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Jayden Daniels: Difference between revisions

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Jayden Daniels

Daniels with the LSU Tigers in 2023
No. 5 – Washington Commanders
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(2000-12-18) December 18, 2000 (age 23) San Bernardino, California, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:	Cajon (San Bernardino)
College:	Arizona State (2019–2021) LSU (2022–2023)
NFL draft:	2024 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2
Career history
Washington Commanders (2024–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Heisman Trophy (2023) Walter Camp Award (2023) AP College Football Player of the Year (2023) SN College Football Player of the Year (2023) Davey O'Brien Award (2023) Manning Award (2023) Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (2023) Consensus All-American (2023) SEC Offensive Player of the Year (2023)
Player stats at PFR

Jayden Daniels (born December 18, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played three seasons of college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils and two with the LSU Tigers, where he won the 2023 Heisman Trophy after leading the FBSintotal yards and setting the single-season passer rating record. Daniels was selected by the Commanders second overall in the 2024 NFL draft.

Early life

Daniels was born on December 18, 2000, in San Bernardino, California.^[1][2] He grew up playing flag football, basketball, and soccer before attending Cajon High School in 2015.^[1] Daniels, named the starting quarterback of Cajon's varsity team as a freshman, required a medical waiver to play due to entering high school undersized for the position at 130 pounds (59 kg).^[1][3] In four seasons, he scored 211 touchdowns (170 passing, 41 rushing) and gained 17,642 yards (14,007 passing, 3,635 rushing), both CIF Southern Section records.^[1][4] He also ran sprints at Cajon, participating in hurdling and the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, and 4 × 100 meters relay.^[5][6]

Daniels was named the men's recipient of the Ken Hubbs Award, given annually the top high school athletes in San Bernardino, following a Citrus Belt League championship and state finals appearance as a senior in 2018.^[a][4] He was invited to the 2018 Elite 11 quarterback competition^[b] and participated in the 2019 Under Armour All-America GameinOrlando, Florida, throwing two touchdowns in a win.^[c][7][8] Daniels, ranked the top dual-threat quarterback prospect of the 2019 college football class by 247Sports,^[9] committed to play for the Sun DevilsatArizona State University (ASU).^[10] He graduated from Cajon early and enrolled at ASU in January 2019.^[11]

College career

Arizona State (2019–2021)

Daniels, named the starter for the 2019 season, was the first freshman quarterback to start opening week for the Sun Devils.^[12] He suffered a minor knee injury in a game against the UCLA Bruins that forced him to sit the following week.^[13] Daniels was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week in a Week 13 upset win against the Oregon Ducks,^[d] scoring three touchdowns and passing for 408 yards.^[14] He threw for 17 touchdowns and 2,943 yards on the season, the latter being a school record for a freshman.^[15] He led the team to a 8–4 record and was voted MVP of the 2019 Sun Bowl in a win over the Florida State Seminoles.^[16] He was later named a semifinalist for the FWAA freshman of the year award.^[17]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniels and the Sun Devils played only four games in the 2020 season. One of the games included a 70–7 win against the Arizona Wildcats, the largest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry.^[18] For the 2021 season, he led the Pac-12 in completion percentage (65.4) while throwing for 2,381 yards with 10 touchdowns and rushing for 710 yards with 6 touchdowns.^[19] Daniels led the team to an appearance in the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers before finishing with a record of 8–5.^[20] Due to significant coaching staff turnover following the season, in which several were fired or had resigned following a NCAA investigation into the school for COVID-related recruiting violations, Daniels entered the transfer portal in February 2022.^[21]

LSU (2022–2023)

In March 2022, Daniels transferred to Louisiana State University to play for the LSU Tigers.^[22] He was named the starter over Garrett Nussmeier prior to the opening game of the 2022 season.^[23] Daniels led the Tigers to a 9–3 record and an appearance in the 2022 SEC Championship Game against the Georgia Bulldogs.^[24] Daniels, entering with a sprained ankle, left the game following a sack by Jalen Carter late in the second quarter.^[e][24][25] He returned the following week for the 2023 Citrus Bowl, catching a touchdown pass from wide receiver Malik Nabers in a 63–7 win over the Purdue Boilermakers.^[26] He finished the season as a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award after accounting for 28 touchdowns (17 passing, 11 rushing).^[27][28][29]

Named a team captain for the 2023 season,^[30] Daniels led the Tigers to a 9–3 record and won the Heisman Trophy among several other awards after setting the NCAA single-season passer rating record (208.0), scoring 50 touchdowns (40 passing, 10 rushing), and leading the NCAA in total yards with 4,946 (3,812 passing, 1,134 rushing).^[27][31] He was the third LSU player to win the Heisman behind Billy Cannon (1959) and Joe Burrow (2019).^[31] In a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide,^[f] Daniels suffered a head injury and entered concussion protocol. He returned the following week against the Florida Gators,^[g] setting a SEC record with 606 total yards and becoming the first player in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history to pass for 350 and run for 200 in single game.^[32][33] A week later against the Georgia State Panthers, he tied a school record with eight touchdowns.^[h][34] Daniels sat out of the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl to prepare for the NFL draft, finishing his college career with 16,056 total yards, the sixth-highest in FBS history and the only to pass for 12,000 yards while rushing for 3,000.^[35][36]

Statistics

Professional career

External videos
Commanders select Jayden Daniels with No. 2 pick in 2024 draft, Commanders.com

Daniels was selected second overall by the Washington Commanders in the 2024 NFL draft.^[39] He was one of six quarterbacks taken in the first round, tying the 1983 draft for the most in NFL history.^[40] Daniels signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $37.75 million fully guaranteed, on June 14, 2024.^[41]

Awards

External videos
Daniels's Heisman acceptance speech, ESPN

• Heisman Trophy (2023)^[31]
• Walter Camp Award (2023)^[42]
• Associated Press College Football Player of the Year (2023)^[43]
• Sporting News College Football Player of the Year (2023)^[44]
• Davey O'Brien Award (2023)^[45]
• Manning Award (2023)^[46]
• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (2023)^[47]
• Consensus All-American (2023)^[48]
• SEC Offensive Player of the Year (2023)^[49]
• 2022 LSU Tigers football MVP^[28]
• 2019 Sun Bowl MVP^[16]
• 7× SEC Offensive Player of the Week (2022: Week 8, 10; 2023: Week 3, 4, 6, 11, 12)^[50]
• 2× Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week (2019: Week 13; 2021: Week 5)^[51][52]

Records

• NCAA FBS single-season passer rating record: 208.0 (2023)^[31]
• Only player in FBS history with 12,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing^[36]
• LSU career quarterback rushing yards: 2,019^[50]
• LSU single-season total yards: 4,946 (2023)^[50]
• LSU single-season quarterback rushing yards: 1,134 (2023)^[50]
• LSU single-season quarterback rushing touchdowns: 11 (2022)^[50]
• LSU single-game total touchdowns: 8, tied with Joe Burrow (2023)^[34]
• LSU single-game total yards: 606 (2023)^[33]
  • Only player in FBS history to pass for 350+ and rush for 200+ in the same game^[33]
• Arizona State freshman passing yards: 2,943 (2019)^[15]
• CIF Southern Section passing touchdowns (170) and yards (14,007)^[1]

Personal life

Daniels was born to Javon "Jay" Daniels, a college football cornerback in the late 1990s for the Washington Huskies and Iowa State Cyclones, and Regina Jackson.^[3][53] He has an older sister named Bianca.^[53] His paternal grandparents died from COVID-19 in early 2021.^[3] In April 2024, Regina was found to have violated NCAA guidelines by booking flights for recruits to visit Arizona State during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.^[54] He is a Christian.^[55] Daniels grew up a fan of quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick, choosing 5 as his uniform number after the former.^[56] His favorite meal to prepare is spaghetti and other types of pasta, with his favorite snack being honey buns.^[57] Daniels earned an undergraduate degree from Arizona State in December 2021 and pursued a Master of Liberal Arts degree at LSU.^[1][58][59] In 2024, San Bernardino mayor Helen Tran declared January 20 as Jayden Daniels Day and presented him with the key to the city.^[60] At the same time, Cajon High School renamed their football stadium after him.^[60]

In college, Daniels signed name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals with brands such as Raising Cane's, Powerade, Beats by Dre, and Urban Outfitters.^[61][62][63] He will be featured on The Money Game, a NIL-focused docuseriesbyPrime Video that followed him, Angel Reese, Flau'jae Johnson, and Livvy Dunne through LSU's 2023–24 sports season.^[64] Daniels began training using virtual reality (VR) during his 2023 Heisman season. The custom software was designed by the German company Cognilize for VR headsets and included LSU's playbook and opposing teams, with Daniels attributing it to helping him understand defensive coverages "75 to 80 percent" better by the end of the season.^[65] He continued to use the technology in the NFL.^[66] Daniels threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Nationals game in June 2024.^[67]

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jayden Daniels.

• Official website
• Jayden DanielsatHeisman.com
• Washington Commanders bio
• LSU Tigers bio
• Arizona State Sun Devils bio