
Marshall, meanwhile, completed all three of his attempts for 28 yards last season, but was much more touted for his ability on the ground, rotating in at several crunch time moments to spark a few yards on the ground before finishing with 15 rushes for 160 yards.
Marshall has quickly jumped out to become the fan-favorite contender. Whenever a young quarterback shows the ability to improvise plays on the ground, they automatically jump to the top of fans’ minds. But neither Jenkins, Marshall, nor Ballard stepped out of spring as a clear No. 1, which at the very least is a slight concern.
ESPN plants quarterback confidence even further with recent list
In David Hale’s “Ranking all 138 FBS QB situations ahead of the 2026 season” article, you had to work yourself all the way to Hale’s tier 14, which was labeled “living dangerously,” before you find either of Kansas’ future quarterbacks.
Jenkins, Marshall and Ballard were listed along with the likes of DJ Lagway (Baylor), Maddux Madsen (Boise State), Ashton Daniels (Florida State), Illinois (Katin Houser), Drake Lindsey (Minnesota), Nico Iamaleava (UCLA), Eli Holstein, Beau Pribula (Virginia) and Michael Hawkins Jr. (West Virginia).
Where else can KU rely for offensive production?
The running back duo of Yasin Willis and Dylan Edwards will need to be productive in order for the incoming quarterback to a successful season in his own right. If opposing power-conference defenses can consistently dial in on a transfer-laden offensive line to get through to an inexperienced quarterback time in and time out, then Kansas’ offense will constantly be stalled.
However, both Willis and Edwards have shown promise through various points in their career, and if the pair can provide enough stability to take some pressure off of QB1's shoulders, then things open up for a much higher ceiling for next season.
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