The Biggest Question QB Isaiah Marshall Must Answer for Kansas Football

Isaiah Marshall was named the Kansas football starting quarterback for the 2026 season, much to the surprise of Jayhawk fans. Despite Cole Ballard's emergence as a clear favorite for the QB1 role, Marshall's strong fall camp positioned him to get the ball in the opener against Long Island.

Entering his redshirt sophomore year, Marshall doesn't have much game experience since his high school playing days. As a senior at Southfield A&T in Michigan, he guided his team to a Michigan Division 1 state championship, defeating No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood and Belleville along the way.

Although Marshall and Ballard were in a tight battle for the starting job, both signal-callers possess extremely different skill sets from one another. Marshall excels in a dual-threat role in the option game, while Ballard is more of a field general who throws checkdowns and keeps the offense moving with chunk plays.

Everyone knows what Marshall can do with his legs as a runner. The biggest question is whether he can consistently make enough plays with his arm to keep KU's offense from becoming one-dimensional.

Can Isaiah Marshall Prove He Can Beat Defenses With His Arm?

We don't necessarily know Ballard is good enough with his arm either, considering it's been over three years since he started a game and he didn't look very poised then. Still, there are plenty of questions about Marshall's throwing ability.

Marshall completed all three of his passes in 2025, each of which came against FCS opponent Wagner. He didn't attempt another pass the rest of the season, so he clearly has something to prove in the aerial attack.

Andy Kotelnicki is back to draw up play calls for the Jayhawks, and he'll have plenty of creative ways to utilize Marshall's legs, from funky formations to option concepts. But if Marshall can't show early on that he can be trusted to make throws from the pocket, opposing defenses will eventually start committing to the run, which will in turn hurt KU tailbacks Dylan Edwards and Yasin Willis.

In limited action last year, Marshall averaged over 10 yards per carry, showing how elusive and dangerous he can be outside of the pocket. However, he was primarily used in specific packages or toward the end of games when the score was out of reach.

The good news is that Marshall doesn't need to be as effective as Ballard in the passing game to make an impact. His ability to run the ball should open things up for him as a passer, since opponents will have to worry about him beating them on the ground. The Jayhawks also have a big-time target in Buffalo transfer Nik McMillan, along with returning slot receiver Cam Pickett, who should make Marshall's job a whole lot easier after the catch.

By no means are we saying that Marshall can't be an above-average passer ― the fact that he's only thrown three career passes isn't enough to make that judgment. His first few games should tell us a lot about where he stands as a quarterback and whether he can make defenses pay when they take away his biggest strength.

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