The transfer portal closed Friday, Jan. 16, but several portal entrants are still determining their landing spots during the final stretch of the month.
One of those transfers is former Rice quarterback Chase Jenkins who completed a transfer to Kansas on Sunday, Jan. 18.
Jenkins arrived at Rice in 2023 and saw substantial action as a true freshman, while backing up JT Daniels. Jenkins completed 13-of-19 passes that season for 100 yards and an interception.
Rice also utilized him in certain packages as the team’s most mobile quarterback, and he rushed 14 times for 82 yards and a touchdown in his first year out of high school. He never started a game in 2023 but played the entire second half against eventual American Conference champion SMU after Daniels exited with a concussion.
Jenkins maintained his redshirt in 2023, but his role switched considerably as a redshirt freshman in 2024. He transitioned to wide receiver and only made two appearances, recording one rush and zero receptions. The Owls made a head coaching change that fall, parting ways with Mike Bloomgren and hiring FCS Davidson head coach Scott Abell.
With Abell bringing a spread option based scheme to Rice that required quarterback mobility, Jenkins moved back to quarterback and instantly climbed to the top of the depth chart. He started all 12 regular season games for the Owls, completing 119-of-172 passes (69.2%) for 1,025 yards. Although Rice passed sparingly, Jenkins exhibited a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 9-to-2 in his first year as a starter. As a runner, he attained 531 yards and five touchdowns on 151 attempts (3.5 yards per carry), ranking second on the Owls in rushing yards and touchdowns.
Jenkins, with two years of eligibility remaining, joins a Kansas team that finally graduates six-year starting quarterback Jalon Daniels. Head coach Lance Leipold must decide on Daniels’ successor this offseason, and he has several options at his disposal, with Jenkins joining the fold. The Jayhawks also retain their underclassmen backups who saw reps in 2025 — Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall — and both showed impressive mobility, a necessity in Leipold’s offenses. Ballard threw 22 passes and rushed for 92 yards on 15 carries, while Marshall threw three times and accrued 160 rushing yards on 15 attempts.
For Rice, the Owls likely move forward with former Miami (FL) and UCF quarterback Jacurri Brown as its starter. Brown arrives in Houston with five starts from his previous schools as the projected conductor of Abell’s option offense in 2026.
