Isaiah Marshall will be the guy under center when Kansas opens the season against Long Island.
A KU athletic department official confirmed Thursday afternoon that the redshirt sophomore has won the quarterback job, edging out junior Cole Ballard. The 6-foot, 210-pound Marshall is from Southfield, Michigan, and ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported the news.
Kansas sixth-year coach Lance Leipold is expected to discuss the decision Monday during his next media availability ahead of the opener a week from Friday.
Marshall saw game action in nine contests last season and flashed plenty of run-game juice. He carried 15 times for 160 yards, including a long of 43, and he also completed all three of his pass attempts for 28 yards.
His path to Lawrence came with plenty of recruiting attention. Marshall was a three-star prospect out of high school and picked Kansas over Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi, Michigan and other programs.
Rivals.com ranked him the No. 14 prospect in Michigan and the No. 14 dual threat quarterback in the country. He also earned The D Zone 2023 Player of the Year honors after leading Southfield High School to its first state championship.
Ballard, meanwhile, was voted one of KU’s five team captains Wednesday night. Leipold had already made it clear during preseason camp that both quarterbacks could have a role in the opener.
“We’ve split the reps pretty equally,” Leipold said on Monday’s “Hawk Talk” radio show. “I think our reps came out for fall camp for both those guys over 400 team reps. So we got in a lot of work, a lot of evaluation.
“Both have done a very nice job of executing the offense. You know, both are good runners.
Isaiah gives us some exciting speed and things like that and Cole’s done a nice job throwing the ball as well. So it’s good.
“Chase (Jenkins, Rice transfer) again was slowed down right at the start of camp. So between that and his spring he’s been behind.
But he’s done a nice job, kind of catching up with things. He’s a dynamic athlete and can do a lot of things if called upon.”
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