Les Miles, Kansas players noticing growth from Jalon Daniels - 247Sports
Playing the quarterback position is far from easy. It doesn’t make it any easier when you’re a true freshman starting in the Big 12.
In all-but two of KU football’s games this season — when Thomas MacVittie and Miles Kendrick earned starts — that’s exactly what Jalon Daniels has been asked to do. Since he’s been given the keys to the offense, Daniels has completed 51.9 percent of his passes, rushed for three touchdowns and thrown four interceptions. His head coach, Les Miles, says he’s seen tons of growth in Daniels’ throwing ability since his first start.
“I think he’s improved significantly in his ability to read a secondary and throw it in the right spot,” Miles said. “There’s still some things that he can learn. Brent Dearmon is going to be that kind of guy that is meticulous in his desire to coach and get this guy exactly right. I think that’s happening.”
One of Daniels' top targets, Kwamie Lassiter II, piggybacked on that statement.
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“He’s starting to learn a lot about defenses and how they can disguise on this level,” Lassiter said. “I’m sure he wasn’t used to that at the high school level. But now, he’s seen a lot of disguising and that's something he had to get better at from the first game to now. I think he’s improved.”
Daniels also has had to deal with taking hits from bigger college players. Daniels has been knocked out of three games this year, including in the last contest at Oklahoma on the ninth sack he took that day. However, according to Miles, Daniels should be ready to go moving forward.
"He practiced," Miles said on Wednesday's Hawk Talk radio show. "He doesn't have a tight ankle. He's really ready to play."
Let's talk about his play.
Daniels hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in 139 passing attempts. However, there’s a glaring reason as to why that stat has eluded him. Daniels has been sacked 25 times in five games — an average of five times per game. The Jayhawks’ offensive line has allowed a league worst 38 sacks in seven games.
Mason Fairchild, who is partially responsible for blocking as a tight end, is confident the pass protection will be much improved moving forward.
“Our intensity and our physicality off the ball, as well as protecting the quarterback — I feel like that has gotten tremendously better over this bye week,” Fairchild said on Monday. “I think it’ll show.”
Injuries have also been a factor for the young quarterback, but that hasn't stopped others on the team from seeing his growth.
Safety Nate Betts and cornerback Elijah Jones are two players that have to defend Daniels in practice. Both spoke to the difficulty of defending the dual-threat quarterback.
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“He’s a young guy, but he’s ready,” Betts said. “When he catches a vibe, he’s ready to bring the energy. When he gets it going, it’s going.”
Jones couldn’t contain a smile when describing Daniels’ play style. When asked if he focuses on Daniels' throwing or running abilities when defending, Jones said he focuses on both.
“[Daniels] is a good player,” Jones said. “He’s got a good arm, too. ... You've got to make sure you’re covering the receiver or he’s going to put it on a dot.”
2020-11-20 11:26:47Z
https://247sports.com/college/kansas/Article/Les-Miles-Kansas-football-players-noticing-growth-from-Jalon-Daniels-154943525/
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