Sep 10, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski walks along the sidelines during the second quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Kansas Football Quarterback Promises Creative Changes to Offense

Originally posted on Kansas Jayhawks on SI
By Joshua Schulman | Last updated Jul 26, 2025 12:32 AM ET

After an eventful opening day at the Kansas Jayhawks' fall camp, players and coaches continued to field questions on Friday about the upcoming season.

Backup quarterback Cole Ballard answered a handful of questions with the media following workouts.

When asked about co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Matt Lubick, Ballard promised some interesting offensive schemes.

“Coach Lubick is great,” Ballard said. “He was obviously in a different role my freshman year, so I got a little bit of interaction with him there. But ever since he’s been back, we’re throwing new things out there that people have never seen before, so it’s going to be fun.”

"We’re throwing new things out there that people have never seen before."

QB Cole Ballard on the Jayhawks offense. #kufball pic.twitter.com/YifZDcjNud
— JayhawkSlant (@JayhawkSlant) July 25, 2025

While Jim Zebrowski enters his first season as KU's offensive coordinator, Lubick is expected to take on a major role as well.

A former offensive analyst at Kansas from 2022-2023, Lubick returned to Lawrence bringing a wealth of collegiate coaching experience. He is widely credited with helping shape the creativity behind Andy Kotelnicki’s distinctive play-calling approach.

The Jayhawks will need significantly more consistent and creative play-calling in 2025 after a disappointing one-and-done season under Jeff Grimes.

Many fans criticized his offensive schemes as overly simplistic and believed he failed to tailor his playbook to the strengths of his personnel, most notably quarterback Jalon Daniels.

Ballard, the son of Indianapolis Colts general Manager Chris Ballard, is playing under his third offensive coordinator in as many years. For him to say that Kansas is continuing to draw up new sets is important to hear.

With plenty of brand new weapons on the offensive end, it could take some time for the newcomers to become acclimated to KU’s system, but Jayhawk fans should be in for some unique play-calls in 2025.

This article first appeared on Kansas Jayhawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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