Kansas HC Lance Leipold Remains Noncommittal on Isaiah Marshall’s Status vs. UCF

Many Kansas football fans are checked out with the state of the program after another grueling loss last week to TCU. However, the Jayhawks still have one-third of the campaign to go sitting at 3-5.

In KU's most recent defeat, quarterback Isaiah Marshall was inactive for the first time this year due to a lower-leg injury. In his place, backup Cole Ballard returned to action after dealing with a shoulder ailment of his own.

For the Jayhawks to realistically stay in the race for bowl eligibility this Saturday against UCF, they very much need Marshall to return under center. However, it remains far from a sure thing that the redshirt sophomore makes his way back to the field over the weekend. Head coach Lance Leipold remained noncommittal on his quarterback choice during his weekly press conference today.

"Too early to tell right now," Leipold responded when he was asked who would start. "He moved around better last night than he did a week ago. His health will be something that we'll monitor through the week. The unfortunate part about doing [press conferences] on Monday is that I can't give you a ton of answers on those things yet."

Marshall has been banged up since the start of the year, which isn't surprising given his lean frame and how involved he is in the rushing attack. Still, there was no indication that his status for the TCU contest was in jeopardy until he popped up on the injury report three days before kickoff. He was then downgraded to questionable and ultimately was held out for precautionary reasons as a game-time decision.

As a result, Ballard got his first start since the 2023 campaign and was cruising along until the second half. His final line of 285 passing yards and a touchdown was respectable, but an ill-advised third-quarter throw on fourth down, which was returned for a pick-6, proved to be the difference-maker down the stretch.

By no means is Marshall a perfect quarterback, as he has endured his fair share of growing pains as well. That does not mean he isn't a substantially better option as the team's signal-caller, though. His mobility and elusiveness outside the pocket open up the run game and help unlock Kansas' receivers downfield.

Marshall's availability for the next contest appears to be a toss-up. It goes without saying that not having him for a second consecutive game would be disastrous for an already injury-riddled Jayhawk unit.

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