LSU football coach Brian Kelly's Jayden Daniels slip increases Commanders buzz
Kelly may have just hinted where Jayden Daniels will end up in this year's draft LSLSD quarterback Jayden Daniels, who recently won the Heisman Trophy and is expected to be a top-three pick in the 2024 NFL draft, may be playing for the Washington Commanders. However, LSU football coach Brian Kelly recently hinted that Daniels would be playing in Commanders Field next season. This comes amid concerns about his size and his ability to absorb hits at the NFL level. Despite these concerns, Daniels' rushing game and other top amateur QBs' impressive yardage numbers have been noted. In 2023, Daniels threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns on a 72.2% completion percentage and a 208.0 passer rating. Additionally, he ran for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns in 135 attempts last year.
نشرت : منذ 4 أسابيع بواسطة Brian Buyawe في Sports
The 2024 NFL draft is less than a month away and one of the highly-touted names is quarterback Jayden Daniels. The LSU football star, who recently won the Heisman Trophy, is expected to be a top-three pick. It seems like he might just end up with the Washington Commanders, based on Brian Kelly's recent comments.
The LSU head coach was interviewed during the QB's Pro Day and whether or not it was intentional, Kelly just hinted that Daniels would be starring in Commanders Field next season.
“He (Daniels) is going to be so committed to taking care of himself that you don't have to worry about size or (that) he doesn't weigh enough,” Kelly said, per Covers. “Lamar's (Lamar Jackson has) done a pretty good job with his size. I think (Patrick) Mahomes, I wouldn't consider him a giant. Cause he's (Daniels is) gonna get the ball out to the playmakers and make plays for Washington.”
The questions on size stem from Daniels' frame. In the height department, LSU's star towers at 6-foot-4. However, he began his collegiate career at Arizona State weighing 175 pounds. He may have bulked up to 210 pounds (his current listed weight) but concerns continue to linger on whether or not Daniels can absorb hits at the NFL level.
Nevertheless, as Kelly stated, other well-known quarterbacks in the league are playing at the highest level despite their lack of size. There are ways to bypass an issue such as this and Daniels' play in the amateurs is a strong indicator that he could do just that. In 2023, Daniels threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns on a 72.2% completion percentage and a 208.0 passer rating.
While one can argue that other top amateur QBs also totaled similar yardage numbers, what possibly separates Daniels from the rest of the field is his rushing game. The LSU standout also ran 1,134 yards and tallied 10 touchdowns in 135 attempts last year. In other words, Daniels had a 50-touchdown season in 2023.
To add to his impressive statistics, Daniels broke records as well. Back against Florida football in November, the 23-year-old became the first FBS quarterback to record 350+ passing yards and 200+ rushing yards in a single game, per USA Today's Eric Olson. That same game also made Daniels the first FBS player to amass career totals of 12,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards.
Daniels' quarterback play propelled LSU to a 10-3 overall (6-2 in-conference) record for a third-place SEC finish last year. Their three losses may have caused the team to miss the College Football Playoff, but they at least finished the season on a high note with a win over Wisconsin football in the Reliaquest Bowl.
Regardless of another missed CFP appearance, Brian Kelly and Jayden Daniels have turned the program around in the past two years. Both coach and quarterback entered LSU football in 2022, when the team was coming off a previous-year record of 6-7 (3-5) and was reeling from the departure of longtime coach Ed Orgeron.
Kelly and Daniels put LSU back in the winning column, finishing the 2022 season with a 10-4 record. Last year's 10-3 standing was a slight improvement, and Kelly surely looks to see even better results this 2024.
For that to take place, however, Kelly needs to make sure that Garrett Nussmeier steps up to the plate while LSU awaits the services of number-one overall prospect Bryce Underwood in 2025.
المواضيع: Louisiana State University, Academia, Football, Sports Figures