Report: Jalon Daniels expected to start for Kansas vs. Illinois, barring unforeseen setback

Kansas got some big-time good news on the health front on Friday ahead of a game against Illinois. Star quarterback Jalon Daniels will be available and start for the Jayhawks, barring any setbacks, according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.

Daniels missed the opener against Missouri State last weekend. He’s been dealing with back tightness for a number of weeks now, but was expected to make his return early on in the season.

Now the Jayhawks will have their star signal caller back for a big non-conference test against Illinois.

The Jayhawks and Fighting Illini kick off at 7:30 p.m. EST in Lawrence with the game televised on ESPN2.

Daniels’ back injury first cropped up in mid-August with head coach Lance Leipold saying then that it wasn’t too big of a concern.

“Not at this time,” Leipold said, adding that he was pleased with the way Daniels was progressing.

However, it wasn’t enough for Daniels to be ready for the opener, thus backup quarterback Jason Bean — a capable replacement — got the Week 1 start.

Bean was efficient, going 22-for-28 with 276 yards passing and two touchdowns, also recording five carries for 41 yards on the ground. And he may have lost the 2022 offseason quarterback battle to Daniels, but started the first nine games of the season for the Jayhawks in 2021.

By the middle of this week, it became apparent that Daniels would be healthy to play. Whether or not he’d be ready to start wasn’t clear until now.

On Thursday, it still wasn’t decided between him and Bean to get the start vs. Illinois.

“Kansas star QB Jalon Daniels is expected to play against Illinois on Friday night after missing the opener against Missouri State with tightness in his back. The staff still has not determined if Daniels or back-up Jason Bean will start against Illinois,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel said about the situation on Thursday.

But now Daniels is slated to be back in the lineup, a big boon for Kansas as the Jayhawks play likely their hardest non-conference game against another Power 5 opponent.

Daniels was a major catalyst in the Jayhawks historic 5-0 start to the season last year, throwing for 983 yards and 11 touchdowns during the five-game stretch. He threw just one interception during the first five weeks of the season, also getting it done with his legs with 329 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

Kansas’ winning streak came to an end following his shoulder injury in Week 6, and even when he returned for the final three games of the season the Jayhawks couldn’t get back on track, going 0-3 to close out the year.

Despite this, Daniels did finish the season off on a personal high note with a stellar performance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl where he went for 37-of-55 passing for a school-record 544 yards and a Liberty Bowl record six total touchdowns in their overtime shootout loss to Arkansas.