Jim Zebrowski on Jalon Daniels, calling plays from the booth
Kansas offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski has seen a transformation in quarterback Jalon Daniels during fall camp. He pointed to his improved leadership as the most significant area of growth.
“Leadership growth, I believe,” Zebrowski said. “I think the new group of receivers kind of maybe got him and he’s been here five years. Somebody commented that me and him have been together probably one of the longest tenured groups of people in those positions.
He continued: “I think the natural growth of him becoming a better leader, being able to speak, get guys to do more, and be confident about that, that’s the biggest thing growth-wise. I’m really excited about that.”
He has been finding a way to balance Daniels’ creativity with decision-making has been a coaching challenge. Zebrowski compared the process to legendary quarterbacks like Brett Farve known for their improvisation.
“There’s this line where as a quarterback you’ve got to figure out where greatness is great and then over the line you become bad things,” he said. “In practice you’ve got to keep testing that line. We put kids in situations like two-minute, end-of-game to just let them kind of press. There are going to be mistakes, but you figure out what they can and can’t do. I’m going to let kids fail in practice so they won’t fail on Saturday. That’s been more fun to see, and it’s been great.”
Zebrowski moving upstairs to call plays
This season, Zebrowski will be calling plays from the booth instead of the sideline a decision that was driven by the offensive scheme and having better visibility.
“The way our game plan is, it’s hard,” Zebrowski said. “We’re pretty wordy with some of our stuff, so it’s easier to have a relaxed atmosphere, spread out the game plan, and see what’s going on
“Would I love to be on the field with the quarterbacks? Yeah, I would,” Zebrowski said. “I’m going to miss that. But for what we do offensively and the vision, it’s much easier to see from the booth.”
From upstairs, Zebrowski can see the entire defense, especially the secondary, in ways that aren’t possible from field level.
“On the field you can’t see the other side,” he said. “You see what’s close to you, but you can’t see what’s actually going on. In the booth, you can see what’s going on secondary-wise and say, ‘We’ve got this,’ or, ‘We might have that.’ For calling plays, it’s easier to find what you need and communicate it. It worked well in the bowl game, so hopefully we’ll maintain that positive trend.”
Competition brewing at left guard
The left guard spot has been one of the most competitive positions in camp, with Tavake Tuikolovatu and Amir Herring pushing each other daily.
In the beginning of camp, it was Tuikolovatu and James Livingston, but that appears to have changed as camp progressed.
“Good competition, I think growth, I think pushing,” Zebrowski said. “The best coaching sometimes comes by guys competing. If you have good competition, that’s what I’ve seen in the quarterback world, one guy makes a play, the other guy wants to make a play. I think that’s what’s happened at that position.”
Both players have shown progress, and the battle has had a positive effect on the offensive line as a whole.
“You’ve seen some really good things by Amir, and Big T has kind of come around too,” Zebrowski said. “They’re pushing each other, making each other better, and that’s creating much more depth for us up front.”
