Kansas football coach Lance Leipold said Tuesday that junior quarterback Jalon Daniels was “doubtful” for Saturday’s 11 a.m. game at Oklahoma, and all signs point to redshirt senior Jason Bean making the start for the 19th-ranked Jayhawks.
Daniels was injured late in the first half of last Saturday’s 38-31 loss to No. 17 TCU when linebacker Jamoi Hodge landed on Daniels’ right shoulder with the entirety of his body weight.
Daniels left the game after the play and was evaluated in the medical tent and the locker room before emerging for the second half in a black hoodie, clearly done for the day.
Before Daniels returned to the field, Leipold told FS1 sideline reporter Allison Williams that Daniels’ return to the game was a 50-50 proposition. He said after the game that the KU QB was still being evaluated and that the 48 hours that followed would help determine where things go from there.
It’s important to note that Leipold has not yet ruled Daniels out for Saturday. In fact, beyond calling him doubtful, he said the team was still evaluating Daniels on a day to day basis.
“Jalon did not practice today (and) hasn’t done anything yet,” Leipold said Tuesday. “That’s probably the extent I’ll comment at this time.”
For what it’s worth, Daniels is not expected to meet with the media during Wednesday’s player availability as he has done each week this season. Bean, however, is slated to attend Wednesday’s media session.
With Daniels sidelined for the second half of last weekend’s game, Bean completed 16 of 24 passes for 262 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. He wasn’t perfect and there were a couple of mistakes that proved costly. But the fact that KU had an experienced option to turn to when their Heisman Trophy candidate went down helped the offense continue to rack up points and yards in the down-to-the-wire loss.
More than that, it showed how this coaching staff’s development of its players can benefit the team beyond the starters on either side of the ball.
Leipold on Tuesday flashed back to comments throughout August about how strong Bean looked and was playing. He and others said then that the North Texas transfer was playing his best football as a Jayhawk during KU’s preseason camp.
“It wasn’t just to appease him or take (pressure) off Jalon,” Leipold explained Tuesday. “I’ve found in our program now that we’ve got a lot of guys that want to play and can play and you have to make sure you recognize their efforts even though their snaps may not show up all the time.”
For his part, Bean credited Daniels and the healthy competition between them for helping him stay ready for a moment like the one he received on Saturday.
“Just trying to compete with Jalon every day, acting like I am the starter even though I’m not in that role,” Bean said after the TCU game. “(Daniels) keeps my head in it every day and tries to make sure I’m ready.”
Daniels’ play, which has produced nearly 1,600 yards of total offense and 16 touchdowns — 11 passing and 5 rushing — has been a huge part of KU’s 5-1 start this season. But Bean said the team and coaching staff showed a lot of confidence in him on Saturday and that helped him deliver when called upon.
“No matter who’s in, we have that ability to go down and score the ball,” Bean said after Saturday’s loss.
If Daniels is out, freshman Ethan Vasko and redshirt freshman Ben Easters would be next in line behind Bean, with Vasko serving as the immediate backup to Bean in Week 7. Neither has appeared in a game this season.
