photo by: AP Photo/Michael Wyke

Rice quarterback Chase Jenkins (4) looks to pass the ball against North Texas during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Houston.

A new option has emerged in the competition to become Kansas’ day-one starter at quarterback for the 2026 season.

Rice transfer Chase Jenkins committed to KU, he confirmed to the Journal-World on Sunday. Jenkins will be a redshirt junior with two years left to play. He fills the scholarship spot vacated by the departure of freshman David McComb, who transferred to Miami (Ohio).

Jenkins now enters a room that already features redshirt junior Cole Ballard and redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall, with the starter yet to be decided. Freshman signee Jaylen Mason is also set to join the group, and walk-on Mikey Pauley could return to quarterback after a brief stint at tight end.

He committed following a visit over the weekend.

“Since the beginning, they’ve told me I would be a perfect fit, and I felt the same,” Jenkins told Jon Kirby of JayhawkSlant.com. “Being able to watch and see what the offense has done the past few years at Kansas would be impossible not to notice. I was watching Jalon (Daniels) play here at Kansas since I was 17, and for a player like me, it makes sense to be at a place that’s able to do so many different things with the QB.”

In his first season as the starter for Rice, Jenkins started all 12 regular-season games for the Owls’ spread-option offense in 2025. He ran the ball nearly as much as he threw it, with 119-for-172 passing for 1,025 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions, as well as 151 carries for 531 yards and five more touchdowns.

The production was impressive given that just one year earlier, under a different coaching staff, Jenkins had briefly converted to receiver and redshirted, with just one carry for two yards in 2024 after he played quarterback in some spot duty as a true freshman in 2023.

Jenkins, who is 6 feet tall and 191 pounds, competed in football and track at Alief Taylor High School in Houston, near his hometown of Katy, Texas. Now he’ll head north to join the Jayhawks.

“Everybody made me feel like family, from the first time I got on the phone with the coaches to being in Lawrence and connecting with fans at the basketball game,” he told Kirby. “I felt a genuine connection and truly believe there is something special being built in Lawrence and having the opportunity to compete and win championships.”