How Jalon Daniels became the face of Kansas football: ‘Nobody knew who this kid was’

Jalon Daniels kept looking back to the crowd, but he couldn’t find what he was looking for.

It was the biggest game of his life — the 2022 Liberty Bowl against Arkansas at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium — but the Kansas quarterback was most concerned about the absence of his family; they weren’t sitting in their usual spot behind the KU sideline. They hadn’t missed any of the games he’d started in his collegiate career.

That Wednesday afternoon, there were supposed to be more than 20 members of his entourage present, but he couldn’t find one.

He thought, Man, I don’t see them. Where are they?

On the field, Daniels struggled. He came into the game having thrown just two interceptions in 175 pass attempts but tossed two in his first 14 tries. Daniels was in his head and didn’t have a familiar face to help ground him, or so he thought.

His two most fervent supporters — his stepfather Tyrone Dubois-Daniels and mother Starkey — were sitting in the south end zone instead of their usual seats, having barely made kickoff after a nightmare travel day.

The Jayhawks’ game was set for Wednesday, Dec. 28. Daniels’ family had planned to fly out the morning of, with more than enough time to make the 4:30 p.m. Central start.

Their initial flight, out of Los Angeles, was canceled due to inclement weather. They found plane tickets out of Las Vegas, a four-hour drive from Los Angeles, that would get them as close as St. Louis. Even with a 6 a.m. flight departure, it was their best option — but then traffic hit a complete standstill as they approached the Vegas airport.

At one point, Tyrone put his head on the steering wheel and prayed they would make their flight.

Not one minute later, at around 5:15 a.m., a police officer tapped on his window and cleared a lane for Tyrone to drive.

The Daniels family just made the flight — but still had a four-and-a-half hour drive in the snow from St. Louis to Memphis. Thankfully, they arrived just in time for kickoff.

By halftime, KU was down 31-13. Tyrone spotted Jalon’s former roommate, KU long-snapper Luke Hosford. He asked Hosford to relay a message to his stepson.

“Tell Jalon that his parents said to calm down and have fun.”

It was all Jalon needed to hear. He came out of the KU locker room with a renewed focus. He threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, taking Kansas into three overtimes in a record-setting 55-53 loss.

It wasn’t the outcome he wanted, but Daniels’ performance mirrored his perseverance from earlier in the season, when he faced a shoulder injury, and long before it. That same confidence has propelled Daniels into the player he is today. It also helps that his family has had his back since day one.

“He has a village that’s there through thick and thin and through whatever he needs — his support system,” Tyrone said. “That type of stability is, I believe, what’s contributed to him (being) as successful as he has.”

In 2022, that success manifested itself as a 5-0 start to the season for Kansas (6-7, 3-6 Big 12), the Jayhawks’ first bowl appearance in 14 years, early Heisman buzz and a second-team All-Big 12 selection.

Now, Daniels, the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in the Big 12, finds himself as the face of the Jayhawks’ program.

“Being able to represent KU football, I represent my family,” Daniels said. “I’m a representation of KU football, but I’m also a representation of the Daniels family and my mother.

“So I wouldn’t do anything to put KU in jeopardy, as I wouldn’t want to do anything to put my mother and how she raised her child in jeopardy.”

How was he raised? Not as a quarterback, for starters.

‘A small fish in a very big pond’

It was 2007, and Jalon Daniels, age 5, was tired of playing left tackle — yes, left tackle. He was the guy protecting the quarterback’s blindside, not the one tasked with organizing the offense, carving up defenses and, much, much later, electrifying crowds with his dual-threat ability.

So he devised a plan: Throw the football as hard as possible to his coach every time a play stopped.

He was determined to be his team’s quarterback.

Daniels spent the next two weeks slinging the ball to his coach, and the plan eventually worked. He was named the starting quarterback by his team’s third game.

The following year, Daniels started playing tackle football for Lawndale’s South Bay Packers and took over as the team’s starter. He eventually fell in love with the game

Daniels always knew he wanted to be different. He was the only football player in a basketball family. He quit hoops in grade school and gave up baseball in high school.

In high school, Daniels faced an uphill battle on Narbonne’s depth chart. He was behind Jaylen Henderson, who transferred to Texas A&M this offseason, and Kyle Williams, now a receiver at Washington State. Jake Garcia, a former four-star recruit who originally chose Miami for college, also transferred to Narbonne.

It was a loaded quarterbacks room.

“There were 35-40 guys who went to Division I and maybe 30 who went to Power-Five schools,” Daniels said. “I was a small fish in a very big pond.”

He knew it was time to leave when the coaches put him on the freshman team ... as a sophomore.

So before his junior year, he met with the coaches at Lawndale, which had gone 12-0 and lost in the first round of the playoffs the year before. Lawndale’s head coach, Travis Clark, asked Daniels who he modeled his game after. A die-hard Green Bay Packers fan (just like his future coach at KU), Daniels calmly responded, “Aaron Rodgers.”

Clark laughed. There wasn’t much Rodgers in Daniels’ game back then.

“Don’t get me wrong — right away, you could see he had a cannon of an arm,” Clark says now. “He could throw the ball 70 yards out of the womb. However, he also had this talent with his legs. His body was built so strong — he was 190 pounds as an underclassman.

“I told him, ‘You’re closer to Michael Vick, buddy. Just not as fast.’”

Clark told Daniels that his speed and dual-threat ability would take Lawndale to the next level. That skill, coupled with his personality, also helped him gain the respect of his teammates.

“Jalon is a natural-born leader,” Clark says. “He’s like a magnet to his teammates. ... He’s one of those guys where everybody is kind of just glued to him because he has this personality that he exudes on the football field. He’s a very intelligent young man. He’s a hard worker. He’s very focused.”

In his first season, Daniels led Lawndale to a 14-2 record and the state championship. He threw for 2,351 yards and 26 touchdowns and rushed for 940 yards and 10 more touchdowns.

Still, top colleges were silent. He didn’t receive a single offer for months. His future as a college QB was in doubt until quarterback guru Sam Fisher worked his magic.

“There’s no story of Jalon Daniels,” Tyrone Dubois-Daniels said, “without Sam Fisher.”

‘A real diamond in the rough’

In April 2018, Daniels was ready to show the nation he was a top-tier quarterback. His first workout with trainer Sam Fisher was his chance to do so.

Fisher had been training quarterbacks in Los Angeles for six years, but he hadn’t heard of Daniels until the young QB contacted him a week before the workout.

In a field littered with elite California quarterbacks, Daniels was the unknown. He was rated as the No. 2,305-ranked recruit in the class of 2020 by one service and an eventual two-star by Rivals.com. The Lawndale native knew he’d have to be extraordinary to stand out.

He did it the only way he knew — by flicking his wrist and throwing the football 60-plus yards downfield. He eventually ripped a 70-yard throw on his 10th pass attempt.

“Immediately, I was watching the ball come out of his hand and I’m like— I had to watch it a second time, a third time,” Fisher said. “I was like, this kid’s legit. He starts throwing the ball around. He’s so natural and effortless.”

By the end of the session, Fisher knew Daniels was special.

“Nobody knew who this kid was,” Fisher says. “He was a real diamond in the rough.”

After that, Daniels trained with Fisher every Sunday. The pair focused on improving Daniels’ consistency and accuracy on his throws — Fisher wanted to make sure Daniels played college football.

He talked up Daniels to everyone who would listen: recruiters, coaches and friends in the industry. He was the first person outside of Daniels’ family who knew Daniels had what it takes to be a college football star.

Thanks to Fisher, Daniels worked out for multiple schools, including last season’s champs, the Georgia Bulldogs, and even his hometown UCLA Bruins. Neither gave him an offer.

“UCLA head coach Chip Kelly was like, ‘Nah, I just don’t think you’re a quarterback,’” Tyrone Dubois-Daniels said. Kelly later admitted he didn’t know how he let Daniels get away, Tyrone recalled.

The young QB would occasionally talk with Brett Dearmon, an up-and-coming member of the KU football staff. Dearmon, a former quarterback and analytics whiz, fell in love with Daniels’ game as soon as he saw his numbers.

There was just one problem: Dearmon “didn’t have any power to get me an offer,” Daniels said, “and wasn’t able to get me to Kansas at all.”

So Daniels made peace with the thought of playing for a program outside the Power Five. He had only a handful of offers and was prepared to sign with Middle Tennessee.

But weeks before Daniels verbally committed to the Blue Raiders, in October 2019, Dearmon was promoted to offensive coordinator for the Jayhawks. That Saturday, in Dearmon’s debut, Kansas scored 48 points in a 50-48 loss at Texas.

That game left a lasting impression on Daniels and planted the seed for his future decision.

“That’s when I started to think I want to be somebody who’s able to help turn the program around,” Daniels said. “I wanted to go out there and show Kansas what this California kid has.”

Dearmon had to act fast with early signing day approaching, so he convinced Kansas coach Les Miles to travel to Lawndale to watch Daniels play. Shortly after, KU offered Daniels a spot on the team.

“I got home Sunday, prayed about it, and I just kept thinking about it. My mom and dad were like, ‘Go sleep on it,’” Daniels recalled. “Monday came and I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to go to Kansas.’ I’d never been — I’d never been to the Midwest before.”

It was a tough decision. Daniels says the call to Middle Tennessee to de-commit was heartbreaking. But he remembered a saying he’d learned from his godfather: “If you want to be the best, you have to play the best.”

A reality check in Lawrence

Daniels has always hated losing. The most games he’d lost in any season before arriving at KU? Three.

Going to KU was a reality check. Prior to his arrival, Kansas had won a total of seven games over three years. He arrived on campus in June, delayed by three months because of the pandemic.

Daniels was the third-string quarterback to begin his freshman season in 2020. He got into the first game in garbage time, after one of the quarterbacks above him on the depth chart, starter Thomas MacVittie, went down with an injury.

In that game, the 17-year-old Daniels spelled veteran QB Miles Kendrick, who had replaced MacVittie, and went 1 for 2 for 13 yards. But with MacVittie out of the picture, the KU coaches gave Daniels a chance to start the next week at Baylor, and he ended up starting six games his freshman year.

KU went 0-9 and it was clear the team’s culture needed an overhaul. There was talent on the roster, mainly in the form of freshmen brought in by the Miles’ staff — many of the same players who would reach a bowl game two years later.

But they were young and inexperienced.

“When I got here, the bare minimum was being able to compete in a game,” Daniels said. “It’s not about winning. It’s about being able to keep the score close.”

Daniels finished the year with 718 passing yards and one passing touchdown. He completed 50% of his attempts. In week seven, he was constantly under fire during a 62-9 loss to Oklahoma. He was sacked nine times, the last knocking him out of the game.

“Going into Norman, Oklahoma, and watching Jalon literally run for his life as those boys — Division I and NFL guys — literally sacked him nine times,” Tyrone said. “Our baby boy is on the field with 22- and 23-year-old (guys) just hurting. It was so hard to watch.”

The losses taught Daniels that some things needed to change.

“We’re a Power Five football team,” he said. “We shouldn’t be having close games with FCS schools. We shouldn’t be having these close games with teams that are not Power Five.

“We needed to be able to elevate our standards.”

After their 0-9 season, the Jayhawks had a busy offseason.

First, Dearmon took an offensive coordinator job at Middle Tennessee. Then KU reached a separation agreement with Miles after harassment allegations emerged from his tenure with LSU.

KU hired coach Lance Leipold in hopes that he could restore the winning ways the Jayhawks experienced under Mark Mangino. Some Miles additions, including defensive linemen Marcus Harris (Auburn) and Da’Jon Terry (Tennessee) and freshman All-America cornerback Karon Prunty (South Carolina), left the program.

Daniels says the thought of leaving never crossed his mind. Instead, he did everything he could to prevent the 25 other true freshmen who played from transferring.

‘I felt like I belonged ... in the Big 12’

At fall camp the next year, Daniels was in a quarterback competition with North Texas transfer Jason Bean and returner Miles Kendrick.

“I was just thinking, ‘Win the job,’” Daniels said. “I mean, we had just gotten Bean from North Texas. You see this guy throwing darts all over the field. You looked at his highlights. Before he got here, he had more highlights than me.”

Daniels had a tired arm late in camp, so he didn’t get to showcase himself much. When the season rolled around, the KU coaching staff wanted to redshirt him. He trusted their judgment, but Kansas started 1-7 under Bean, winning only an FCS game.

Daniels struggled to watch from the sidelines but did anything he could to help Bean, all while hoping he might get a chance to step in.

“He was on the sideline watching his teammates’ morale literally diminish game after game,” Tyrone said. “He’s watching this guy out there and nothing is working. He sees himself from freshman year.”

Tyrone said Daniels wondered what he was doing wrong to not get a chance. Internally, it bothered Daniels that he couldn’t help his team on the field.

A few days before Kansas played rival K-State in early November, the coaching staff affirmed Daniels would redshirt. After KU’s dismal start, Daniels had been holding out hope he would get his chance to prove himself.

He was distraught. He FaceTimed his parents in a completely dark room and told them about the situation.

I don’t know what I’m going to do, Tyrone recalled Daniels saying.

It’s the only time Daniels ever felt unsure about his future at KU.

Then, when Daniels needed a sign to stay the course, he got one. In KU’s 35-10 loss to K-State, both Bean and Kendrick suffered injuries and Daniels finished out the game.

The next week, against Texas, Daniels totaled 247 yards, four touchdowns (three passing) and no interceptions. The Jayhawks (2-8) beat the Longhorns 57-56, with Daniels finding walk-on Jared Casey for the winning two-point score in overtime — arguably the most famous KU football play of the last decade-plus.

Going into the Texas game, Daniels still believed he’d be redshirting, which meant the starting job would revert to Bean or Kendrick. The Texas game was Daniels’ fourth of the season, meaning if he played another snap, his redshirt would be burned.

“I’m going to go into this game and win this game,” Daniels recalled thinking. “(Then I’m) going to redshirt and go into the next season and do what we have to do.”

After the game, Leipold surprised Daniels with a choice — whether he wanted to keep playing or shut it down. It wasn’t a hard decision. After all, Daniels simply wanted an opportunity.

“Playing as a starting quarterback against Baylor freshman year, I felt like I belonged to be in the Big 12,” Daniels said. “I always knew that I was going to be able to do (it). I just needed to grow myself into the quarterback that I am today.”

‘Personality and perseverance’

Daniels took the lessons from his first two seasons and had a special start to 2022.

Kansas won its first five games and he was considered a Heisman contender. For the first time, ESPN’s College GameDay traveled to Lawrence for a football matchup, one that was fateful for Daniels for another reason.

Daniels injured his shoulder in Kansas’ 38-31 loss to eventual national-title runner-up TCU. He missed four games, but he returned in KU’s 55-14 loss to Texas. Eventually, Kansas’ season ended with a loss in the Liberty Bowl. Daniels went 5-4 as a starter.

That offseason, rumors circulated that Daniels might transfer from KU to a college located closer to home in California. So he partnered with Adidas to officially announce that, well, there was no announcement.

He was staying at Kansas.

“Why would I give up something we started and put so much work and effort into?” Daniels said. “I wouldn’t want to restart and jeopardize the work we’ve put years into. You don’t hop out of a nice little Toyota you’ve had for two or three years to drive a Porsche for one week. That’s not how that works.”

And those two or three years — both the good and bad — have made Daniels the player he is today.

“To understand how young he was when he came here, got thrown into the fire and sacked a bunch,” KU coach Leipold said. “A lot of guys never recover from that. ... His personality and perseverance are really neat.”

Leipold praised Daniels for being an academic all-American as well as his growth as a football player.

“For him to balance all that,” Leipold said, “and kind of going through the ups and downs with the injury, I think he’s a special person, not just a special player.”

Daniels is certainly a different player than the high school kid who used to be so hard on himself after a mistake. Clark had made Daniels promise to work on that before leaving for KU in August 2020.

Perhaps, thats why Daniels is always smiling.

“I told him, ‘Jalon, I don’t care what you do when you get to Kansas, but the only thing I want you to do is not get down on yourself,’” Clark said. “’And if you are down on yourself, I don’t want the public to know it. I don’t want your teammates to know it and your coaches to know it, so don’t drop your head.’”

For that, Daniels isn’t letting anyone or anything get him down, even as the Jayhawks are picked ninth in the preseason Big 12 media poll.

“Let them have their opinion,” Daniels said. “It doesn’t matter to us. Honestly, the only opinion that matters to us is our opinion. They are not the ones putting in the work inside these doors. They’re not the ones coming in every single day.

“Their opinion, whether positive or negative, we can’t let that affect how we’re going about things.”