Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels not starting vs. Missouri State

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels, the 2023 Preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, did not start Friday night’s game against Missouri State. Daniels had been dealing with back spasms in fall camp, per the announcers on the ESPN+ broadcast.

He was seen on the sidelines with his uniform on and a headset. In his place, Jayhawks backup quarterback Jason Bean has been under center for Friday night’s matchup.

Last season when Daniels was injured, Bean threw for 1,240 passing yards, while tossing in 14 touchdowns and four interceptions. As a runner, he also ran for 222 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

The move caught plenty of people by surprise since Daniels was presented as the team’s starting quarterback by the video board at the KU stadium less than 30 minutes before the game. He walked onto the field for warmups, but Bean took the initial snaps at quarterback during warmups. Daniels was also active in practice earlier this week.

Kansas is wearing their new all-blue uniforms they unveiled this offseason. The video the team released had two different versions, all white and all blue.

The Jayhawks will look to make yet another statement during head coach Lance Leipold’s third season in Lawrence. He led the team to their best season in over a decade last year. Kansas hosted College GameDay after they got off to one of the best starts in school history (5-0) in 2022. But their electrifying signal-caller, Jalon Daniels, suffered a shoulder injury and the Jayhawks lost six of their last seven games.

KU still earned a berth to the Liberty Bowl, their first bowl game appearance in over 10 years. And it ended up being one of the better games of the college football season.

Daniels has been named the Big 12 Preseason Offensive POY ahead of the 2023-2024 season and rightfully so. Even with his shoulder injury last year, he threw for 2,014 passing yards, tossing in 18 touchdowns while throwing just four interceptions.

As a runner, he had 77 carries for 419 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Simply put, he’s one of the most dynamic players in the country and he’s the straw that stirs the drink for the Jayhawks’ football program. He’ll only go as far as he takes them, so they’ll have to hope his back tightness issues resolve sometime in the near future.

Up next, Kansas will face off against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Sept. 8. That one will kick off at 8:00 PM EST.