Kansas still doesn’t have its quarterback answer, and Lance Leipold doesn’t sound interested in forcing one before he has to.
With the 2026 season opener under a month away, the Jayhawks are still sorting through a battle between redshirt junior Cole Ballard and redshirt sophomore Isaiah “Zeke” Marshall. Leipold said the staff is keeping the competition open in fall camp and making sure both players get the same kind of look.
"We've never sat in a room and said, 'Let's make sure we're naming a starter by this point,'" Leipold said. "Again, because of both guys doing a good job. I think our practice format allows us to get both guys a lot of equal reps and opportunities to be evaluated."
That leaves Kansas in a familiar place, only with a new cast. Jalon Daniels has exhausted his eligibility, and the Jayhawks now have to figure out who will steer an offense trying to bounce back from back-to-back 5-7 seasons.
Ballard brings the bigger sample size. He has appeared in multiple games over the last two seasons, and in 2025 he completed 45.5% of his passes for 108 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 92 yards.
Marshall has flashed in a smaller role, but his athletic profile is hard to ignore. He rushed for 160 yards on just 15 carries and completed three passes for 28 yards. His 43-yard touchdown run against Oklahoma State was the clearest snapshot yet of what he can bring.
Leipold hasn’t named a starter, but he did make one thing pretty clear: both quarterbacks are likely to factor into the offense.
"I think there's a very high probability that you'll see both quarterbacks play in games this year and be used in multiple ways," Leipold said.
Even with that possibility, Leipold said Kansas still has to get to a point where one quarterback is working consistently with one group of teammates.
"I don't want to lose sight of the fact that whoever's going to be out there the most needs to work with a certain set of guys," Leipold said. "We are aware of that... We don't want to get into where it's a flip-flop back and forth all the time."
Kansas opens Sept. 5 against Long Island University before Big 12 play arrives later in the month. Whether it’s Ballard, Marshall, or a mix of both, quarterback will be one of the biggest storylines as the Jayhawks try to get back to bowl eligibility in 2026.
In Other News...
Kansas Just Took An Early Blow Up Front Before Camp Settles
Kansas defensive front took an early hit before camp fully settles, with Lance Leipold confirming that TreVon McAlpine will be unavailable for the entire season after undergoing ACL surgery in the spring. The transfer from Texas Tech and Tulane had given the Jayhawks another experienced body inside, and his absence leaves an immediate hole in a spot where depth is never a luxury.
Now the attention shifts to who can hold down nose tackle and keep the interior stable. Eamon Smalls and Jibriel Conde are the names most likely to get a longer look, and for Kansas the next few weeks will matter as much for sorting that competition as for building continuity elsewhere on defense. McAlpine is expected to receive a waiver for an additional year of eligibility, but for this season the Jayhawks have to find a workable answer up front. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Quietly Added Serious Experience Around Lance Leipold
Kansas has spent the offseason quietly building out the sort of support staff that can make a big difference once fall camp and the grind of a season arrive. The program now lists 14 analysts, most of them new this year and working in assistant position coach roles, giving Lance Leipold a deeper bench of football minds around the building as the Jayhawks try to keep raising the standard.
Among the more notable additions are senior analysts Duane Akina and John DeFilippo, two coaches with long resumes that stretch through major college football and the NFL. They are part of a broader wave of hires that adds help at multiple positions, and the sheer variety of experience now surrounding the program suggests Kansas is leaning into every possible edge while trying to maintain its momentum. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Has 5 Players Who Could Decide How 2025 Unfolds
After back-to-back 5-7 seasons, Kansas leaned heavily into roster turnover this offseason, bringing in 31 transfers as it tries to reset the trajectory of the program heading into 2025. Even with that kind of reshaping, the Jayhawks still have a handful of returning players who could wind up steering how this season feels, from the quarterback room to the front lines on both sides of the ball.
Cole Ballard is one of the names worth watching as camp approaches, with the quarterback competition still a central part of the picture. Trey Lathan also looms large after giving Kansas a proven presence at linebacker, while Amir Herring and Leroy Harris III give the Jayhawks key pieces to evaluate up front. Add in wide receiver Nik McMillan, and Kansas has enough familiar faces mixed into the transfer-heavy roster that a few individual decisions could end up shaping the whole year. [Read more 🡒]