KU coach Les Miles lauds freshman QB Daniels, but will he start Saturday against OSU?
Kansas football coach Les Miles praised freshman quarterback Jalon Daniels extensively Monday but stopped short of naming the 6-foot, 200-pound California native the Jayhawks’ starting signal-caller.
“I really liked him,” Miles said of Daniels, who completed 19 of 33 passes for 159 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in a 47-14 loss to Baylor on Saturday in Waco, Texas.
Daniels also ran the ball 14 times for 23 yards with a long run of 11 yards.
“He threw several balls that were as good of passes as I’ve seen in a long time,” Miles said, noting that Daniels is just 17. “I recognize the ability for him to move his feet and get on the perimeter. Imagine stepping into a big-time game with a bunch of guys trying to get you knocked down and push you to the ground.
“He was a tough guy, gave great leadership. I’m glad we have him,” Miles added on the weekly Big 12 coaches teleconference.
Daniels played from start to finish last Saturday, but that may or may not be the case this Saturday against Oklahoma State (2:30 p.m., Booth Memorial Stadium), Miles said.
“I’d be hard pressed to not let the (QB) competition continue,” Miles said, “considering we have an injured quarterback and a guy who is really kind of pressing. We enjoy Jalon’s performance, figure he’ll be getting better and we can play him. It just depends on the week of practice.”
Senior Thomas MacVittie, who did not play at Baylor, has an undisclosed injury that’s believed to involve his arm or shoulder. Junior Miles Kendrick basically split time with MacVittie in KU’s season-opening loss to Coastal Carolina. Daniels played the last series of that contest before playing the entire game at Baylor.
“We see him practicing this week,” Miles said of MacVittie.
Asked if he could envision playing both Daniels and MacVittie Saturday if MacVittie is indeed healthy, Miles said: “After a good practice week and something that benefited him, absolutely. I believe his shoulder will be fine.”
Daniels directed two touchdown drives against Baylor. He also had a sure TD pass dropped by Velton Gardner and barely overthrew Andrew Parchment for what would have been six points.
“Here’s what he has,” Miles said. “He has leadership. He is one of the team favorites. I just think we are on the right path with him, not only in what would be this Saturday but as we go forward, what his future would be like here. It would be very bright.”
Miles describes first road trip
Miles said he felt comfortable flying to Baylor with the team Friday and returning to Lawrence after the game.
“It was a (situation) where you couldn’t sit in your seat in the bus you normally sat in. You needed to space. You got into the plane and you felt a little bit more comfortable,” Miles said of the charter flight. “In the plane, there’s a sign that said, ‘Enjoy your breath.’ I felt really comfortable with the flying.”
He said KU “had eight buses (to transport the team to the airport and on the ground in Waco). That’s a lot of buses. You could take a grade school with you. The plane had every other seat (occupied). It was a good-size plane. We were in pretty good shape. We took a small number of participants. It was unusual..”
In all, 70 Jayhawks players made the trip to Waco. KU officials said there were six buses and one equipment truck for ground transportation. The teams played before 11,667 fans at McLane Stadium.
“The crowd was still a partial crowd,” Miles said. ”At some point in time the conference or NCAA or whomever will say, ‘Let’s fill ‘em up and see what it looks like for a couple games.’ I think all of that will describe this COVID-19 era that we are living in.”
KU will allow 10,000 fans into Memorial Stadium to watch Saturday’s game versus Oklahoma State.
John Hadl honored
Former Kansas football great John Hadl is the 2020 recipient of the Fred Ellsworth Medallion for his lifelong service to the University of Kansas, KU’s Alumni Association announced Monday.
The Fred Ellsworth Medallion is the Alumni Association’s “highest honor for extraordinary service to KU.”
The Association created the award in 1975 in tribute to longtime executive director Fred Ellsworth, a 1922 KU graduate who worked for KU 39 years before his retirement in 1963. Hadl was a longtime assistant athletic director at KU in charge of major fundraising gifts.
“John’s ability to make every Jayhawk he met feel welcome was such a gift,” said KU basketball coach Bill Self. “You would always leave John feeling better about KU and inspired to give back.”
Self credits Hadl for raising funds for facilities in the athletic department, including Anschutz Pavilion, Wagnon Student-Athlete Center, Ward Family Scholarship Suites, Booth Family Hall of Athletics, Anderson Family Strength Center and the Anderson Family Football Complex.
