How Cole Ballard is learning from Jalon Daniels, and approaching 2025 with Kansas football
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LAWRENCE — Cole Ballard made it clear this spring he’s not thinking much about potentially leading Kansas football’s quarterbacks room in 2026.
Ballard, a redshirt sophomore quarterback for the Jayhawks in 2025, noted he’s focused on helping the team be at its best this year. Worrying about next year, wasn’t how he was looking to spend his time. Whatever happens after the fall, he mentioned, will play out how it’s supposed to play out.
But while Ballard’s attention is on this year, and his role as a backup to redshirt senior quarterback Jalon Daniels, it’s not as if his efforts in 2025 won’t help him be in the best position possible for 2026. It’s not as if there aren’t things Ballard is trying to gain from being Daniels’ teammate, especially given this is set to be their last year at KU together. Ballard is taking advantage of another chance to learn from Daniels, as Ballard progresses in his own college career.
“Just his playmaking ability,” Ballard said about Daniels. “There are not a lot of people in this world that can do what he does and, I mean, me and (Isaiah Marshall) were watching film the other day and we were just like, I mean like, jaws on the floor, like some of the stuff he did last year. So, just being able to learn from that and extending the play.”
Ballard heads into the upcoming fall with game experience from each of the past two seasons, and especially so in 2023 when injuries at the position led to him even starting a game. This spring Ballard and other quarterbacks like Marshall, a redshirt freshman, were also able to get more reps, as Daniels was limited as he recovered from injury. It’s all experience that’ll serve him well this fall, when he envisions being Daniels’ biggest supporter, and in the future.
Spending another year backing up Daniels could lead one to think Ballard isn’t stepping up in much of a leadership role this season, but for some time he’s been someone whose leadership qualities have been praised — including by offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski. It’s something Ballard has been intentional about for years, dating back to even before he stepped on campus at KU. Combine that with the strides Zebrowski has seen Ballard make in his mobility and strength, among other things, and the potential for him to be a leading starter one day continues to grow.
This year, Ballard is also getting the opportunity to help be a guiding presence for a team that’s welcoming in numerous new players. He’s been able to develop chemistry with a group of new wide receivers that includes a trio of transfers in senior Emmanuel Henderson Jr. (Alabama), redshirt junior Cam Pickett (Ball State) and redshirt senior Levi Wentz (Albany), that he all considers to be playmakers in their own ways. It’s a little different for Ballard, knowing he’s viewed as an older member of the team now, but it’s just another step in the natural progression of a career.
“Last year I got made fun of for being the young guy and now I’m getting made fun of for being the old guy,” Ballard said. “So, it’s pretty funny.”
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Quarterback Cole Ballard's approach to 2025 with Kansas football
