FRISCO, Texas - Kansas is heading into a quarterback battle that feels very much like a real race, and Lance Leipold isn’t pretending otherwise.
With longtime starter Jalon Daniels gone, the Jayhawks are sorting through Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall, two players who have spent the last two seasons competing for the backup role and now find themselves fighting for the top job. Leipold said the spring gave both quarterbacks plenty of chances to prove themselves.
“Both guys had, I think, 320 reps this spring,” Leipold said. “That’s a lot of reps.
… When Jalon wasn’t practicing, Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall were getting reps. So they have a lot of banked reps. ...
Now it’s time for them to go out and execute and play.”
That competition was one of the biggest talking points around Kansas at Big 12 Media Days, and it was easy to see why. Daniels had been the face of the position for years and a regular presence at the event. Now the spotlight has shifted.
“It’s different,” Leipold said, “but as we know, we all move on.”
From the outside, the two contenders bring different strengths. A program source told The Star that Ballard currently has the edge, though not by much. Ballard is viewed as having the stronger arm, while Marshall’s scrambling ability gives Kansas another dangerous option.
Leipold made it clear he trusts both players.
“I think that we have two quarterbacks that we can win football games with, without a doubt,” Leipold said. “We have two young men that are excellent people.
They’re two good football players. They’re well respected in the locker room.
They’re excellent leaders.”
Ballard has the most game experience of the pair. In 2023, when Jason Bean was injured, Ballard started one game and played heavily in another.
He finished those two contests with 286 passing yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Kansas lost both games, against Iowa State and K-State, but was in position to win each one.
Marshall’s role last season looked different. He was used mostly as a runner and finished with 15 carries for 160 yards, good for 10.7 yards per attempt.
For Leipold, the deciding factors are straightforward.
“Just confidence, maturity, command of the huddle,” Leipold continued, speaking about what he wants from his starter. “They have natural leadership.
They have an ‘it’ to them about a confidence of flushing a play and moving on and doing things like that. But executing and putting the ball where it needs to be, making great decisions, all those things.”
Kansas left tackle Calvin Clements has seen the battle unfold up close, and he likes what he’s watched.
“It’s been awesome to see, to be honest,” Clements said. “It’s been two, in my opinion, unique players, and they’re both making plays every single day.
So it’s been joy to watch. I love them as people, too.
They’re my guys.”
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