Illinois Prepping For Matchup With Kansas Dual-Threat QB Jalon Daniels

Zachary Draves | Sep 3, 2024

Aug 29, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema on the sidelines during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports / ron johnson-usa today sports

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema offered words of praise for Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels in the leadup to their matchup on Saturday.

"He's an incredibly talented player that has a very accurate ball," he said. "He gets rid of the ball quickly. He gets rid of the ball very efficiently."

Daniels had a solid performance in the Jayhawks season opening 48-3 victory over Lindenwood. He was 9 of 15 in passing with148 yards and one touchdown.

Bielema mentioned Daniels' ability to run with the ball, which presents a special task for for the Fighting Illini defense.

"He is a running back," he said. "He is a quarterback that we need to treat as a running back. We need to play with a certain intensity and value to that."

Daniels who has previous success against the Fighting Illini. Last year he threw for 270 yards and had two touchdowns in the Jayhawks 34-23 win.

The Fighting Illini are coming off their 45-0 victory over Eastern Illinois University in their season opener. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer had a more than solid start to the season.

Altmyer completed 19 of 24 in passes. He had a passing percentage of 79.2 for 213 passing yards and four touchdowns.

The battle between the two quarterbacks who each started off fresh is an interesting one at best.

Zachary Draves is a contributor to Illinois Fighting Illini On SI. He can be reached at zdraves1013@gmail.com and on Instagram @zdraves0633.

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