Jalon Daniels is expected to start at quarterback for Kansas football in its season opener

LAWRENCE — Jalon Daniels’ health has been a question mark this fall, given the junior quarterback has had to deal with a back issue.
Although there was a lot to talk during fall camp regarding Kansas football’s upcoming season, Daniels’ status was a constant topic of discussion. As game week arrived ahead of the season opener Friday in Lawrence against Missouri State, that didn’t change. But Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold said Monday they’re going with what their depth chart outlines — and that’s Daniels starting against Missouri State.
“(Daniels) hasn’t practiced a lot, but he went through everything today,” Leipold said Monday. “And, yeah, we’ll plan on playing everybody that’s available.”
Daniels missed time during the season last year due to injury, but spent time in the offseason working on ensuring he’d be able to make it through a full season. If available, he provides Kansas with the Big 12 Conference’s preseason offensive player of the year — as voted by the media. If unavailable, that means the Jayhawks would then turn to redshirt senior quarterback Jason Bean.
Bean has experience as a starter, and helped Kansas become bowl eligible in 2022. The coaching staff has talked in the past about how fortunate they are to have Daniels and Bean on the roster. But Daniels playing Friday and helping the Jayhawks get off to a good start this year would be the ideal scenario.
Offensive coordinator/associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki said Tuesday they have the entire playbook available for the Missouri State game. Daniels’ back issue, then, is not something Kansas is going to need to adjust its game plan for. Leipold did, though, acknowledge Monday that they have to manage getting Daniels some playing time but not exposing him to further injury.
“That’s the balancing act that we have to do, and we’re getting him as much work as we can in as many different ways,” said Leipold, who noted they feel really good about where they are at with Daniels. “Again, he’s been getting work. He’s been doing things and that. So, to make it sound like he’s never practiced in the last two weeks is not accurate either.”