In this Hearings newsletter:

1. Jalon Daniels, a question, and a take

2. Could Be Wrong goes deep on Jalon Daniels

3. VIP Only Player Grades from PFF 🔒

Support The Hearings…by sending this to KU friends and fam.

EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.

3 Quick Things

One Tweet: Jalon Daniels Expected to Play

Action Network’s Brett McMurphy expects Jalon Daniels to play Friday against Illinois. The quarterback missed a chunk of fall camp with a back strain that spilled over into the season opener against Missouri State.

I trust McMurphy got this from someone credible. He’s a reliable national college football reporter. I’d bet someone from KU wanted the public (and Illinois) to prep for Daniels playing. It’s worth noting that McMurphy said “play” and not “start,” which feels like intentional wording.

As of right now, I’m guessing we’ll see Daniels playing this Friday. That’s the expectation I’ve picked up on. I’ll be working to get you an update as the week moves forward.

One Question: What’s With the Slow Starts?

I’m not ready to sound the panic alarm yet, but I’m starting to get concerned with KU’s slow starts. KU survived it last year, but this will start to get painful if it continues spilling over into this season.

Last year KU finished with a 69-point deficit in first-quarter scoring margin, not counting the opening blowout of Tennessee Tech. In fact, KU was leading at the end of the first quarter just once in its final 12 games. The Jayhawks were tied at the end of the first quarter against Missouri State on Saturday and trailed 10-7 early in the second.

While the sluggish opening was a bit flukey — and the team recovered well — it’s getting to the point where it’s something to watch this year moving forward.

KU should come out absolutely fired up against Illinois on Friday night. Anything less would be a disappointment.

Let me know what you think👇

One Take: I’m Optimistic, but the Secondary is a Concern

I want to be clear: I think KU played well on Saturday. I like justtt about everything I saw. The primary concern as we advance is the defensive secondary.

When Missouri State opened up the passing game, KU’s secondary was a mess. Hopefully, they just kept the entire playbook hidden and ran basic coverage for the Week 1 game.

If we want to see KU go beyond six regular season wins, the secondary MUST have a better showing than we saw Saturday.

Let me know what you think👇

The Could Be Wrong Show

Episode 2 of the Could Be Wrong Show with myself and Nick Schwerdt is live now. Our first episode topped out at Number 6 on the basketball podcast charts, beating Draymond Green. KU fans are just the best.

How to Listen:

• Apple

• Spotify

• YouTube starting Tuesday night.

Episode 2 topics include:

• What is going on with Jalon Daniels + thoughts on media coverage of the injury

• How we’re feeling after Missouri State

• Ranking Jason Bean among KU quarterbacks since Todd Reesing

• Reasons for Optimism and Pessimism

• The Illinois game!

• Do we care if it’s a sellout?

• Deion Sanders kept the receipts

• Big Game Boomer denied a credential for the KU game

• Early week 2 bets

VIP Only 🔒 PFF Player Grades

I purchased a Pro Football Focus (PFF) subscription to help give some extra analysis for KU football this season. I’m going to keep this VIP only for now, especially as I figure this new tool out. PFF has the premiere football grading tool for player and team performance — and the Jayhawks did well.

Here’s how they graded:

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.