Receivers say summer work with Jalon Daniels was valuable

When Jalon Daniels missed spring football with an injury, the need to get on the same page with his receivers became even more important heading into the 2025 season.

For Emmanuel Henderson, Keaton Kubecka and Levi Wentz, and several other players that meant extra work over the summer, including a trip California to train with Daniels and strengthen their timing and chemistry.

For Henderson, a spring enrollee from Alabama, those sessions were more than just about catching passes.

“You know, doing off-field things, after-practice things like throwing the ball around, working on routes, the details of the routes, and all the small details of things, really,” Henderson said. “It helped a lot. I helped tremendously, You know, we needed those two trips to get ready for this season. With us going down there with Jalon, it really helped us click, and it was a good trip.”

Before a larger group went out in the summer Henderson and Daniels took a trip with just the two of them.

“It was just the two of us,” Henderson recalled. “We were just going over the route trees, feeling things out, and getting down those routes we needed for the season. So, you know, me and him working together, it was great.”

Wentz, who also joined the program in the spring, echoed Henderson’s thoughts on the importance of the extra time. He signed with Kansas from Albany and will provide Kansas with a big body, physical presence.

“It helped a lot,” Wentz said. “Helped tremendously, I’ll say. You know, we needed those two trips to get ready for this season. With us going down there with Jalon, it really helped us click, and it was a good trip.”

For Kubecka, who was already familiar with the offense after spending last season in the Kansas program, it was his first time visiting California.

“It was cool,” Kubecka said. said. “It was my first time out there, and, you know, as someone from Texas, I’ve always wanted to go to California. It was awesome to go out there, man, and what a time to be with your guys, more than just on a football level but to get closer to them. We went to dinner together, ran routes together, got our timing down. So, it was a great trip and definitely brought us all closer.”

With fall camp starting to wind down, the time in California appears to be paying off. The extra sessions gave Daniels and the receivers a head start on timing and rhythm and they hope that shows up on the field when the season starts in two weeks.

Henderson worked with Daniels the most since he returned from his injury in the spring. He has been impressed with his throwing ability.

“I like the rotation of his spin on the ball,” Henderson said. “It’s immaculate. And the way he can make throws and put them in places has been great.”