Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - ALARMING EXIT: Kansas Quarterback David McComb TRANSFERS, Forcing Jayhawks QB Room SHAKE-UP

Episode Date: December 21, 2025

Kansas Jayhawks suffer a major blow as promising quarterback David McComb enters the transfer portal, raising tough questions about the future of KU’s quarterback room. Could this decision reshape the Jayhawks’ 2026 plans, or will Kansas find a way to strengthen its roster with fresh portal activity? Derek Johnson examines the ripple effects of losing a high-upside arm and explores the competitive landscape between Cole Ballard, Isaiah Marshall, and incoming talent.Key topics include McComb’s recruitment hype, potential reasons for his departure—ranging from NIL dynamics to depth chart competition—and how KU’s mounting transfer portal losses stack up this offseason. Derek Johnson also discusses Kansas’ struggles with offensive line development and what comes next as the Jayhawks seek depth across multiple positions. Can Lance Leipold stabilize the roster before more shocks hit? Tune in for critical insights on KU football’s most pivotal offseason moments.Everydayer Club  If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There's a chance that KU lost their starting quarterback. David McComb, who certainly represented a high ceiling for this team and the potential 2026 starter has entered the transfer portal. More bad news for the KU football offseason. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's going on? Derek Johnson here. This is Locked on Jayhawks. Thanks for making Locked on your number one listen every day. And part of the Locked on podcast network, now the number one sports podcast network. On today's episode, we're breaking down David McComb entering the transfer portal, what it means for KU football, what it means for the quarterback position. We're getting into some of the latest as far as the total losses as well. They lost a lineman. So we'll get into all that on this bonus episode of Locked on Jayhawks. Let's just start right there with the news. This came out on what, Friday. afternoon Kansas quarterback David McComb plans to enter the NCAA transfer he has four years

of eligibility remaining now if you were to remember David McComb came in as part of the what would that be the class of 2025 I believe is how that would work out and he came in as a I mean basically a near four-star recruit a very high-end three-star recruit like people are very high on him came in as an 88 rated three-star which again that's close to me in that 90 threshold of being a four-star. But if you talk to certain people, they would tell you that they thought he should have been even higher than an 88 and maybe should have been a four-star. It's very highly thought of going back high school days and was a state of Oklahoma recruit, which KU's had some decent success in recruiting there from the state.

Athletic, dual threat quarterback. I don't think people necessarily knew like, I mean, there's somebody who ran 520 yards as a junior, like almost 10 yards per carry, 29 touchdowns at eight interceptions as a junior. I don't know what the senior stats are. Anyway, this is somebody who redshirted this season and we didn't get to see. And a lot of the conversation, because we saw Cole Ballard come in at times, whether it was in blowout games early in the season or Isaiah Marshall early in the season or one of those two or either of those two in specific formations that KU would play that led to a quarterback running the football. And so McComb almost became the forgotten other guy, so to speak, in terms of what you're seeing on the field for understanding who was going to be part of the quarterback competition. for who the quarterback starter is going to be in 2026.

So it'd be very easy to just assume it was Marshall and Ballard as part of that. But that's not really the answer at all. Again, it seems more like, okay, hey, this is his first year in the system. We're trying to make sure he keeps his red shirt like he, you know, we're just not going to have him see the field this year, right? But when you look at having a full off season in front of you and having a year to take a leap, there are real chances that McComb would have actually. ended up being your starter in 2026.

You look at the, if you were to go through checkboxes, just in terms of the scouting reports that you would probably have on all three of those guys with McComb, Ballard, and Marshall, you would probably say McComb is the best thrower of the football. As far as the best runner, I think all three are actually good runners. I think Marshall is probably the most explosive runner and the best runner overall. McComb is more in the Ballard camp of being, you know, an underrated runner. but it's probably, you know, Marshall won there.

And then those guys in some form or fashion, second and third, but both can do it. And then it would kind of just be a question of who's the most consistent, who avoids the turnovers, who understands the offense and everything. That's something we don't totally know. But, you know, you talk to certain people, like in some believe that McComb had the highest ceiling or would be the best long-term option for KU. And so this is a very big loss. And like, I did have this question posed to me by somebody who they texted me and they said,

you have to wonder if KU accepts the bull invite right now and they are currently undergoing bowl practices and in those bowl practices, let's say that Jalen Daniels decided to not play or that KU decided to say, hey, we're going to give a lot of these extra reps to the young quarterbacks. And David McComb is splitting those reps

with, say, Isaiah Marshall or Cole Ballard. Is he leaving right now? I don't know. I think that was a very interesting question. to at least pose. But this is a giant loss, I think, for KU. I think this goes up there. Like, if you're looking at the biggest losses so far from a standpoint of who is going to be guaranteed to play big, you know, snaps next year. Lyric Rawls is, is the biggest from that standpoint. If you're looking at the potential to have played a big role in 2026, based

on how some other things shake out and for sure have a potential as a very high future for KU, this one in the bucket with John John Kamara there, where it's like John John Kamara theoretically could have started based on what happens with the rest of the off season. And Dave McComb could potentially start in 2026. At the very least, both guys represent very high ceilings for what KU could have been. And now both of them enter the portal. I guess, I don't know, we saw the Florida Bidunga situation where he entered, he ended up coming back. So who knows, I guess that's always a possibility. But I always put the percentage on that as a very low percentage. And so we'll see what ends up happening

there. But I want to talk more about, you know, the quarterback room, why this is such a loss for KU and overall the total number of losses because it's updated since we last talked about this on Friday the KU has had in the portal. This episode of the show is brought to you by ORA Frames. The holidays are here. And if you're looking for that last minute Christmas gift or heck, maybe somebody has a birthday coming up in January, you know, ORA frames is the gift that delivers every time. It's not just something you wrap. It's a way to share memories because ORA is. isn't your average picture frame.

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And if you haven't already, go check out our Everydayer Club where you can get access to our Everydayer Discord. You can get ad-free audio for Locked-on Jayhawks compatible with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and every other major podcast app. So check us out at Lockdown Podcast.com slash Everyday or for more info on that. All right, so KU loses David McComb to the transfer portal. And again, it's not just that McComb had a real chance. I mean, I really do think he had a shot to win the quarterback competition in 2026. It's that he might have also been KU's best long-term option. And I think this is very interesting on what the why is.

Why did David McComb enter the transfer portal? Is it because he's been given the indication that Cole Ballard or Isaiah Marshall are going to have the leg up in the competition, right? if it's because Zeke Marshall has the leg up in the competition, I don't think that's the worst thing in the world for KU because then theoretically that means they like Zeke Marshall. If it's an idea that Cole Ballard has the leg up on the competition, that might be a little bit more concerning.

At the same point in time when I say that, I know a lot of people are like very low on what Cole Ballard will be. I do think it's been a little overdone it. They're like, are we sure just because he's a former walk on that he's just going to be like, knock it like i don't know maybe this just comes from me as like a friday night lights fan like is this is cole ballard matthew saracen and i don't know like the other guys are the you know your jds or your whoever's like gonna gonna have an opportunity to play college who knows um but regardless like it is a little bit more worrying if if that is kind of the case there could it be

that could it be mccome you're talking about if you're david macaum you're redshirt freshman And if you're leaving from a playing time perspective, that means you have to go somewhere where it has to be like, because you were going to be in a quarterback competition to win the job. That means you'd have to be going somewhere where you are the favorite to win the job. And I'm not sure that happens in 2026 and another power for university. For a redshirt freshman or doesn't have the tape, maybe it does if you want to make the move like Ethan Vasco did to coastal Carolina to something like that,

then maybe that could be something to work. So is it that? is it about money, right? I mean, I think it was publicized that McComb changed his agent like a week ago. And so could there be something about, you know, just wanting more money and then it not working out and then it's, hey, you're going to force my hand here. I'm giving you an ultimatum. If you don't give me this money, we're going to enter the portal and then blah,

blah, blah, like does that end up happening? I don't know. That's entirely possible too, right? So the why I think becomes important here because if it is the first one where it is about, you know, playing time or the competition or who's going to win the job, then I think it's at that point, it's 100% he's gone, right? If that's the decision he made at that point in time, if this is just about money and a new agent playing a money game where he enters the portal to try to get more again, the kind

of Flory Badunga situation, then I guess you do increase the percentage chance, even if it's below 50 still, you maybe at least have a chance in there to get him back, right? And that would be very interesting, too, because if KU does. does end up like let's say he does leave the portal and come back that would certainly give you a tell on how highly kansas thinks of him that they would be willing to i guess up the pay to bring him back so we'll see what ends up happening there that'll be very very interesting uh it also brings up the question now for the quarterback room because this is what you're looking at you're looking at a competition between cole ballard and isaiah marshal and i guess jalen mason in the competition too

but he's a true freshman so it's probably a tough battle to or a tough road to you know climb up hill so to speak. Do you have to portal now for a quarterback? I think at the very least you do, just from a standpoint of you only have three on the roster, three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. So you do have to portal for a quarterback now. The question just becomes to what level are we talking about here? Are we talking about trying to portal for a backup quarterback who maybe they're just looking for a little bit of payday to extend their career? Maybe it's like a junior college edition who is cool just making a little bit of NIL. money and being a backup quarterback and you put them on the path to being an assistant coach down

the road. Is that what we're talking about here just to add some depth there and more guys in the building? Are we talking about somebody who you do legitimately bring in to tell them, hey, you're going to be in this quarterback competition as much as Ballard and Marshall are? And, you know, it's maybe somebody on the lower end of the NIL, but it's somebody who they like the opportunity to get a chance to play. And then if they do well in playing, then they'll get a big raise either from you or the next school after that, right?

And then, or do you just go for the, the, I don't want to say home run because I don't think Kansas is playing on the tier of like, oh, Miami added Carson Beck for four million dollars. I don't think Kansas is playing that game. But would it be more of that like next level to your starter that Kansas could afford of like, okay, we're just going to go for the sure thing. If we're going to have to add a one in the portal anyway, let's just add one. But then if you add one in the portal that way, do you lose a Ballard or a Marshall to the portal then to be like, okay, well, you clearly brought in somebody who I think is going to start. So now I'm going to. I'm going to. leave, and then you have to add another quarterback in the portal. So this gets really sticky and different for you. I do want to just, I guess, pose a question here. I don't know what the right answer is, and I don't even know that I'm subscribing to this, just to play a little devil's advocate and pose this. Argue amongst yourselves at the water cooler about this one.

Is there any argument to be made about, again, I have no idea. Like, how much money is Cole Ballard making off NIL? Is he making any or a revoke? I don't know. As a former walk on, right? How much is Isaiah Marshall? how much was David McComb making? Is there an argument to be made that the offset of starting Ballard,

if it meant losing Marshall to the portal as well, that the money you would have from Marshall and McComb to get an extra beefed up receiver or running back or offensive line or get a couple players there would be better with Ballard, or would you be better off without those players, but with a Marshall or McComb starting a quarterback? It's almost like the interesting question that you would have in the NFL where it's like, hey, if you have an elite quarterback, like pay him.

right but if you have more of your i don't know ryan fitzpatrick level quarterback are you better off just paying them you know on the lower end or paying a lesser quarterback or a rookie quarterback so you can beef up the team around it i don't know it's kind of an interesting question to say the least it is obviously different NFL you have a salary gap college football you have a cap but it's not really a real cap it's just based on what you can spend so i don't know just food for thought there all right k u lost in the linemen as well uh where does that put k u with their total amount of This episode of the show is brought to you by Fanduel Sportsbook. NFL Sundays move fast, one big play, and suddenly everything feels different.

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also get action on the KU Davidson game coming up on Monday night or bet on some player props to maybe make the game a little more interesting for you. So if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanduel.com, place your NFL live bets all season long, fan duel, the game moves fast, and so can you. Thanks to joining us here on Lockdown Jayhawks, making it's your first listen every day. We'll have an episode coming out on Monday that's previewing Kansas versus Davidson on the basketball court. We'll have a postcast for that game afterwards as well.

And we'll have plenty of content still coming at you this week. week, even though it is the Christmas shortened or whatever week, you might be traveling, you might be on the road, you might be, you know, having a little extra time in the car to listen to the show. So we'll still have that content for you. Our Kenai and Ney-N-A is also gone. He was an offensive lineman recruited a couple of years ago. And a Ney-Nay was somebody who, I don't think ever hit the field. Maybe he did in very brief snap, certainly not that I remember. He was a redshirt freshman this year, so would have been a redshirt sophomore, so he leaves. This is something where it's like, I don't know,

you know at this point maybe it just wasn't happening maybe it just wasn't going to be a thing there at the same point in time like i'm looking at this and the amount of like k u offensive linemen that they've been unable to develop internally is starting to worry me a little bit of guys who stick in the program a couple years and then transfer out because it doesn't develop so hopefully that changes with some of these guys like carter laverouskii and david abogian and i guess some of the transfers you brought in obviously you got a couple freshmen coming in this year kaden snider katin moody malachi mills um so they're going to have to I mean, I guess Calvin Clemens would be the one, right? But Clemens struggled this year. And then you're looking at, like, the returning offense alignment, Tavaki Tuco Lavatu, former transfer from UCLA, Amir Herring, former transfer from Michigan, Tyler Mercer, transfer from North Texas, DeAndre Harper, D2 transfer, James Livingston, I think he was internal,

but we haven't really seen him hit the ground running. Antonio Wilson, former Juco, Tranezer, Jack Tanner, transfer from Tulsa, like point being, you go down the list. I'd like to see KU start to develop that position internally a little more where you don't need as much out of the, transfer portal, but they need some. And I guess if a Ney was not a hit for the roster, then it does make sense to use that scholarship somewhere else. But it's just like you want to start getting a little bit more hits in that area. But I don't think that would have had an impact

on the too deep for KU is a positive sign. So you wish a Neyne best at his next spot. So what does that put KU at? puts him at 13 scholarship, I believe, transfer losses so far. Again, I think the one at receiver wasn't a transfer loss, but you're looking at it. And we talked about this on Friday. That's right around where KU typically loses scholarship players in terms of the average over the previous years of Leipold. Now it's slightly above the average. It was slightly below the average before this weekend. Now it's slightly above.

And the scary thing is, yes, there's still, you know, till January 2nd when the portal opens up. And I guess you really have till the portal closes on, what is it, January 16th. That means you basically have a month left, a little less than a month. month left of trying to retain players or that players could enter in the portal or that players could get tampered with. So the fact you're already at 13, I know if you look at this from a standpoint of like, well, how many of these guys are actual like future players that were going to be real for KU, like your John, John Camaro's and David McCombs, how many of them were going to be impact players right now, like like, you know, potentially playing starter

level snaps like Lyric Rawls. It's not as many. It's on the shorter side of the 13, but it just worries you that it's already 13. And like I said, what else is to come? at this point of time that is the worry from my standpoint now maybe it's it's you know uh maybe they've they've already you know prioritize the guys they've needed to uh it's always scary too during the christmas break because you go home and i'm sure some of these guys talk to some of their friends or family and probably some of them don't have the best advice and it ends up some of these kids transfer and get in a bad position so like it just gets interesting and uh boys this been a whirlwind uh not just the football season but this off season as well all right that'll know for this episode of

locked on Jayhawks, you can find our show anywhere we get podcasts, including on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. And we'll see you next time with KU Davidson preview right here on LOJ.