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LAWRENCE — Although Kansas football has yet to announce a starting quarterback, head coach Lance Leipold acknowledged Monday that they have talked with Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall about carrying themselves as a starter regardless.
Ballard, a redshirt junior, and Marshall, a redshirt sophomore, are in contention to earn the job this fall. As fall camp progresses, they’ll continue to have opportunities to show they are the right one to lead the team in 2026. And that’s not something that’s gone unnoticed by Leipold.
There is the need to manage things mentally, considering some days it might be Ballard who runs out first and others it might be Marshall. As much as the Jayhawks track every rep that’s taken, whether it’s 11-on-11 or 7-on-7 or 1-on-1, to provide holistic evaluation of the starting quarterback battle and any other, that hurdle has to be cleared. But regardless of who wins the job, the need to be prepared to act as a starter will always be there.
RELATED: How Kansas football quarterback Chase Jenkins fits into KU’s plans
“We always say you’re one play away anyway, at any position, if you’re not the starter, so you’ve got to act that way,” Leipold said. “… One of the things we said in the evaluation process: Who can lead this football team? OK? Who can have a command of the huddle, and command of the situation and do all the things there? And I think both of them have worked on that extremely well, OK? And I can’t say that’s been a disappointment by either one.”
The two aren’t alone in the quarterback position group. There’s also redshirt junior Chase Jenkins, who transferred in from Rice, as well as freshman Jaylen Mason. But while they’ll look to remain ready as well, the emphasis is going to remain on Ballard and Marshall.
Whether it’s Ballard or Marshall who starts, Leipold described how Jalon Daniels operated at quarterback for the Jayhawks in recent years as a lesson every player at the position at KU can learn from. Even when Daniels wasn’t healthy enough to play, or simply wasn’t starting, Daniels still prepared at a level that would help him be ready for when he stepped onto the field again. It’s part of why he’s capable of now pursuing a professional opportunity in the NFL.
Time will tell if Ballard or Marshall opens the fall as the starter, but in the days to come there’ll be more opportunities for the coaching staff to evaluate them. That’ll include things like decision-making, ball security and more, like the choice made amid a run-pass option.
Whatever decision is made will play a key role in how the 2026 season unfolds for the Jayhawks.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas football coach Lance Leipold shares view on starting QB battle
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Ballard, a redshirt junior, and Marshall, a redshirt sophomore, are in contention to earn the job this fall. As fall camp progresses, they’ll continue to have opportunities to show they are the right one to lead the team in 2026. And that’s not something that’s gone unnoticed by Leipold.
There is the need to manage things mentally, considering some days it might be Ballard who runs out first and others it might be Marshall. As much as the Jayhawks track every rep that’s taken, whether it’s 11-on-11 or 7-on-7 or 1-on-1, to provide holistic evaluation of the starting quarterback battle and any other, that hurdle has to be cleared. But regardless of who wins the job, the need to be prepared to act as a starter will always be there.
RELATED: How Kansas football quarterback Chase Jenkins fits into KU’s plans
“We always say you’re one play away anyway, at any position, if you’re not the starter, so you’ve got to act that way,” Leipold said. “… One of the things we said in the evaluation process: Who can lead this football team? OK? Who can have a command of the huddle, and command of the situation and do all the things there? And I think both of them have worked on that extremely well, OK? And I can’t say that’s been a disappointment by either one.”
The two aren’t alone in the quarterback position group. There’s also redshirt junior Chase Jenkins, who transferred in from Rice, as well as freshman Jaylen Mason. But while they’ll look to remain ready as well, the emphasis is going to remain on Ballard and Marshall.
Whether it’s Ballard or Marshall who starts, Leipold described how Jalon Daniels operated at quarterback for the Jayhawks in recent years as a lesson every player at the position at KU can learn from. Even when Daniels wasn’t healthy enough to play, or simply wasn’t starting, Daniels still prepared at a level that would help him be ready for when he stepped onto the field again. It’s part of why he’s capable of now pursuing a professional opportunity in the NFL.
Time will tell if Ballard or Marshall opens the fall as the starter, but in the days to come there’ll be more opportunities for the coaching staff to evaluate them. That’ll include things like decision-making, ball security and more, like the choice made amid a run-pass option.
Whatever decision is made will play a key role in how the 2026 season unfolds for the Jayhawks.
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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas football coach Lance Leipold shares view on starting QB battle
Continue reading...
