LAWRENCE — Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels has been part of teams that have gone 0-9 to 9-4. But he’s never experienced a season quite like this.
When the season began, Daniels and the Jayhawks had lofty expectations of competing for a Big 12 title and playing in the college football playoff. Those goals, however, have been dashed by a four-game losing streak — one the Jayhawks hope to put to an end when they play Saturday night at Arizona State.
But for Daniels, his season has been marred by turnovers and inconsistent play — two things he takes full responsibility for. Last week against TCU, Daniels completed just 15 of 34 passes (although there were several drops by KU receivers) and KU let another lead in the second half slip away.
“That’s four consecutive games in a row that’s come down to the fourth quarter,” Daniels said. “And we’ve tried to put a big emphasis on finishing, and that’s something we haven’t been able to do. And I feel like a lot of that’s on me.
“I feel like I didn’t put my team in the best position, especially when it comes down to the last two drives. That’s something that I have to be better at.”
Daniels has thrown just five touchdowns and leads the Big 12 with eight interceptions. He also hasn’t thrown for 200 yards in a game this season.
Daniels missed all but three games last season with a back injury and he was still somewhat limited through much of camp, so he didn’t get the reps with his receivers like he wanted, and it has shown at times this season. Stil, there have been other times where they are in synch, and it looks like the Daniels of past seasons.
“You see flashes,” Daniels said. “You see it. It’s not like we’re completely far off and to see the progression that has been made over the course of the season so far is something we take pride in. it’s just we have to keep working at week by week and day by day.”
Daniels is also still getting used to a few new offensive lineman and first-year offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes. While the Jayhawks have struggled some throwing the ball, they’ve had success running the ball with Devin Neal (513 yards, 6.0 avg., 4 TDs) and Daniel Hishaw (262 yards, 6.9 avg., 3 TDs).
Even so, Grimes said everyone must do more to get KU back in the win column.
“We need everybody,” Grimes said. “We need every player that we have on the field, and we need everybody to play better.”
That includes Daniels, who said he doesn’t lack confidence in himself or his teammates. He said they just have to trust in each other and find a way to win.
“You can’t define yourself as a player or as a team with a win or a loss,” Daniels said. “I feel like whether we won or lost we’re going to keep on coming in the next week with the same mentality that we’ve got to keep going. I don’t think a win or loss changes how we go about through the process.”
