Kansas Football: Lance Leipold Gives Update On QB Battle

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The Kansas Football season opener is officially two weeks away.

The Jayhawks will open the season at home against LIU — a game that seems like a nice tune up for a new starting quarterback.

The question is, who will that starting quarterback be?

Head coach Lance Leipold has yet to name a starter to this point of training camp. He recently gave an update on the ongoing QB battle and by the sound of it, he might not be close to a decision.

“We’re still in a very, very competitive quarterback battle right now,” Leipold said during a press conference. “Both continue to do a lot of good things. We’re looking for, again, as I’ve said before, the one that’s going to be the most consistent and give us the best chance to win games.”

The battle is between redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall and redshirt junior Cole Ballard. Marshall attempted three passes last year, completing all of them for 28 yards. Ballard has 64 career pass attempts, completing 35 of them for 445 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Experience favors Ballard but neither has been on the field consistently.

Leipold also highlighted Rice transfer Chase Jenkins for his performance during camp. In 2025, Jenkins completed 69.2% of his passes for the Owls. He totaled 1,025 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He added 531 rushing yards with five touchdowns.

“I thought Chase Jenkins has had some of his better practices of late, and you can tell that he’s made up for some of the missed time,” Leipold said. “Feeling comfortable as well, so I’m pleased with him.”

Leipold continues to study the quarterback battle along with new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. Kansas is not required to name a starting quarterback until the start of game week so it will be interesting to see if they make it known to the public beforehand.

“Are we anywhere near naming one? That hasn’t been decided,” Leipold said.

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