What we learned about the KU QB battle during Week 1 of camp

There’s so much more to pay attention to at KU football’s preseason camp than just the battle at quarterback between Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall, both of whom, by the way, continue to talk about the race to be KU’s starter as one between the entire QB room and not just the two of them. 

Class acts. 

And so, while there are key battles in the secondary, along the offensive line and at important depth positions being waged, we all recognize and admit that quarterback is the spot everyone likes to talk about. 

So, let’s do it. Again. Before we do it again next time. And maybe a time or two after that. 

One week into KU’s preseason camp, here are the three biggest takeaways from the quarterback battle thus far. 

Kotelnicki & crew are the key

And, really, the entire structure of KU’s support system for its quarterbacks is so important. 

In addition to Kotelnicki running a creative and motion-heavy offense, which stands to help make just about any quarterback look good – provided they can execute it – the fact that there are four coaches with keen insight into playing the position is super helpful here. It’s not just on the OC or the head coach or even the quarterbacks coach or an analyst. It’s all of them providing input and bringing whichever player becomes KU’s starting quarterback into the best head space and giving him the best plan to succeed. 

These guys take that responsibility seriously and while they’re not the ones on the field making the reads or throwing the ball, they generally do as much as possible in practices, on game days and between snaps and series to make the QB comfortable and clear headed. 

Having an ultra-talented player at the position obviously would help — KU’s not working with any 5-star dudes here — but I really think that this coaching staff can find a way to lead just about any quarterback to success, be it through coaching, confidence and preparation or via the actual schemes and plays called on the field. 

That’s why you keep hearing them talk so much about decision making and consistency as the most important traits in deciding who wins this race.

'We’ll see'

Pull up just about any list out there that seeks to rank the quarterbacks in the Big 12 entering the 2026 season and you’ll find KU’s QB listed at the bottom of most of them. 

And that’s without even knowing who it will be yet. 

In fairness, the unknown might be a factor in KU earning the bottom spot in several of these random rankings, but it’s still a fairly clear sign that the outside world isn’t really expecting much from the Kansas quarterback in 2026. 

Not to worry said KU quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski, who said he, like most within the KU program, don’t bother to listen to the outside noise. 

“Really,” he asked when told nobody seems to be expecting much from the KU QBs in 2026. Good.” 

To be clear, the man they call “Z” likes hearing that.

“I do,” he confirmed. “I do. That’s right in my wheelhouse. That makes it even more fun. I can see why, obviously; one kid’s played a little bit, the other kid was kind of a runner type dude and got in there and played. Well, we’ll see. … Go get ‘em fellas.” 

It’s just coachspeak for now. And, clearly, just about every coach in America — at any level — is going to tell the public that they like their quarterback. 

When asked last week about the common refrain that says if a team has two quarterbacks it really doesn’t have one, Zebrowski said the KU coaching staff doesn’t look at it that way with Ballard and Marshall. 

“There’s two types of competitions,” Zebrowski began. “The one (mentioned above) or you have two really good ones and you get to pick one. I think that’s how I look at (this situation). We really like both these dudes and whoever gets it is gonna make us really good.” 

Confidence matters. And there was something in the way Zebrowski said those two words, “We’ll see,” that made you think he believes KU may actually have something with one or both of these guys. 

We will, indeed, see. 

Clearly Cole?

It’s not hard to hop on social media and see any number of KU fans predicting with conviction and pride that Cole Ballard will win this job. 

Right now, that’s easily the safe bet. 

But I do genuinely believe that this race is still ongoing. Not necessarily because Marshall is pushing Ballard all that hard — he may be, but he also may not — but more because the coaching staff seems willing to give him time to do so. 

And, based on what at least three KU coaches have said this summer, I think it stands to reason that if Marshall is clearly the better quarterback of the two over the next 2-3 weeks, he’ll win the job. Whether anyone expects him to do that or not is a matter of opinion and anybody’s guess. 

So, yeah, if you made me pick today, I’d pick Ballard, too. And I’d even go as far as to say he’s probably leading the battle. But the battle is not over and that’s by design. 

It’s not a race to determine who was the best in the spring or who’s been the best this offseason. Those things do matter. And they'll be a part of the equation. Just like he goal is to determine which QB is the best today and who is ready to lead this offense on Sept. 4. 

That may still be Ballard. The smart money’s probably on him to win this job. But Marshall will get every chance to create a different outcome. 

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