Kansas football coach Lance Leipold says shutting down Jalon Daniels hasn't been discussed
LAWRENCE — There’s always going to be a level of concern, Lance Leipold allowed Monday, when the team’s starting quarterback isn’t available.
Leipold, Kansas football’s head coach, was reacting to junior quarterback Jalon Daniels missing this past weekend’s game against Texas. Daniels, who’s been dealing with a back issue since fall camp, has now missed two games this fall — including the season opener against Missouri State.
And on top of that, Daniels did not practice Monday either.
But Leipold still left the door open to Daniels potentially playing Saturday at home against UCF. The two had talked multiple times Sunday and Monday, Leipold explained, amid an injury situation he described as day-to-day. And if there’s a time that shutting down Daniels is going to be discussed, so Daniels can have some more time to recover, Leipold noted that hasn’t happened yet.
“No,” Leipold said. “That’s never been brought up.”
It’s unclear when Daniels will be able to completely to move past this latest injury. When asked if back tightness was still the accurate way to describe what Daniels is experiencing, Leipold both said he’s not a doctor and that it sounds as good as any description. Associate head coach/offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki referred back to Leipold’s comments earlier in the week, when asked Wednesday about how much Daniels had been practicing.
Kansas (4-1, 1-1 in Big 12) is preparing for its third Big 12 Conference game of the season. The Jayhawks are looking to rebound after their lopsided road defeat against the now-No. 4 Longhorns (5-0, 2-0 in Big 12). Incoming, is a UCF (3-2, 0-2 in Big 12) squad that is aiming to recover from its own disappointing loss — which in this instance was the Knights squandering a significant lead at home against Baylor (2-3, 1-1 in Big 12).
If Daniels can’t play again, look for Kansas to turn to redshirt senior quarterback Jason Bean, again.
Bean, who’s started both of the games Daniels hasn’t this season, has starting experience with the Jayhawks from 2021 and 2022 and often been the recipient of praise from teammates and coaches. And regardless, redshirt senior offensive lineman Dominick Puni indicated, Daniels will remain the leader.
“I think it’s very hard for somebody to kind of go through what just happened and still be, like, as positive as he’s being,” Puni said about Daniels. “But that just shows, like, how great of a person he is.”
RELATED: Kansas football vs. Texas recap: No. 24 Jayhawks lose against No. 5 Longhorns
RELATED: 3 key observations from Kansas football’s 40-14 loss against Big 12 Conference-foe Texas
RELATED: Kansas football releases depth chart for UCF, Big 12 Conference matchup
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Could Jalon Daniels play against UCF? Lance Leipold didn't rule it out
