LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels avoids a Georgia State defender’s tackle earlier this season.
Jayden Daniels is the best player in the country.
It isn’t even close.
With all due respect to Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix — who finished second and third on my Heisman ballot — Daniels was a video game joystick disguised as a quarterback this season.
They say no Heisman Trophy winner did so without a signature moment, and the LSU quarterback has had several.
Even if the Tigers were arguably the third-best team in the SEC, Daniels stood tall above the rest when it came to individual greatness. As someone who watches a lot of college football, it seemed as if every time the Bayou Bengals were on the tube, he leaped off the screen.
His signature moment was actually an entire game of highlight plays. That 606-yard explosion against Florida will go down as the greatest performance in LSU history and the one game that let us all know that he was the best player in college football.
Daniels, who finished with 40 touchdown passes and another 10 on the ground in a year in which he revisited a record 200.8 passer rating, was an instant favorite after he became the first player in FBS history to have at least 350 yards passing and 200 rushing. He went for 372 rushing and 254 on the ground in a 52-35 win over Ole Miss and accounted for five touchdowns along the way.
That’s called a signature moment if I ever saw one.
In a season in which great quarterbacking was all over the place, Daniels was must-see television with an astounding 90 plays of 20-plus yards. He and wideout Malik Nabers were the best 1-2 combination in college football, and when the passing game wasn’t there, Daniels did it with his feet.
He is the first FBS quarterback to pass for more than 3,800 yards and rush for more than…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/great-quarterbacks-lsus-jayden-daniels-030025085.html
Author : Austin American-Statesman
Publish date : 2023-12-10 03:00:25
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