Kansas has struggled to find consistent success with its offense as the Jayhawks have dropped their last four games. Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes met with the media on Wednesday, talking about the makeup of Jalon Daniels’ throws, target distribution for wide receivers, the improvements of Daniel Hishaw, and what he’s seen from Arizona State’s defense.

Opposing defenses forcing Daniels to throw to the sideline

Against TCU and throughout the season, a lot of Daniels’ throws have been to the sidelines. Grimes said this is due to opposing defenses taking away the seams or middle of the field, leaving the sidelines as the best place to attack.

“When you're talking about throwing the ball down the field, if you're seeing a lot of single high structures, cover one, cover three, which we are; then there's a deep safety in the middle of the field,” Grimes said. “That makes it hard to throw it down the field in the middle. If you’re seeing more of your zone pressure, three deep stuff, then there are seams underneath. If you’re not, you’re seeing three and four man rush with three deep, then there are a lot of people underneath in those zones.”

Essentially, the best place for Kansas to throw the ball has been to the sidelines. These throws aren’t the easiest to make, and Daniels is sitting at a 53% completion percentage, the lowest since his true freshman season.

Grimes said that to some extent, the defense has dictated where the best spots to throw the ball are. He also said he’s seen some improvement in certain areas but there are still ways he can improve further.

Balance between feeding productive receivers and getting others going

Kansas returned all three of its top receivers from last season. Luke Grimm has remained productive, but both Lawrence Arnold and Quentin Skinner have taken a step back. Grimm leads the team with 30 receptions, while Arnold and Skinner have combined for 23.

Grimes said there has to be a balance between force feeding Grimm and trying to get Arnold and Skinner in rhythm. He again said the defense determines where the ball might go if they try and take a specific receiver out of the game.

“There are times when you can attempt to target someone, but the defense may take that away,” Grimes said. “And sometimes if you limit yourself too much, then it puts the quarterback in a bind. And so we try not to do that too much. There are certainly plays where we're looking somewhere first. And who we put in that spot might differ from play to play.”

There are other ways to distribute targets, despite Daniels just going through his reads. Grimes said there are ways to balance targets through things like how pass protection and scrambles set up.

Hishaw becoming more balanced as a runner

Kansas’ leading rusher against TCU was Daniel Hishaw, not Devin Neal. Hishaw outgained Neal 85-70, the first game where someone other than Neal was the leading rusher since Jalon Daniels outrushed Neal against Duke in 2022.

Grimes talked about what he’s seen from Hishaw, complimenting his trademarked physicality. However, he also talked about how he’s improved in ball security, which had been an issue at times in Hishaw’s career.

“I think a player like him that plays with a physical nature, you're always going to appreciate it more when it's live,” Grimes said. “But the thing I would say that I’m probably impressed the most with is, if you watch him last year and you look at how he's playing, I think you see a difference in terms of his ability to make a guy miss. He will run through a shoulder as opposed to right through somebody's face, which has also resulted in better ball security for him and really a more productive style of play.”

Hishaw has rushed for 262 yards and three touchdowns in four games, averaging 65.5 yards per game and 6.9 per carry.

Arizona State’s defense is aggressive

Grimes emphasized that the Sun Devils like to play an aggressive defense. He said they do a nice job forcing turnovers. Arizona State has forced seven turnovers through its first four games.

“The ball is snapped and they try to go get the football and done a nice job with turnovers,” Grimes said. “They can go get the ball, track it in the air and pick it off. They knock a bunch of balls out because they play very aggressively, especially at the second and third level.”