What Jalon Daniels Said After His Final Game at Kansas

Jalon Daniels officially wrapped up his collegiate career on Friday when the Kansas football team lost to Utah.

It was hardly his best performance, as he completed just 10 of 27 pass attempts for 187 yards. He threw three interceptions to the Utes' defense, including a pick-6 in the red zone that ultimately eliminated any chance of a KU victory.

The longtime signal-caller has been in Lawrence for six years and did a lot of great things for the program. After the game, he spoke to the media for his final press conference as a Jayhawk.

"I try to be the best teammate that I can be," Daniels said. "If I’m on the field or if I’m not on the field at the end of the day, I’m going to bring that energy every single day because, like, I keep telling you all again, can’t take this game for granted. You never know when your last snaps are going to be."

"I don’t give a damn about my stats personally," Daniels said. "I don’t care what they look like as long as the stat that counts is the win. And when my stats are the reason why I feel as if we’re losing, that leaves me heartbroken. Especially when that’s the game that we need to be able to become bowl eligible."

Nov 23, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels (6) gets set to take the field during the 1st quarter between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Colorado Buffaloes at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images | Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

Daniels talked about his journey at the university, which started when he committed to Les Miles' staff several years ago.

"Coming in at 17 as a teenager and leaving at 23, you know, there’s a lot of growth in between there," Daniels reflected. "There’s a lot of people in that locker room who have helped me become the person I am today. No matter what’s going wrong in life, they continue to keep uplifting me, continue to keep letting me know that, you know, I’m somebody that they love and somebody that they continue to want to be with, no matter what happens on the field."

Finally, Daniels talked about a moment he shared with his potential successor, Isaiah Marshall.

"Zeke came up to me after the game and just said that there’s a lot of things that he looked up to me on, a lot of things that I was able to teach him in my time that we both been here together," Daniels said. "And it’s things like that mean so much to me because I was able to see the emotion in his face. I was able to see the emotion and a lot of my teammates face and it’s things like that continue to make me feel that I need to continue to keep, not only getting better as an athlete, of course, but also as a man."

All quotes transcribed from On3.