Lance Leipold: Here's why Jalon Daniels didn’t travel with Kansas football to Iowa State
AMES, Iowa — Kansas football was once again without junior quarterback Jalon Daniels on Saturday, as he continues to deal with what’s been described as a back issue.
Daniels, who’s been dealing with that injury since fall camp, missed the 28-21 road win against Iowa State. He’s now missed five-straight games, and six total, this season. And head coach Lance Leipold explained that Daniels, who did not make the trip to Ames, Iowa, remained home because Daniels didn’t practice during the week and medical professionals advised it was in Daniels’ best interest to rest and not make the bus trip with the team.
“Again, he stays positive and we’re awfully optimistic about that,” Leipold said about Daniels. “So, I can answer the question. He’s not redshirting, and everything else that may be out there. But, yeah, that’s about what I got for you today.”
The No. 23 Jayhawks are 4-2 this season in those games without Daniels, including a 3-2 mark against the Big 12 Conference. Overall, Kansas is at 7-2 overall and 4-2 against the Big 12. Redshirt senior quarterback Jason Bean’s progress has been critical in allowing the Jayhawks to continue to thrive, even without their lead signal-caller.
Daniels’ next opportunity to return is Nov. 11, a home game against Texas Tech. After that, Kansas has a game Nov. 18 at home against Kansas State and a game Nov. 25 on the road against Cincinnati. Should Daniels not return for any of those games his return this season would depend on the Jayhawks’ postseason opportunity or opportunities.
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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: Lance Leipold: Why Jalon Daniels didn’t travel with Kansas football
