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Lance Leipold looking for QB to make great decisions

Every position will have competition and with a new staff and it might take a while to figure out the depth chart. One of the positions they will have to sift through and narrow it down is quarterback.

They have seven quarterbacks on the roster and five on scholarship. That means they are going to have to make some quick decisions early to get their top choices more reps in fall camp to decide on a starter. Kansas head coach Lance Leipold did not get into details, but he believes their practice system will help.

“We do feel that our practice model is going to give us a great opportunity to evaluate and make decisions,” Leipold said. “But we know that we'll have to do so in a fairly fast period of time.”

During the summer, players hold their own workouts where they do drills and organize seven-on-seven games. However, the coaches can not attend and watch the events.

When the quarterbacks put on the pads and start throwing in practice it will be the first time that Leipold, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, and quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski will see them live.

“To really say I've had a chance to watch guys in person to get an evaluation has not happened,” Leipold said. “So, whether it be Jason Bean or Jalon Daniels, Miles Kendrick, any of our young quarterbacks that we have, that will be in August.”

Leipold said they will be looking for a QB who will make great decisions
Leipold said they will be looking for a QB who will make great decisions

Bean, Daniels, and Kendrick are certainly getting the most mentions during the summer months as the trio to watch when the competition begins.

“I love their personalities,” Leipold said. “Like I said I haven't seen them throw live, so I can't even tell you what that's like. Miles Kendrick had an outstanding summer and lifting and development. He's been an outstanding leader and a leader by example. Jalon Daniels done a nice job in that phase as well. You can see his body maturing. He's a guy that has a smile on his face and has energy each and every day.

“Jason Bean's new and he's learning his teammates and what it's about. He's got great length and runs well, he shows that. That's about what you’re going to get from me right now, because that's about all I can tell you.”

Last year Kendrick and Daniels handled most of the snaps for the Jayhawks. Their stats were similar with Daniels playing 339 snaps and Kendrick playing 286. Kendrick threw for 646 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions. Daniels threw for 714 yards and one touchdown with four picks.

Bean transferred from North Texas where he took 395 snaps and scored a solid 83.3 rating by Pro Football Focus. He threw for 1130 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 420 yards.

It is anybody’s guess who will be under center when the season opens against South Dakota. That will be decided in the upcoming weeks and the Kansas coaches know they what they will be looking for when they make their call.

“We're going to look for a guy that can make great decisions and put us in the right position to move the football, execute the offense,” Leipold said. “And I say, make great decisions. We can't turn the ball over.

“We’ve got to be better at that, and Andy Kotelnicki, our offensive coordinator has done some deep studies about the last five years of Kansas football versus maybe the last five years that we did at Buffalo, as well as the Big 12 conference. And there's things that we can do and do better at that, I think is going to immediately give us a chance to be successful.”

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