Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels made waves at Big 12 Media Days with his wardrobe, showing just what kind of confidence the preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year is coming in with.
The junior from Lawndale, California sported a necklace paired with an Apple Watch that played his highlights throughout his 2022 campaign, along with a gold suit and red shoes.
“You can't wear that without confidence, let's be real,” running back Devin Neal said. “Just watching him get to this point, it's really special for me because we've grown a really good bond. So it's just been really cool seeing him grow like that.”
Daniels hasn’t always been in a position to be this confident while at Kansas. Having to step in at quarterback as a true freshman proved to be a challenge for the 17-year-old. He threw for just one touchdown in 152 attempts in a struggling offense. But it was a learning experience.
“I was just blessed to be out there on the field,” Daniels said. "I'm a true freshman, 17 years old. I’m the only 17 year old true freshman playing in the nation.”
After injuries to quarterbacks Jason Bean and Miles Kendrick the following year in the game versus Kansas State, Daniels was brought into the game despite plans to redshirt.
“Going into my sophomore year, he told me I was going to redshirt and it was something that was hard for me because I had started my freshman year,” Daniels said.
The following week is when he led the Jayhawks to a dramatic 57-56 overtime win over Texas in Austin. Daniels gave his props to his head coach for giving him the confidence to go from redshirt to winning quarterback versus Texas.
“The amount of confidence that he showed in me going into that Texas game the next week, it’s always showed me that he’s been confident in me the whole entire time,” Daniels said.
Leipod had a very simple message for Daniels who recollects his coach telling him that “‘now it’s your time, go out there and do it.’”
As Daniels prepares for the target to be on his back as the Big 12 preseason player of the year, he can look back on starting at a young age as a good thing.
“It was hard for me to understand these defenses that the Big 12 was running,” Daniels said. "I’m coming from high school, they running three safeties high. I’ve never seen three safeties high before. My pre-snap picture is what has changed the most. Being able to get those reps. If I didn’t get those reps at 17 years old, would I know now at 20?”
Daniels recent rise has been life-altering, as he is noticed and approached much more often than before.
“It’s not ‘oh that’s Jalon,’ now it’s ‘oh what’s up Jalon?'" he said.
Daniels says that the award allots him more respect as well, something that had been hard to come by as the Kansas program struggled to gain respect.
“A couple of years ago, nobody respected the quarterback I am today,” Daniels said.
With the new-found respect coming from just about everywhere, Daniels is looking to lead the Jayhawks to back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time since the 2008-2009 season.
