Kansas’ quarterback picture is still in motion, but passing game coordinator Jim Zebrowski isn’t pretending the Jayhawks are short on options. Heading into the season, Ballard has 654 all-purpose yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions on his résumé, while Marshall brings 188 all-purpose yards after playing six fewer games than Ballard.
Zebrowski put it plainly: “So I think for the fans out there, you got two really good dudes, really good players that are gonna be really good. Whoever plays is gonna play really well.”
There are still plenty of questions around how KU wants to attack this season, and the early practice reports suggest the offense may lean into some familiar but tweaked wrinkles. According to 247 Sports, Kansas has been working on creative offensive concepts with motion and the option every day in practice.
The look resembles drills from before the 2022 season, though with some changes. KU barely used the option last year, and the reasons could have been comfort, health, or execution.
However it came about, the expectation is that the quarterback run game will be part of the offense.
On the defensive side, Joshua Schulman’s early read is that the linebackers are carrying the most promise. The secondary and interior defensive line remain the groups that raise eyebrows, but the linebacker room has enough balance to give the defense some hope thanks to its mix of pass coverage, run support and experience.
Matt Tait also has a feature on transfer linebacker Bam Crouch and the origin of his nickname. His aunt wanted her son and Crouch to have separate birthdays, and while that didn’t quite happen, Crouch was born at about 11:30 p.m. on the night of the 3rd in 2004. His mom later said he “bam’d” his way into the world, and the nickname stuck.
On the basketball side, there’s still offseason optimism floating around about who might pop this year. Joel Wagler at Through the Phog highlighted three players who could surprise fans, though the most intriguing name in the mix is Worrell.
He does have efficiency concerns, with a career 38.6% field goal percentage across two Division I seasons, including time at Southern Mississippi. Even so, his free-throw shooting and 3-point volume - 7.4 attempts per game last season - make him a strong candidate to be the first or second man off the bench for KU.
Wagler also noted that Mbiya was initially projected for a reserve role, but an injury to transfer Christian Reeves likely changes that. Mbiya is expected to start now, and the projection is for a meaningful leap in production. It may not reach the scale of the jump Flory Bidunga made from his first season to his second, but the expectation is that Mbiya will be much better.
Dillon Davis at SI offered a best-case scenario for the football team, and it includes a pretty clean run through the early part of the schedule. In that version, KU beats Arizona State and Missouri, finally ends the long losing streaks against Kansas State and Baylor, goes 3-0 in nonconference play, reaches a bowl game and wins it. That would qualify as a true dream outcome for this Kansas team.
Elsewhere in college football, Max Olson at ESPN dug into roster costs across the sport, and the takeaway for the Big 12 is not especially cheerful. Even with revenue sharing in place, the biggest programs in the SEC and Big Ten are still spending well beyond $20 million on their rosters, and agents say the gap between good and elite has only grown. That spending gap, Olson wrote, shows up clearly in the current price ranges for deals.
There was also a bizarre turn in a Little League regional, where Tulsa National had been declared ineligible but then got back into the Southwest Little League Tournament championship game after a court ruling. The team was granted a temporary restraining order, making it eligible to play against Texas West.
Texas West had already won the updated championship game Monday, but the teams were set to do it again Tuesday after the ruling. Tulsa National had originally been disqualified Monday, with few details made public, and it was the second Tulsa National team tossed from a regional in less than three weeks.
And in the NFL, the Vikings have named Kyler Murray as their starting quarterback. Murray was the favorite from the moment he signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal on March 12 after his release by the Arizona Cardinals, who will pay him $35.5 million.
The move sends J.J. McCarthy, the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft, into the No. 2 role after 10 career starts and leaves Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer still on the roster.
In Other News...
Kansas Finally Has A Defensive Strength Fans Can Believe In
Early in fall camp, one part of Kansas defense has started to separate itself from the rest of the roster, and its the linebacker room. Lance Leipold has pointed to the group as the strongest position on that side of the ball, with Quincy Davis, Bam Crouch and Jibreel Al-Amin drawing notice for the kind of performance and versatility that can stabilize a defense while the rest of camp sorts itself out.
Trey Lathans return only adds to the sense that this unit can be more than just dependable. After leading the Jayhawks in tackles last season, he gives Kansas a proven presence in the middle of the defense and another layer of depth behind the players already making an impression. For a team trying to build real confidence on that side of the ball, the linebackers are giving it something tangible to point to. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Todd Is Giving Kansas Real Hope For Its Rebuilt Secondary
Jalen Todd has become one of the more encouraging signs in Kansas rebuilt secondary, the kind of young defender whose progress is hard to miss once camp starts. The cornerback, who is also a HAWK for the Jayhawks, showed clear development from his freshman year to his sophomore season, adding more tackles and making a bigger impact on defense as his role expanded.
The staffs optimism only grew during fall camp, where Kansas footballs director of sports performance singled out Todd for gains in both speed and strength. With the 2026 season shaping up to include a demanding schedule and several high-profile quarterbacks on the other side, Todds growth could end up mattering a lot if the Jayhawks are going to hold up against the pass. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Is Watching Another Guard As One Roster Decision Looms
Kansas is keeping an eye on the transfer market again, this time with an eye toward the future. Former Morgan State guard Alfred Worrell Jr. has emerged as a name of interest for a handful of programs after recent NCAA federal court injunctions gave him additional eligibility, and the Jayhawks are among the schools reportedly involved. Worrell was one of the top scorers in the MEAC, which helps explain why his market is broader than a typical late-summer name on the board.
For Kansas, the timing matters as much as the talent. Worrell is being viewed as a possible piece for the 2026-27 roster, but any real push for him may depend on other roster and eligibility decisions still hanging over the program. With several schools also recruiting him, this is the kind of situation that can move quickly once the Jayhawks get a clearer picture of their own guard room. [Read more 🡒]