Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels misses practice on Monday due to back injury
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels, who missed KU’s season-opener against Missouri State and Saturday’s game against Texas due to a back injury, did not practice on Monday.
Coach Lance Leipold provided an update on Daniels’ status.
“Jalon did not practice today,” Leipold said. “He’s still working with the trainers and doctors.”
When asked about his level of concern, Leipold, who downplayed the severity of Daniels’ back ailment at times during preseason camp, said there is some level of concern with the Jayhawks’ starting quarterback missing the first day of prep for UCF.
“It’s a day-to-day situation right now according to the staff, and we’ll see where that goes,” he said. “I know he’s working at it. He and I had multiple conversations yesterday and today already. And (we’ll) see where it takes us.”
Leipold said after the Jayhawks’ 40-14 loss to Texas last Saturday that Daniels re-aggravated his back injury in the pregame walkthrough at the team hotel.
“I was not aware of it bothering him to this extent until we got here (to the stadium),” Leipold said on Saturday. “Our medical staff tried to do different things to try to help him. We thought maybe we could get him out there after the game had started, and it just didn’t happen.”
In Daniels’ absence, backup quarterback Jason Bean earned the start. He finished 9-of-21 passing for 136 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Bean said he learned he was starting around 30 to 45 minutes before kickoff.
“It’s tough, really tough,” Bean said. “It’s just sometimes how life goes, and you’ve got to be ready to execute. ... There are a couple of plays I’d like to have back today.”
Daniels’ back injury has been an ongoing issue this season. It was first reported during fall camp after Daniels did not participate during an early-August practice. In subsequent days, Leipold stated that Daniels was limited at practice, as the Jayhawks (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) treated the injury with plenty of caution.
“We are giving him as much work as we can in many different ways,” Leipold said near the end of fall camp. “He’s been getting work and he’s been doing things. ...
“Unfortunately for him, it is something that he’s gone through a little bit before, getting mental reps and doing things (with) where he’s at. But I think we are in a really good spot.”
Still, Leipold quickly shut down any concerns of shutting down Daniels for the season.
“Not at all,” Leipold said Monday. “That’s never been brought up.”
This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 12:21 PM with the headline "Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels misses practice on Monday due to back injury."
