photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas freshman Isaiah Marshall during the first day of spring practice at the practice field on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Lawrence.

The weight of high expectations could be heavy upon the shoulders of Kansas’ freshman quarterback Isaiah Marshall, especially given that fans, media and coaches alike have taken to comparing him to current starter and redshirt junior Jalon Daniels.

In fact, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski drew the comparison himself Tuesday after Marshall’s fifth day of spring practice, acknowledging that Daniels is looser and has more “twitch” and “suddenness” but that their skill sets are “in the ball park.”

“Quick release, gets the ball out fast, can make pretty quick decisions, can make plays with his feet,” Zebrowski said. “So that’s where kind of those similarities are.”

And when Marshall, who spoke to reporters for the first time as a Jayhawk Tuesday, was asked his thoughts on the comparison and if he had a bit of Daniels’ play style in him, he responded with confidence.

“I’m going to be honest, I think I do,” Marshall said. “I think me and him (are) kind of built the same, we kind of play the same on film, I see a couple of the same cuts that we make and I just think we’re kind of similar players.”

Naturally, the three-star quarterback, a state-title winner from Southfield, Michigan, has sought out Daniels for advice since he enrolled early.

“Me and him talk every day,” Marshall said. “We talk all the time … He’s a very good person. Very great person, great guy to be around. So just watch what he do and I can learn from it.”

He said the budding relationship has already extended to on-field advice.

“He taught me some coverages, he taught me how to drop back, different dropbacks, what the defense does and how to read stuff,” Marshall said. “He also taught me how to just to release the ball better, because he throws it with a lot of power, so I’m just trying to learn from him.”

One asset Marshall already has on his side, to hear his coaches tell it, is his mentality.

“The cool thing about Isaiah is he’s a cool customer,” head coach Lance Leipold said Tuesday. “He doesn’t let things rattle him. When he has a good play, his composure and disposition is the same as when he throws one late and it might get intercepted. That’s what you love about him and he continues to grasp what we’re doing and gets better.”

The young quarterback said that aspect of his approach “comes from God.”

“Ever since I was young … my dad played tailback, and I think I got a little bit of him in me, so I think whenever a bad play goes, I think my IQ’s very good and my vision’s good,” Marshall said, “so I think it’s when a bad play happens I know how to make it into a great play.”

Leipold stressed that any practice time Marshall and his fellow five early enrollees get at this point in their careers is a “bonus.” Zebrowski said it’s been “tremendously beneficial” having Marshall as a spring enrollee, particularly given that KU has plenty of reps to give him, and that Marshall has “a really high level of intelligence for a young kid, to be able to pick stuff up.”

Daniels, after dealing with a back injury all last season, has taken some reps in the spring; Zebrowski said “he’s moving at a perfect pace” and “it’s fun to see him actually throwing a football again.” Regardless, there are a variety of opportunities for Marshall and incumbent backup Cole Ballard, who entered last season as a freshman walk-on and ended up starting the Sunflower Showdown due to an additional injury to Jason Bean.

“I had JD, Ben (Easters) and Jason last year and they were great to me,” said Ballard, who redshirted last year. “Like role models that I’ll remember forever. And I want to be that guy for Isaiah, and help him whatever ways he needs it, whether it’s academics, athletics or just being a friend.”

He’ll be a resource as Marshall continues to adjust to the fast pace of college ball.

“My first workout here was very different from high school,” he said. “It’s more structured, more fast-paced, so I think just doing this is a very good thing for me because I get to do spring ball and get to learn the playbook early, but then the other people come in, so I think it’s great.”