Jalon Daniels injury update: Kansas announces star QB underwent knee surgery, timetable revealed

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels underwent a minor knee procedure and will be limited at spring practice, per The Kansas City Star‘s Shreyas Laddha. Daniels recorded 2,454 passing yards and 14 touchdowns this past season while throwing 12 interceptions.

While it was far from Daniels’ best passing season, he was excellent in the ground game, racking up a career-high 447 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 93 carries.

Despite a slow start, Daniels began to play much better in the back half of the season and was instrumental in Kansas pulling off three ranked wins in a row over Kansas State, Iowa State and BYU.

After the season, Daniels reworked his NIL deal with Kansas to return for one more season.

“Kansas has been my home, my family, and my foundation,” Daniels wrote in his announcement. “This journey has been nothing short of incredible, but we’re not done yet. The work continues, and the best is still ahead.

“I’m ready to lead the Kansas Jayhawks into the 2025 season and fully focused on becoming the best QB possible. I’m staying to finish what we’ve started, continue building, and to give back to the fans who’ve given us everything. Let’s make history, Jayhawks Nation!”

During his five years in Lawrence with the Jayhawks, Daniels has thrown for 6,751 total passing yards and 45 touchdowns. He currently has the second-most career passing yards in program history, only trailing  Todd Reesing.

Daniels also owns the record for the most passing yards in a single game in KU program history (544 passing yards in the Arkansas–Liberty Bowl in 2022). His 45 career passing touchdowns also rank second in program history behind Reesing (90).

Kansas finished the 2024 campaign with a 5-7 record, its worst under head coach Lance Leipold since his debut season at the helm. Leipold and Co. are working fervently this offseason to avoid suffering similar results next season.

Kansas has already added 21 players via the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason. The transfer class is headlined by interior offensive lineman Tyler Mercer, linebacker Bangally Kamara and safety Jahlil Hurley. Kansas is ranked No. 18 in On3’s 2025 Team Transfer Portal Rankings.

This story will be updated.