The shot he needed

For years, the KU poster child for undrafted free agents landing with a sizable splash in the NFL was former Denver Broncos great and Super Bowl 50 champion Chris Harris. 

Today, Harris has company. In a big way. 

Last weekend, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that former KU quarterback Jalon Daniels had earned the backup job to Tampa starter Baker Mayfield. 

Not bad for a quarterback who spent six seasons in college and was passed up multiple times by every team in the NFL — including Tampa Bay — during this spring’s draft. 

Unbothered by the outcome of what he once thought was a certainty, Daniels did his best Harris impersonation and simply went to work. 

He worked with his agent to find the best fit and opportunity. He worked with his trainers to make sure he stayed strong and sharp and ready. And then he worked on the field, during rookie mini camp, OTAs, preseason camp and more. 

All with a smile, just like Harris all those years ago. 

Truth be told, the two former Jayhawks have a lot in common, which may very well be the reason they were able to stick. Both lead with personality, proving that they’re likable, reliable and worth having around in ways beyond football. 

More than that, though, both players always believed they belonged. And, even more, they believed in themselves enough to truly think that if they just kept working, good opportunities and outcomes would come their way. 

For Harris, that started in high school, when he had few offers and found a way to get KU to take a chance on him. He started as a freshman on one of the best teams in KU history but then spent the rest of his career being moved around before going undrafted and finding himself in the position of having to prove himself all over again. 

He never stopped believing though. He knew no one worked harder. He knew he had the IQ to play in the league. And, most importantly, he knew that, if given the shot, no one would give more than he gave. 

On special teams, as a teammate, in the secondary, off the field. Harris is still one of the most beloved Broncos in the Denver community for all he did on and off the field while he was there. 

Daniels was the same way. His KU career was a roller coaster, full of ups and downs and doubt and hate and he never stopped believing in himself and his abilities. I heard it in him the first time I talked to him on the phone, when he was a 17-year-old KU commit out in California that next to no one had ever heard of.

That changed quickly and he became the face of the KU program and its rebuild under Lance Leipold. But, like Harris, even all of the numbers and memories he put up at KU did nothing for him the further his career advanced.

Even after a ho-hum final season with the Jayhawks, and an even worse final game, Daniels remained steadfast in his belief that he had what it t0ok to play in the NFL. 

The arm, the attitude, the thick skin, the IQ. And, of course, the passion. 

Daniels has a long way to go before his career resembles anything close to what Harris delivered during his All-Pro run with the Broncos. The Oklahoma native and member of KU’s 2008 Orange Bowl team has a real shot to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio one day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

JD6 isn’t there yet. But he at least has a team and an opportunity to build a career. And because he’s wired so much like Harris is, it’s possible that a shot is all he needs.

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