The backup quarterback on any football team is often one of the most popular players on the roster even if he never plays.
Coaches need to know they can rely on him.
Fans want to know if he can cut it if he’s called upon. And, in many instances, the same fans scream and shout for the No. 2 man to unseat the starter and show what he can do.
Beyond that, the backup’s ability to stay ready at all times in case he’s needed in a moment’s notice is one of the most important roles any player can hold.
The Kansas football team has not yet officially named its backup QB for the 2025 season, with junior Cole Ballard and redshirt-freshman Zeke Marshall seemingly being the top candidates to win the job.
Asked last week to name one trait that the ideal backup QB should have, KU offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski first praised the question and then answered it — he should be the guy who acts and prepares like he’s the starter.
After all, the No. 2 QB on any roster is always just one play away from finding himself in the game.
Then Zebrowski went one step further, saying he reminds his QBs all the time that the No. 3 QB is just two plays away from playing and the No. 4 QB is a mere three plays away from being on the field.
“We can’t put a left tackle in to play quarterback,” Zebrowski explained at the risk of stating the obvious. “If you don’t have a second or third tight end, you can put a receiver there and so on and so forth. So, I tell the quarterbacks, it’s really simple; you’re one moment away from playing.”
“I heard that a lot my freshman year,” Ballard told R1S1 Sports last week. “I mean, as we found out, we’re gonna need three or more quarterbacks to go and win games.”
Ballard is perhaps the most uniquely qualified player in KU football history to speak on this concept. As a true freshman — and a walk-on at that — Ballard was thrust into the role of starting QB late in the season, when starter Jalon Daniels was already injured and backup Jason Bean went down in a home game against Texas Tech.
Just like that, Ballard found himself starting the Jayhawks’ biggest game of the season against in-state rival Kansas State.
KU lost that game, but Ballard played well. Not just well for a freshman or a walk-on. But well for anyone. More importantly, he was able to rise to the moment because he was spent the season up to that point being ready for it and, therefore, did not have to get ready on short notice.
That’s what Ballard, Marshall, McComb and Mikey Pauley find themselves doing today, jockeying for position behind Daniels, who is set to start his final season with the Jayhawks.
“You never know when me or Zeke’s gonna get that opportunity,” Ballard said. “But we just need to stay ready for it so we can win games. Hopefully we don’t get that opportunity, because we want Jalon to stay healthy and have a great year. But if we do, I think we’re really gonna surprise some people.”
Ballard certainly did that when his time came two years ago. And Jason Bean went from backup to KU legend by staying ready for his chance(s) despite sitting behind Daniels on the depth chart.
Marshall wasn’t around for any of that. But he is aware of it, and he said that Zebrowski’s constant reminder of how quickly things can change is something that serves all of KU’s quarterbacks well.
“Oh yeah. He definitely says that a lot and I feel like it’s very true,” Marshall said of Zebrowski’s words of wisdom. “I feel like it definitely helps your mindset a lot. If you’re a third string or anything like that, it could suck because you want to be the starter or second string, but him saying that it just helps you realize how blessed you are to still be in that position and how close you are to playing.”
Two or three plays, fluky, bad, unlucky or otherwise.
“That’s not a lot,” Marshall emphasized. “Two plays can happen and then you’re in.”
“And it could happen at the most critical time,” Zebrowski said, underscoring the importance of the message. “It could be a 2-minute drive and something happens. Let’s say a shoe comes off and we don’t have any timeouts left. Now, you’ve got to make a play. And I think that’s how they all prepare. You’re not as far away as you think you are.”
He continued: “The inner drive those guys all have, knowing that it’s coming at some point and they want to be prepared for it, is really great. It’s really neat to have five you men who are really good players and they also understand what is around the corner.”
Part of that is them embracing the message from Zebrowksi and the rest of the coaching staff. The other part of it comes directly from Ballard, who said he has taken time to explain to the rest of the group what that moment his freshman year meant to him and how he approached and handled it.
“It forced me to mature at a younger age than I thought I would need to,” he recalled last week. “Having to go in there and try and help the team win, it was something I wasn’t prepared for say in May, four months before I even played. It took a lot of growing and learning how to respond to that. Looking back on it, it’s like, ‘Damn. That was two years ago. It feels like it was yesterday.’ And being able to be there for David, whatever he needs, I had that in Ben Easters and Jason (Bean), so trying to be that guy for David is really cool for me.”
Here’s perhaps the best part about the position the Jayhawks currently find themselves in at quarterback behind Daniels, who just so happens to be the most experienced and statistically accomplished QB in the entire Big 12.
From Ballard to McComb and everyone in between, if you ask them today if they’d be ready, willing and able to do what Ballard did during his true freshman season against K-State, they don’t hesitate to answer.
“Yes sir,” Marshall said last week.
Added McComb: “Yeah. I mean, I’m ready. Nothing else to say about it. I think I can go out there and compete and play at a high level.”
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