Tag: Myles Brennan

2023 LSU Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 5 Jayden Daniels

Jayden Daniels comes back for a fifth year to lead an LSU team with high expectations.

Going into the 2023 football season, LSU Wire will be looking at each player listed on the Tigers’ roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Brian Kelly this season.

We’re taking a look at a guy whose success will largely determine LSU’s at-large. Quarterback [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] was one of the more surprising players in the country last fall after transferring in from Arizona State, and he could be poised to be one of the nation’s top signal-callers as he returns for his fifth season as a starter.

Jayden Daniels Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: San Bernandino, California

Ht: 6-4

Wt: 205

247Sports Composite Ranking

Four Stars | No. 3 in California | No. 2 Dual-Threat Quarterback

Class in 2022: Senior

Career Stats

Year G Pct Yards Avg TD INT
2019 (Arizona State) 12 60.7 2,943 8.7 17 2
2020 (Arizona State) 4 58.3 701 8.3 5 1
2021 (Arizona State) 13 65.4 2,381 7.9 10 10
2022 14 68.6 2,913 7.5 17 3

Depth Chart Overview

A top-40 overall prospect coming out of high school, Daniels became an immediate starter as a true freshman at Arizona State. His first two seasons were promising, but he struggled quite a bit in 2021, opting to enter the transfer portal.

He landed at LSU, where he beat out [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag] and [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] for the starting quarterback job. He ultimately had his most productive season since his true freshman year last fall. In addition to his passing numbers, he totaled 885 rushing yards and 11 scores on the ground.

Daniels comes into 2023 as the clear-cut starter, though Nussmeier will likely see some action, as well. Expectations are high for Daniels, who is widely seen as one of the best returning quarterbacks in the SEC and even as a possible Heisman contender.

Jayden Daniels’ Photo Gallery

Brian Kelly’s QB management sets LSU up as longtime contenders

Garrett Nussmeier’s return might be Kelly’s most important commitment yet.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] pulled off his most important recruiting job yet.

Earlier this week, quarterback [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] passed on the transfer portal’s second window and elected to stay at LSU.

There were never really any reports that suggested Nussmeier could leave. It always appeared LSU was confident he would stay, but speculation about the third-year QB remained.

With programs the size of Alabama and Georgia needing QBs, who would have blamed Nussmeier for exploring his opportunities elsewhere? This is a guy with evident NFL arm talent who could be ready to start right now. If his name appeared in the portal, coaches would be all over it.

Following Walker Howard’s transfer to Ole Miss, LSU couldn’t afford to lose Nussmeier. Looking back on it, Howard’s transfer might have even signaled LSU’s confidence in keeping Nussmeier.

With Howard gone, LSU was down to [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], Nussmeier, and incoming freshman [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag].

You don’t want to enter a season with just two scholarship QBs, especially when one is a true freshman who has never taken a snap.

But Nussmeier’s return is much more than a depth boost. While it’s likely Daniels keeps his job this fall, nobody can rule out Nussmeier starting or making a significant impact.

While some of LSU’s division rivals scramble to find a QB they like, LSU already has two. It’s hard to ask for much more than that.

Kelly set up LSU to contend for at least two years. Daniels was good last year and projects to be even better in 2023. Nussmeier, while not perfect, showed why coaches are so excited about what he can be.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that Daniels’ health was not perfect last fall. He’s a running QB who takes a lot of hits. He was banged up on multiple occasions and even had to leave the Auburn game.

If Daniels has to leave any games this fall, Nussmeier could enter without the offense missing a beat.

Again, that’s the type of security that’s rare to find in this era. It’s not easy to keep two good QBs on your roster. When it comes to this position, there’s not enough supply to meet the demand and there’s always a place where players the caliber of Daniels and Nussmeier could start.

Think about the uncertainty this room faced following the 2021 season. [autotag]Max Johnson[/autotag] had hit the transfer portal, Nussmeier missed the bowl game to preserve his redshirt and [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag] had just missed the entire year with an injury.

Nussmeier isn’t even a Kelly recruit. He signed with [autotag]Ed Orgeron[/autotag]. The staff Nussmeier signed with is long gone. With Brennan returning and the addition of Daniels and Howard, he could have left last year too.

But things got sorted out. Last spring, Daniels and Nussmeier emerged from the pack.

Kelly and LSU got here because they weren’t afraid to be aggressive. Kelly had talent in that room, but that didn’t stop him from getting Daniels. He recognized the talent he had in Nussmeier, even if it meant losing Brennan and Howard.

Now, this room is stable as can be.

This is a QB-driven sport and LSU has two that can take the wheel at any moment.

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Brian Kelly on Jayden Daniels’ improvement in spring: ‘There’s a different presence to him’

Here’s what Kelly had to say about Daniels’ growth so far this offseason.

The quarterback position at LSU will be of interest throughout the offseason.

With the return of [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag], LSU likes its options. Following the bowl game, coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] essentially said Daniels is still QB1.

With the spring game coming on Saturday, Kelly spoke about what he’s seen from Daniels this spring. He discussed Daniels’ vocal leadership on the field. He’s now more comfortable taking on a leadership role with his pass catchers, instructing them on routes.

“It’s harder sometimes to explain but you kind of sense it and see just by his interactions with Malik in terms of where he wants the football, how he’s addressing the offensive line when he’s making calls,” Kelly said, “There’s just a different presence to him.”

Daniels had a breakout year with LSU after a volatile three years at Arizona State. He won the job last fall after a competition with Nussmeier and [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag], and he’s set to lead what could be a nationally contending team.

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PFF evaluates LSU’s quarterback situation in 2023 with Jayden Daniels

Pro Football Focus predicted the starting quarterback for each top-25 team, and there were no surprises for LSU.

This time last season, LSU had all sorts of questions at the game’s most important position.

The Tigers were holding a seemingly three-way quarterback battle between veteran [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag], redshirt freshman [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] and transfer [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag]. Brennan ultimately retired from football after the spring, and Daniels won the starting job.

He never looked back, leading LSU to a 10-win season as one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC (and the entire country). Pro Football Focus predicted the starting quarterback for every top-25 team, and unsurprisingly, Daniels is expected to get the nod.

Here’s what PFF’s Max Chadwick said about him.

Like Nix and Penix, a new environment revived Daniels’ career. The Arizona State transfer led all quarterbacks in the country this season with a 0.6% turnover-worthy play rate. The fifth-year senior was also the only quarterback who rushed for over 1,000 yards. Overall, only Drake Maye and Caleb Williams were more valuable Power Five quarterbacks than the LSU signal-caller this past season.

That’s certainly lofty praise, but Daniels deserves it following a breakout season. After two promising seasons at ASU, Daniels struggled in his final season with the Sun Devils in 2021. The change of scenery worked wonders for him, and his return allows LSU continuity at the quarterback position for the first time since [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag] came back in 2019.

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Former LSU QB takes center stage in FCS playoffs

Lindsey Scott Jr. has taken the road less traveled, but he’s lighting up the scoreboard for a championship contender.

It’s been awhile since many LSU fans have heard the name “[autotag]Lindsey Scott Jr.[/autotag]”

This is a guy who arrived at LSU before [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag] did.

The past seven years have taken Scott on a journey. His career began at LSU before he took the JUCO route. He was then back in the SEC at Missouri. He didn’t play there and transferred back to his home state, playing for Nicholls.

After a stint there, he’s now at Incarnate Word and he’s put on a show.

In Incarnate Word’s high-scoring FCS playoff win, Scott took center stage, totaling six touchdowns and leading the offense in a 66-point performance. The final score, 66-63, was the highest-scoring game in FCS playoff history.

Scott threw for 219 yards and ran for 166 more.

It’s nice to see Scott’s career getting an ending such as this. He’s a guy who wasn’t highly recruited but gave it a shot at a couple of SEC programs. He’s dealt with injuries but finally found solid footing.

Scott and UIW now advance to the FCS semifinals where they will face North Dakota State.

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Walker Howard believes he is the best quarterback on the roster, per Brian Kelly

Kelly said the freshman quarterback has no shortage of confidence.

[autotag]Walker Howard[/autotag] was a four-star top-100 quarterback in the class of 2022 from St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette, Louisiana. He was one of the most prized recruits of Brian Kelly’s first recruiting class at LSU.

Coming into his freshman year, he knew there was a lot he would have to compete for a starting spot. At that time, LSU had three other quarterbacks ahead of him on the roster: [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag] and [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag].

Brennan then retired from football, and the job came down to Daniels or Nussmeier. Daniels won the job, but if you ask Howard, he thinks he is the best quarterback on the roster, according to Kelly.

“I’d say every day that he’s with us, there’s more knowledge,” said Kelly. “I’m in the meetings with the quarterbacks, and he’s got great football knowledge. He’s mentally strong, and he believes he’s better than every quarterback we have, which is awesome. I love that.

“Now, I don’t mean that in any way other than he just has that kind of makeup, which is what you want. And he respects everybody in the room. But yeah, he continues to develop, and we have a good feeling about him.”

LSU hopes Howard represents the quarterback of the future.

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Jayden Daniels earns Mississippi State game ball from coach Brian Kelly

Daniels overcame a rough start to the season to lead the Tigers to a big win Saturday.

Pressure can do one of two things to a person: It can turn you into a diamond, or it can turn you into dust. [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] has been under pressure since he was a freshman at Arizona State.

On Saturday, he shined in LSU’s SEC-opening win over Mississippi State, earning the game ball from coach Brian Kelly for his performance.

He graduated early from Cajon High School so that he could be an early enrollee for the Sun Devils’ 2019 recruiting class. That decision sped up his knowledge of the Arizona State offense and helped him win the starting job.

Fast forward to 2022, Daniels entered the transfer portal and was one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the portal. He chooses to take his talents to the Bayou and join [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] in the SEC. We all have heard the SEC slogan, “It just means more.” Football means more at LSU than it does at Arizona State.

LSU fans remember the last time a transfer quarterback started — he won a national championship. That’s even more pressure. Daniels wasn’t handed the starting role either. He had to earn it. He competed against [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag], Garrett Nussmeier and Walker Howard for the starting job, and he proved to everyone that he was the No. 1 quarterback on the team.

On Sept. 4, Daniels led the Tigers into Game 1 against Florida State in the same stadium where LSU won the 2019 national championship in. We know the end result. Daniels showed a lot of promise, but LSU came up short.

LSU starts the season 0-1 and even more, pressure is added on his shoulders. How would he respond to all of the pressure and adversity? He became a leader as he led the Tigers to a huge win in Kelly’s first SEC game against Mississippi State. He never shied away from the spotlight. He never folded to the pressure and expectations.

He put his head down and went to work. Now, it is his time to shine like a diamond.

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Former LSU QB Max Johnson to start for Texas A&M in Week 3

Max Johnson will make the start as the Aggies welcome Miami to College Station on Saturday.

Texas A&M’s offense has had an ugly start in 2022.

Despite scoring 31 points in the opener against Sam Houston State, Haynes King threw two picks. Things didn’t get better in the loss to Appalachian State. King threw for just 97 yards on 20 attempts. He didn’t throw a pick, but he didn’t find the end zone either.

A&M entered the App State game close to a 20-point favorite. The result isn’t sitting well with the folks in College Station and there will be some changes in Week 3.

Most notably, [autotag]Max Johnson[/autotag] will take the reigns at quarterback as the Aggies welcome the Miami Hurricanes to town.

Johnson’s start has yet to be confirmed by A&M, but [autotag]Jimbo Fisher[/autotag] did say they were going to look at other options this week and reports have stated that Johnson worked with the first team.

Johnson initially lost the competition to King after transferring out of LSU. As LSU’s starter in 2021, he offered a mixed bag. He threw 27 touchdowns and just six interceptions, but he was middle of the pack in most other stats.

According to PFF, only three QBs with at least 200 dropbacks graded out worse than Johnson in 2021. Perhaps there is some irony in Johnson’s best game coming against Texas A&M, which also happens to be the last time he made a start.

He threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns, leading a game-winning drive in Ed Orgeron’s final game as head coach.

When [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag] went down in 2020, LSU had a revolving door of Johnson and [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] at quarterback. Now, there’s a chance both start on the same day for SEC teams. Although, Finley is mixed up in a QB controversy himself at Auburn.

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LSU will reportedly start Jayden Daniels at quarterback in opener vs. Florida State

Kelly is going with the Arizona State transfer on Sunday night, per On3’s Matt Zenitz.

Tigers coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] has chosen to stay quiet this week regarding a starting quarterback, but it seems that the situation was resolved in the way many expected.

According to On3’s Matt Zenitz, LSU is set to start Arizona State transfer [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] in Sunday night’s season-opener against the Florida State Seminoles. Daniels started for the Sun Devils the last three seasons, completing 62.4% of his passes for 6,024 yards, 32 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

He was competing with redshirt freshman [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag], but he has been expected to win the job since the other veteran in the quarterback room, [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag], announced his retirement from football.

Daniels was Kelly’s handpicked option in the transfer portal, and now Tigers fans will get the chance to see what he can do against a Power Five program in the first game under the new regime.

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LSU is close to naming a starting quarterback, per Brian Kelly

Kelly said he expects to name a starter by the beginning of next week.

After an offseason in which it seemed like the three-man race for LSU’s starting quarterback job was anyone’s to win, we finally have some clarity regarding that situation.

[autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag] opted to retire from football, leaving [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] to compete against [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag]. Daniels is considered the favorite and has seen the bulk of first-team reps recently.

That could become official in just a few days, as coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said at his press conference on Tuesday that the team hopes to name a starting quarterback by early next week.

“I think we’re pretty much closing in on making a decision,” Kelly said. “The two of them are outstanding quarterbacks. If you were voting as a group in here, it might be split in this room. It’s pretty close. I think you can probably understand why, for us, we’re not jumping out there giving you a quarterback because they’re both fine quarterbacks and it’s that close. But we’re going to have to make a decision here in the next few days.”

Kelly elaborated on that timeline a bit.

“As long as we’ve got our decision made by the end of the weekend,” he said, “and we make some kind of announcement, whether it’s Monday or Tuesday of next week, we feel like we’ll be in a pretty good position.”

While it’s possible the competition could continue into the season, it’s clear the coaching staff wants to at least announce an initial starter heading into the season-opener against Florida State on Sept. 4. That quarterback will likely be Daniels, though Kelly still describes the competition as close.

The Tigers’ quarterback battle has been one of the most interesting to watch in the entire country this offseason, but it’s clearly winding down as kickoff is now just a week and a half away.

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