KU QB Zeke Marshall 'very excited' to watch mentor make first NFL start

As Kansas quarterback Zeke Marshall prepares to make the fourth start of his college career, he can’t help but keep one eye on the man who started in front of him at KU who is preparing to make his first start in the NFL. 

Former KU quarterback Jalon Daniels, who played six years at Kansas and was the starter in each of Marshall’s first two seasons with the program, is slated to make his first pro start on Sunday for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Daniels will be starting in place of injured Bucs starter Baker Mayfield, who is out with a dislocated thumb. 

“I’m very excited about it,” Marshall told R1S1 Sports earlier this week. “Very excited about it. I’ll definitely be watching. I got to.” 

JD6, who now wears No. 10, was one of the stories of the preseason in the NFL, fighting his way from a spot as an undrafted free agent all the way to the backup job behind Mayfield. 

Fans in Tampa fell in love with his passion, smile and style, and the league as a whole was swept up by the rags to riches story of the undrafted former college star. 

Marshall, meanwhile, has kept in close touch with his former mentor and is relishing the opportunity to get a peek at what playing quarterback in the NFL is all about from someone he knows so well. 

“I talk to him every single week,” Marshall said of Daniels. “And he’ll tell me more things about it and how it works and little things like that. So, it’s good to have somebody that close to you who’s doing it at the highest level.” 

While Marshall is eager to watch Daniels make his first start for Tampa Bay on Sunday, the former KU QB has watched all three of Marshall’s starts thus far at Kansas, even showing up in person for the team’s 51-6 season-opening win over Long Island. 

So, what kind of feedback has the former KU great given his successor so far? 

“Just keep trusting the process and keep doing me,” Marshall said of JD’s words of wisdom. “And don’t let the outside noise get to me. That’s one of the main things he told me is forget what everybody else says outside of this facility.”

Marshall and the Jayhawks (1-2 overall, 0-1 Big 12 play) are slated to take on Middle Tennessee at 11 a.m. (central) Saturday in the final non-conference game of the season at The Booth.

Roughly 24 hours later, Daniels and the Bucs (0-3) will take on the Green Bay Packers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Kickoff for that one is slated for noon central and it will be televised in parts of the country on FOX.

— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com