Kansas redshirt junior quarterback Cole Ballard doesn’t spend a lot of time on social media: “Nothing good can come from it,” he said. “I learned that a long time ago with my dad.”
That is, of course, a reference to Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard, who like anyone else in any prominent (or even relatively insignificant) position for a sports team undoubtedly finds himself the target of all sorts of online criticism.
If Cole Ballard ever were to see what people have to say about KU football online, it wouldn’t be hard for him to find articles casting doubt on either his or Isaiah Marshall’s viability as a prospective starter. The Athletic recently ranked him No. 108 of its projected 138 FBS starting quarterbacks. That was third-worst among power-conference players, as was his No. 66 ranking among 68 quarterbacks on ESPN earlier this offseason.
KU passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski said having his players perceived this way is “right in my wheelhouse.” Ballard, for his part, said, “Your back against the wall is the best place, to me. And that makes me excited.”
Zebrowski understands why there might be an outside rationale for this sort of low esteem for Ballard and Marshall, as the two vie for KU’s starting job.
“I can see why, I would say, ‘Hey, well one kid’s played a little bit, the other kid was kind of a runner-type dude, got in there and played,'” Zebrowski said. “Well, we’ll see. That’s good. That’s a great item. Go get ’em, fellas.”
And for his part, he firmly believes KU is not in a lesser-of-two-evils sort of competition.
“There’s two types of competitions,” Zebrowski said, asked about the old adage that if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one. “The one you said, or you have two really good ones and you get to pick one. I think that’s how I look at it as.”
This particular competition pits Ballard, a redshirt junior who was thrust into action as a true freshman in 2023 and spent the last two seasons as Jalon Daniels’ backup, against Marshall, a redshirt sophomore who, as Zebrowski referenced, had a package of plays as a designed runner last year — which he executed quite effectively.
Ballard is known for his leadership, an area in which associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki has called him “tremendous” and a “maestro in the huddle” and strength coach Matt Gildersleeve has praised his “moxie” and “charisma.” He has arm talent, but Zebrowski notes that he needs to be looser in terms of his mechanics.
“Sometimes you can just revert back to old habits,” Ballard said. “It’s just continuing to work on being loose, having a fast arm and just being decisive decisions. When you’re on time, it’s a lot of fun. And when you’re not on time, that’s when you get a little rigid and you’re not seeing things as well as you want to.”
Marshall has a somewhat different and more understated personality, but he’s well respected in the building. Gildersleeve has said he has the ability to be “one of the more explosive guys we’ve had in this program,” and he flashed game-breaking potential on the ground when he averaged north of 10 yards per carry in 2025.
Zebrowski says Marshall is still working on “his functional intelligence, processing all that information. I think that was the biggest step for him … learning all that, all the motions and movements, that’s Cole’s strength.”
But Zebrowski and Marshall agree that he’s developed in that respect: “I think I’m more comfortable now,” Marshall said. “I take more control and demand of the offense.”
In the meantime, Ballard and Marshall have strengthened their own relationship — perhaps taking cues from what Jalon Daniels and Jason Bean were like in their day, Zebrowski suggested. In July, the two spent some time out on the golf course, which was a brand-new activity for Marshall. (“I think I’m pretty good for the first time,” he said. “I think Cole would say the same thing. I had a pretty good swing.”)
“I think they saw how it is,” Zebrowski said. “Yes, you’re competing. Yes, you want to play. Yes, you want that first snap. But you also want the team to be successful.”
Only one of them can be named the starter — “Whoever that is, we all have each other’s back and we’re all going to be there with each other,” Ballard said — but on the other hand, this might not be the highest-stakes quarterback competition of all time considering that head coach Lance Leipold has said there is a “very high probability” both will play this season.
He’s also asserted, however, that he doesn’t want to use a full-fledged two-quarterback system or to “flip-flop back and forth all the time.” Marshall said the coaches have not talked to him and Ballard about what either of their prospective roles might look like as the No. 2 quarterback. In any case, KU will have to find a balance as it seeks to use both.
“Them knowing that’s going to happen, potentially, I think helps initially,” Zebrowski said. “Like they know they have to be ready all the time.”
Whatever ends up happening, KU is not in any rush to make its selection ahead of the opener on Sept. 4 against Long Island: “Coach will make a decision when Coach wants to make a decision,” Zebrowski said.
Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World
