Jalon Daniels wanted to help turn a program around
Jalon Daniels was committed to Middle Tennessee and at the last minute of the recruiting process he decided to switch to Kansas.
Part of the reason for making the decision be a Jayhawk came down to the relationship he established with Brent Dearmon and the confidence Les Miles showed in him.
Another reason was the chance to turn a program around.
“I've always wanted to be the guy to turn around a program,” Daniels said. “And I feel like I have the chance to do that with my teammates here.”
Dearmon started watching Daniels in the spring of 2019 when he was an analyst and liked what he saw. Dearmon continued to watch his progress through his senior season at Lawndale High.
When Dearmon was named the offensive coordinator he started to pick up the recruiting pace for Daniels.
“I've always had a strong connection with Coach Dearmon before he became the offensive coordinator and was an analyst,” Daniels said. “He was always hitting me up about the scores of the games throughout the entire last season. I feel like he's always had faith in me, and I feel like Coach Miles always has faith in me. So, I made the decision to come here.”
Daniels landed in Lawrence in mid-June and Miles said on Monday he didn’t get the snaps he needed early on. Once the coaches got a closer look at Daniels, they decided to make him the starter.
“Honestly, I had no idea (about starting),” he said “I always had the support of the other quarterbacks in the room. We always support each other. As the quarterback room, we always push each other to be the best quarterback, and the outcome came.”
Since taking over as the starter Daniels has thrown for 546 yards and rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns.
The last four weeks has been a learning process and Daniels said he takes all the advice Dearmon gives.
“Fire the trigger,” is the advice Daniels gets. “As a freshman quarterback, you always have that thought in the back of your mind, don't make the mistake. When I come to the sideline, Coach Dearmon usually tells me to just pull the trigger.
“Don't hold back on throws, make the throws that you know you can make. And he always had that faith in me that I can make the throws. So that's something that I really need to start working on, which is pulling the trigger.”
The good news for Daniels is his health. He has already missed time with an ankle injury and was forced to leave the final minutes of the Iowa State game limping off the field.
He expects to get the start against Oklahoma.
“When it happened, I thought I injured it by doing the same thing again,” he said. “I automatically went into shock thinking, ‘Dang, is it the same thing?’ When I got into the locker room, I started walking around and I was like, ‘This is not the same pain that happened in the Oklahoma State game.’ So, I feel like I'll be okay.”