By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – Jayden Daniels’ first snap as LSU’s starting quarterback in the 2022 season-opener vs. Florida State was a madcap 25-yard sprint that also drew an FSU late hit penalty.
The last play before the former Arizona State transfer likely wins the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in New York City was taking a knee two Saturdays ago to secure a regular season-ending win over Texas A&M after he threw for three fourth-quarter TDs and rallied LSU to victory.
Everything in between, from beginning scramble to the victory formation kneel, is something LSU’s Brian Kelly has never witnessed in his 34 years as a college head football coach.
“I don’t know that I’ve had somebody make that kind of jump to clearly become the front runner for the Heisman,” said Kelly, who owes No. 13 LSU’s 9-3 record and ReliaQuest Bowl bid to the slithering smooth California native Daniels.
How does someone who started 29 games in three seasons for Arizona State yet throw a pedestrian 10 TDs and 10 interceptions two years ago for the Sun Devils make an Incredible Hulk-like transformation into topping major college football in eight stat categories as a senior this season?
And not just leading by small margin — but posting ridiculous numbers that sends football historians into a research frenzy.
For instance, Daniels’ 412.2 total offense yards per game is more yardage averaged by 21 of the last 22 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, more than 84 FBS (Division 1) teams averaged this season and more than 70 of LSU’s past 85 teams since 1938 averaged.
“I just wanted to come to LSU and find the joy in football again,” said Daniels, who played for three offensive coordinators in his three years at ASU as the program switched its offense away from his strengths as a run-pass-option and zone read QB. “I wanted to refocus myself and rebrand who I wanted to be as a football player.
“It’s really nothing but God’s plan, honestly.”
That and the offense-oriented minds of Kelly, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and QB coach Joe Sloan tailoring an offense to Daniels’ skill set. Daniels embraced it investing in sweat equity that has paid enormous dividends.
“I put the work in, day in and day out,” Daniels said. “You can’t cheat the game of football. You’ve got to just give it your all. Just lock in for a couple of months and your life can change.”
Change indeed. Even from last season when Daniels led LSU to a 10-4 record (including a win over Alabama) and the SEC West Division title as Tigers won 6 of their final 8 games when Daniels found his footing in a brand-new locale.
One thing that helped Daniels make a flawless transition to LSU from the start is his naturally pleasant personality.
“When somebody comes in and transfers, their guard is up,” Kelly said. “Jayden has always been approachable. He’s always been somebody that has reached out to others on our football team.
“You see him smiling on the sideline all the time. That’s the way he is whether he’s in meetings or whether he’s in the football building. He has that personality and I think it’s infectious. That’s made our entire team embrace him.”
Though Daniels accounted for 3,798 (2,913 passing, 885 rushing) total offense yards and 28 TDs (17 passing, 11 rushing) last season, it didn’t always come easily.
Even when Daniels was considering entering the NFL Draft after getting a late Day 2 draft evaluation, he knew he still had weaknesses.
Though he had been a good deep ball thrower in the past, he was reluctant to throw consistently and accurately downfield. Not only did he not always trust his receivers, but he also wouldn’t have conviction in his line-of-scrimmage reads of opposing defenses.
There would still be occasions where he would depend on his God-given speed more than his eyes and escape the pocket before any of his receiving options worked open.
So, the off-season plan devised by the LSU offense coaching brain trust addressed all of Daniels’ issues.
This past summer, Daniels was allowed to split time between working out in Baton Rouge and home in California at Huntington Beach-based 3DQB, a training facility for elite QBs that has produced satisfied customers like retired NFL legends Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
LSU also gave Daniels a meal plan (cooked by a personal chef) to add weight. When Daniels was in Baton Rouge and not throwing to his receivers like now-Biletnikoff Award finalist Malik Nabers, he was using the Tigers’ virtual reality room to practice reading opposing defenses.
Finally, because of a light class load, Daniels’ daily routine began with a 5:30 a.m. film study session in the football ops building.
Mix all that together and you have a confident QB in complete command of his passing and running decisions.
Daniels started launching deep passes with pinpoint accuracy. He had 18 completions of 40 yards or more this season, including at least one completion of 42 yards or longer in every game.
“Preparing throughout the week helps me be decisive,” Daniels said, “and enables me to get my receivers passes on time so they can go out there and make plays.”
He showed impeccable patience behind superb pass protection, going through all his reads before finally gliding through defenses for 20 runs of 20 yards or longer, including five of 40 yards or more.
“If I see a run lane, I’m going to take it and just be decisive about it,” Daniels said. “It’s not a mindset thing. It’s instinct.”
While Daniels’ passing – 3,812 yards, 40 TDs, 72.2 completion percentage – has been enough alone to make him a Heisman finalist, it’s his 1,134 rushing yards, 10 TDs and nation-leading 8.4 yards per carry that will likely make him LSU’s third Heisman winner, joining Billy Cannon (1959) and Joe Burrow (2019).
“Jayden runs like a gazelle,” LSU center Charles Turner said. “Ever see a gazelle being chased by lions and cheetahs? It just kind of gallops away and glides.”
Even defenses with a designated defender as a spy assigned to keep Daniels corralled have failed.
“The guy is killing us with the scrambles,” exasperated Alabama head coach Nick Saban told the school’s sports radio network sideline reporter after Daniels had 301 total offense yards with three TDs in the first half of the Tide’s eventual 42-28 win in Tuscaloosa. “We’re not keeping him in the pocket. We got spies on him. The spies can’t get him on the ground.”
In his second season with LSU, Kelly will be forever grateful to Daniels for setting the foundation for a program seeking to become an annual national championship contender.
“We keep telling our players how you handle yourself on a day-to-day basis will have a direct correlation to what you get on the field,” Kelly said. “Jayden is that example of how he’s handled himself off the field, how he handles himself in his day-to-day routines, has had a direct correlation with the way he’s played the game. He’s influenced others around him.”
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com