Jalon Daniels turned one NFL breakthrough into a bigger opportunity, and now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will lean on him again Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After helping Tampa Bay beat the Cowboys on Thursday Night Football for its first win of the season, Daniels heads into another tough test with a defense that does not make life easy for anyone. The Steelers bring a front loaded with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Cameron Heyward, and Todd Bowles said the Buccaneers’ offensive line will have to be sharp from both a fundamental and technical standpoint if the offense is going to hold up.
Daniels said the focus stays simple.
“For us, it’s just going to be about us continuing to keep the main thing the main thing,” Daniels told reporters on Wednesday. “Whenever we get a play call, go out there and be able to execute it to the best of our ability.”
His first NFL start, a Oct. 4 outing against the Green Bay Packers, came with its share of uneven moments. The second one looked far more like the version Tampa Bay needed. Four days after that initial start, Daniels went 19 of 25 for 189 yards and a touchdown in the Buccaneers’ win over Dallas, posting a quarterback rating of 110.3.
“[Winning] means everything. Six months ago if you would’ve told me that my first win would’ve been on a Thursday night prime football game, I don’t know what I would’ve told you,” Daniels told reporters after the game. “Obviously, take it all in, through all the highs, the lows, the bads, the goods, go through every single emotion because at the end of the day, it makes you better and prepares you for any situation that comes down the line.”
Daniels also made clear how he sees himself at this stage.
When asked if he views himself as a rookie quarterback or simply an NFL quarterback, he said he thinks of himself as an undrafted rookie who tries to make plays whenever he gets the chance. He added, “At the end of the day, I know where I came from, and I think that’s key,” Daniels said. “I think that’s my main motivation and why I continue to keep being the person I am.”
That mindset traces back to a long path that started at Lawndale High School in Lawndale, California, where Daniels was a three-star recruit by ESPN and 247 Sports. He originally committed to Middle Tennessee State in October 2019 before flipping to Kansas in December.
Daniels was on the Jayhawks’ roster from August 2020 to November 2025. He spent his freshman season under Les Miles, then most of his Kansas career under Lance Leipold, who had nothing but praise for what Daniels has become.
“[I’m] very proud of him. As I always say, never bet against Jalon because of who he is and how he’s gone about it,” Leipold told the Kansan on Monday. “It’s been quite a story, and to see him have success last Thursday night especially makes us all proud.”
Leipold pointed to several moments that stood out while coaching Daniels, including the overtime win against Texas in 2021, the comeback against Arkansas in the 2022 AutoZone Liberty Bowl and his first-half performance against Illinois in 2023.
He also said that after the Texas game, the staff considered redshirting Daniels, and Daniels told the team he would do whatever was best for Kansas - a reflection, Leipold said, of how he handled himself throughout his time with the program.
Andy Kotelnicki, Kansas’ associate head coach and Daniels’ offensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023, also weighed in on the quarterback’s rise. Kotelnicki said he is proud Daniels has made the most of his chance, while also giving credit to Tampa Bay as a team.
“I can’t sit there and [take] credit for anybody who’s made it to that level,” Kotelnicki said. “As a coach, when those are young men's dreams, we have an obligation to help them fulfill those dreams.”
Kotelnicki described Daniels as a rare mix of athleticism and arm talent, saying those traits allow an offense to extend plays and create hidden plays. He also said Daniels’ performance against the Cowboys did not surprise him, pointing to his intelligence and how well he handled the classroom.
The current Kansas players watching from afar said it is impossible not to feel something when one of their own is on the NFL stage.
Redshirt junior left tackle Calvin Clements said Tuesday that it is awesome seeing Daniels play on Sundays. Clements said the feeling is a little different because Daniels is the quarterback he lined up with from 2023 to 2025, even though he has also played with San Francisco 49ers right guard Dominick Puni in 2023.
“I got a lot of confidence in him; he’s just a gamer,” Clements said. “He treats the game very professionally; he did it when he was here.
He watched a lot of tape. He’s very involved in understanding the schemes.
He’s a super energetic player, so it's fun to watch.”
Clements also pointed to Daniels’ elusiveness, especially the spin moves he used while running the triple option. He said that stood out in the Colorado game in 2024, one of the first times Clements got meaningful reps.
Redshirt senior wide receiver Cam Pickett, who played with Daniels for one season in 2025, said Tuesday that watching Daniels’ latest game was great and that he texted him before and after it.
“It always gives us hope too,” Pickett said. “Like, man, our quarterback out there doing it, we can do the same thing."
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