Kansas QB Jalon Daniels Breaks Down Jayhawks’ Win vs. West Virginia

Jalon Daniels threw three touchdowns, Emmanuel Henderson broke loose for a 94-yard kickoff return, and Leshon Williams added 168 yards with two scores as Kansas rolled past West Virginia 41-10 in their Big 12 opener.

The Jayhawks set the tone early and never let up, delivering their most complete performance of the season to move to 3-1.

He got Kansas on the board early with a 41-yard strike to Levi Wentz after the defense forced a three-and-out, then later connected with Boden Groen for a 7-yard score in the third quarter.

But the moment that turned heads came when Daniels absorbed a violent targeting hit from Mountaineers safety Fred Perry.

Flags were flying after this MASSIVE hit on @KU_Football's Jalon Daniels 😬 pic.twitter.com/n2ZlmMPrIE
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 20, 2025

"Yeah. I mean, you know, I'm not going to lie, it was kind of crazy, because, like at first you see me react like dang, where's the flag? And then I'm like, oh no, I actually did feel this. Hold on. Let me turn it back over,” Daniels said.

“But, you know, it hurt, but the end that's the game of football. I was able to pack pop back up, be able to finish the game. So, that's what I love.”

Along with Daniels going off, running back Leshon Williams had a career game, finishing with 19 carries for 129 yards with both a rushing and receiving TD.

“I mean, to be able to see him grab a touchdown and also be able to run a touchdown, those are things that you love to see out of your running back because it shows the versatility that our running back room has,” Daniels said.

“And uh if we're talking about his last run, you see how many people he may miss. You know, he doesn't really go down easily.”

The Jayhawks out rushed West Virginia 242-82 and forced the game’s only two turnovers. By the end of the third quarter, Kansas had nearly as many return yards (199) as the Mountaineers had total yards (227).

At the end of the day, we know what we have to do. Everybody works hard to be able to make sure they're preparing like they're the ones starting,” Daniels said.

“Oh, very important. I mean, you know, first of all, we always go in with a One-and-0 mentality, everything that we do. At the end of the day, you know, we got the chance to be able to win tonight, but we know going in the next week, we're going to go in with another one. No mentality.”

The Jayhawks will stay home next week to host Cincinnati in their second conference game.