Will Lance Leipold name Kansas football's starting QB this spring?
KU football will have a new starting quarterback in 2026. During spring ball, though, will coach Lance Leipold name who that player is going to be?
LAWRENCE — With Jalon Daniels now pursuing a professional career, Kansas football is evaluating which player will be its next starting quarterback. One option is redshirt junior Cole Ballard, who’s been a backup for the Jayhawks for multiple years and saw playing time at different points. Another is redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall, who flashed potential in the limited time he saw on the field in 2025 as a backup.
And don’t forget about redshirt junior Chase Jenkins, who transferred in from Rice during the offseason and was the starter there last fall. But as KU coach Lance Leipold discussed the competition for the starting job Thursday, with spring ball underway for the Jayhawks, he didn’t outline when an announcement will be made on which player has won it. A decision on that might not be made any time soon.
It might not even come this spring. RELATED: Lance Leipold provides spring ball injury updates for Kansas football “I do not — we do not, and have not discussed, when we are going to name a starter,” Leipold said. “… It’s not planned to be named this spring at this time, if you’re wondering that.
Could it? I don’t know. But I don’t have a timetable in mind about when we’re going to do that.