How Scott Frost Is Preparing For Kansas' Jalon Daniels-led Offense
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Two years ago, due to an injury, the UCF Knights avoided Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels when they faced the Jayhawks in 2023. Not this time.
UCF coach Scott Frost highlighted Daniels' "big arm" during his weekly radio interview on 96.9 The Game, but, to him, it was not the most dangerous way the quarterback could make a defense pay. He could also make plays with his legs, and he's done it often enough that he leads the team with 40 carries.
"They do a great job on offense, but the most dangerous part of it is when he's extending plays and can make something happen laying it down," Frost said. "Our rush lanes need to be good. We need to try to trap him in there, and we're gonna have to cover for longer than usual."
The redshirt senior has been a presence in Lawrence since 2020. Injuries kept him off the field for a time, but he has not missed a single game since the 2024 season began, and five games into this season, he has already surpassed his passing touchdown total for all of last season. This weekend, he's coming off his best passing performance of the season thus far, a 445-yard passing performance against Cincinnati.
Many of those yards came from a couple of big plays from wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr., a transfer out of Alabama who leads the Jayhawks with 23 receptions and 435 yards so far this season. Though even taking away his 214 yards against Cincinnati, he would still lead the team by 50 yards.
Frost noted Kansas' job bringing receivers in from the transfer portal, something the Knights themselves also had to do. Of the Jayhawks' four leading receivers who have recorded over 150 yards so far this season, which includes a tight end, all of them were transfers.
"Those guys can run routes and have really good ball skills and make catches," Frost said.
While the game ended up being a loss for Kansas, Frost said the Jayhawks' defense was doing "a really good job," and that the Bearcats just had a well-played game in which they "kind of hit on an inordinate amount" of big play opportunities of their own.
"I think the Kansas defense can run really well," Frost said. "They're long. They get off blocks really well, and we're going to have our hands full."
The Knights kick off against the Jayhawks at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in the Acrisure Bounce House.
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Three Things To Know About The Kansas Jayhawks
Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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