Back at Kansas for sixth year, a healthy Jalon Daniels eyes Jayhawks' first Big 12 championship

Jalon Daniels had no plans to use his sixth year of eligibility elsewhere.

Two waivers -- one from the COVID-19 pandemic and another from one of his numerous injuries -- opened the door for a return to Kansas for the 2025 season. Daniels announced last December that he would give it another go with the Jayhawks, shutting down any concern that the finally healthy quarterback would take his dual-threat talents elsewhere through the transfer portal.

As one of the Big 12's top signal callers, Daniels would have likely commanded numerous suitors on the transfer market. Instead, he focused his sights on the Jayhawks' first conference title and the trip to the College Football Playoff that comes with it.

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"It's all about finishing where you started," Daniels told CBS Sports. "I went to multiple high schools. I went to multiple middle schools. Kansas gave me a chance when no other Power Five school in the nation gave me a chance, and I feel like that has a big part to do with it."

Daniels lamented the speculation that swirled at the end of the last few seasons surrounding his future with the program. It comes with the territory in college football's quasi-free agency era, but it also placed unnecessary pressure on Daniels himself and sparked whispers in the locker room.

Are you really gonna leave? Is this really gonna happen?

Those are the questions Daniels had to shut down -- at a critical time of season, no less -- when his teammates heard the unfounded murmurs of a potential exit.

"Every single year around November, December: 'Jalon Daniels is supposed to go here. Jalon Daniels is about to hit the portal. Jalon Daniels is going to do this.' I'm just like, every single year that this rumor has been brought up, it's been shot down every single time," Daniels said. "So why do we keep bringing up the rumor?"

Daniels saw Kansas at its lowest, and four years later, he took the dormant program to rare levels of success. The Jayhawks went winless in his freshman season, bringing to an end a failed two-year tenure for coach Les Miles. In came Lance Leipold, and Daniels exploded onto the scene late in his first campaign under new leadership. The program added to its win total three years in a row, all the way to a nine-win breakthrough in 2023.

While Kansas' climb to success was a linear one, Daniels' individual road was far from straight. He missed time with a shoulder injury in 2022, battled a nagging back ailment to miss all but three games in 2023 and underwent a knee procedure ahead of last season.

"My Kansas journey has kind of been just like my life; it's come with a lot of ups and downs, and it hasn't been easy at all," Daniels said. "When I felt like I've been performing at my greatest, trials and tribulations such as injuries have come about. It's always just been about being able to bounce back from it."

Last year marked the first time Daniels played an entire regular season. An offensive coordinator change precipitated a dip in offensive production, and the team fell far short of dark-horse Big 12 title expectations as a result. The Jayhawks found their identity in the second half of the season and salvaged five wins while, importantly, keeping their quarterback at full strength. Despite the losing record, they now have momentum again.

"This sixth year is about being able to put it all together," said Daniels. "Being able to play every single game but also being able to play to the best of my abilities, as well."

Kansas slogged through one of the longest conference championship droughts in Power Four football. It has not won a title in the Big 12 era and last stood atop the standings in 1968. There has never been a better time to strike than now, though, with the Big 12 being more wide open than any other conference, and by a wide margin. Kansas has +1500 odds to hoist the trophy, narrowly behind the seven contenders that stand in front of it on the FanDuel Sportsbook board.

Make history, and the Jayhawks will be College Football Playoff bound. With Daniels back under center and fresh off a strong conclusion to his first healthy season, that looks as realistic as ever.

"At the end of the day, the University of Kansas Jayhawks have never won a Big 12 championship, so that's always gonna be at the forefront of my head," said Daniels. "Team success means individual success, and whatever comes with that team success, I'm ready for it."

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