Kansas Jayhawks teammate says QB Jalon Daniels isn’t just back. He’s even better

The Jalon Daniels who participated in 11-on-11 drills during Tuesday’s first practice of the Kansas Jayhawks’ much-anticipated 2024 football season did not necessarily resemble the mobile, athletic and strong-armed quarterback who threw for 2,014 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2022.

“He’s better, even better,” preseason all-Big 12 cornerback selection Cobee Bryant said after KU’s morning workout on the grass fields next to KU’s baseball stadium and Allen Fieldhouse. “Jalon, he is crazy, man.

“He makes crazy things happen,” Bryant added of the signal-caller who, because of a lingering injury, played in just three games last season.

Bryant joined other Jayhawks players as well as coach Lance Leipold in praising the 6-foot, 220-pound quarterback’s overall performance in the first of many workouts in preparation for KU’s Aug. 29 opener against Lindenwood at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas — another natural grass field.

“It’s really cool seeing him do his thing,” said senior running back Devin Neal, who was first-team all-Big 12 in 2023 after rushing for 1,280 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns. “That’s what we want from him. We want to see him be at his best. He’s smiling, being a great leader.”

Daniels — a back injury kept him from playing in games after September — “had a really good day today,” said Leipold. “Again it’s probably the most 11-on-11 stuff he’s maybe done yet. (I was) excited about seeing him make some throws.”

Leipold said Daniels, a redshirt junior, is leaning into his role as the leader of KU’s offense.

“They (upperclassmen leaders) are going to set the pace so this team has an opportunity to reach the goals they all want,” said Leipold, whose Jayhawks are coming off a 9-4 season, including a win over UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

“To have a guy like Jalon …” Leipold said. “Really, what he’s gone through can now sometimes be a benefit for us in a very odd way, in that is he is so happy to be out there he embraces every snap he gets. And that can be contagious to a football team, too.”

Daniels, who spent countless hours in rehab last season, said he was quite eager to board one of the three buses that carried the Jayhawk players and coaches from the renovated Anderson Family Football Complex to the practice fields across campus at around 8 a.m. Tuesday.

“The night before, you kind of treat it like Christmas Eve because you are excited to be able to go back out there,” Daniels said. “It’s the beginning of a new season.

“Football players, after the season ends, (say), ‘All right, football is finally over. Now we get a little break.’ But after about two months you are like, ‘I wish football season was here.’ I’m sure all the guys are just as excited as myself to be back out there.”

Daniels acknowledged he had a hard time wiping the smile off his face during practice.

“It’s something I’ve been doing my entire life. To be able to go out there and be with the guys means a lot,” he said. “There was a lot of ‘great’ out there, but it’s day one. There’s a lot to clean up as well. We like the progress we’ve made so far. We like where we’re at.”

Playing 11-on-11 football while fully healthy is something Daniels has missed.

“It feels like my child self back out there again, honestly, just being able to play ball again,” he said. “I’m happy to be back with the guys, happy to be able to make some plays, happy to see some young guys making plays as well.”

Daniels said he’ll try to embrace every snap the rest of his career.

“When you are away from the game and it’s something you’ve done your entire life, when you get a chance to be able to get back, you cherish each individual moment,” he said. “Because at the end of the day you never know when it’s your last play. You never know when it’s the last time you’ll ever be able to play the game again.

“Conditioning is hard. At one point during the (last) season, I wished I was able to do conditioning. I’m taking that and being happy where I’m at. I know you can’t take anything for granted.”

The Jayhawks will return to practice Wednesday morning, likely back on the practice fields near Allen Fieldhouse. The team likes the idea of working out on grass during a season in which David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is under construction and the Jayhawks have been relocated to grass fields for home games (two at Children’s Mercy Park; four at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium).

“We practiced out there a few times during my career,” Daniels said of the KU practice fields by the fieldhouse and baseball stadium. “Being able to practice on grass will allow us to go to the new stadiums we’ll be playing in and make sure we have a smooth transition.”

“It’s pretty fun. It’s grass out there,” noted defensive end Jereme Robinson. “Man, it feels good to me. I love it. It’s a big difference.”

Leipold, who is holding “longer breaks and more (hydration) breaks” than usual and also monitoring each player’s hydration level prior to practice during this ongoing heat spell in Kansas, likes the cushion of the grass practice field.

“We’ll try to go on grass every day possible,” he said. “We had a chance to go there a few times in the spring. I asked the players: Would they want to go there as much as they could? They said yes.

“I think all our legs and knees and joints and all that stuff feel better. I’m not getting any younger (he’s 60) so I was kind of for it,” the coach added, smiling. “We’re going try to take advantage of it. We’ve had great cooperation with our soccer program and others that use it. We’re going to try, weather permitting, traffic permitting, to use it all the way up (to first game).”

Leipold said if it’s too hot on any given morning, the Jayhawks may yet hold workouts indoors.

Entering his fourth season at KU and 18th overall as a college head coach, Leipold is elated to be out there again in 2024.

“It’s real. It’s here. It’s great to have the energy and excitement. I thought we had a very solid first day,” he said.