As the new coaching staff gets settled in at Kansas, Jim Zebrowski may be taking over a position room with the most question marks.
Zebrowski will coach quarterbacks for the Jayhawks.
He is inheriting a group that does not have a proven Big 12 starter, is very inexperienced, and has gone through multiple offensive coordinators over the last few years.
Jalon Daniels started six games as a true freshman going 76-for-152 for 718 yards. Miles Kendrick started two and played in several others throwing for 647 yards. Zebrowski sees it as a positive they got to show what they can do competing in game action.
“The good thing is, at least they are guys that played in Big 12 games,” Zebrowski said. “Whether it's older or younger, they played, and they gained experience. I don't look at result-wise I'm like, hey there's only certain ways you can get experience and unfortunately, it's by playing.”
Zebrowski added: “I look at it from the perspective, we have one or two of these kids that are here and have played in games against terrific competition, and kind of been thrown in the fire so on and so forth.”
Daniels got his first start as a 17-year-old against Baylor on the road. He had to grow up fast, adjust to the competition and speed of the game. That is not something new to Zebrowski.
Zebrowski coached for Lance Leipold at Wisconsin-Whitewater. His next stop was Northern Illinois where he coached quarterbacks and when Jerry Kill was hired at Minnesota job, he took over the same position for the Golden Gophers.
Zebrowski recalled coaching MarQueis Gray at Minnesota who was a highly recruited quarterback. Gray was 18 years old when Zebrowski coached him before he moved to tight end.
One of the first things Zebrowski wants to do is get to know the quarterbacks on a personal level.
“They've had so many different voices and people I’m just trying to get to know them as people and get the trust factor going,” Zebrowski said. “I want them to know that I care about them more than just as a young man, because quarterback is such a mental position. The mental part is such a big part of the quarterback game, for them to realize I'm there for you.”
Now that the coaching staff is assembled and settling in, Zebrowski hopes to build continuity.
“It's hard on those kids mentally, especially the older ones,” he said. “They've heard so many different coaches. I think they just kind of want continuity. Obviously, we all do.”
Travis Partridge can help bridge the gap with the quarterback room and new staff. He spent the last two years as a quality control coach and quarterback coach. This spring he was elevated to coach the quarterbacks when Emmett Jones was the interim head coach.
“Travis helped out a lot being here in the springtime,” Zebrowski said. “You know Travis has been a coach before, so we sat down and just talked about everything. I thought Travis did really well with Coach Jones in the spring.”
Zebrowski has studied some film to get an early idea what the quarterbacks look like on the field. He will eventually get to work with them, but one of the most important things is getting to the know them off the field.
“I watched some games clips, and some games,” he said. “I just kind of watched not so much to see X’s and O's. It's just to see, a throwing motion, or how a kid reacts. Because I don't know them, I'm trying to get to know them and obviously talking to them. I talk to them about their family. Where are you from? Where did you go to high school?
“These kids have heard so many different spiels, they know this guy's going to be gone or has been gone. You're like I'm here for you man. It's just getting to know them more than just a football player is more important than, how can you throw.”
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