Brian Kelly pushes Jayden Daniels hit for SEC review as LSU QB's medical setback raises concerns over his availability in upcoming games

LSU football coach Brian Kelly has been fuming over quarterback Jayden Daniels' injury caused by a hit from Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner on Saturday. Kelly isn't letting go of the potentially game-changing blow that left his quarterback sidelined with a concerning head injury during the 42-28 loss to the Crimson Tide.

The hit on Daniels came about in the fourth quarter and immediately raised eyebrows and concerns over player safety. The play saw Turner contact Daniels below the face mask, driving him forcefully into the ground.

The officials swiftly flagged it as a roughing-the-passer offense, costing Alabama 15 yards. Despite the flag, Alabama coach Nick Saban defended his player. The long-serving Crimson Tide coach told Bama247:

“It wasn’t like a direct hit or an intentional hit to the head. It was a really good hit, but unfortunately, his helmet did slide up and hit the guy, so it’s a foul if you hit the quarterback in the head. It’s gonna get called all the time.”

In defense of Jayden Daniels, Brian Kelly is pushing for a review by the Southeastern Conference. He stated:

“Look, we want to protect the quarterback, and certainly there was a penalty after the play. There was plenty of time to look at it. They must’ve felt that there wasn’t targeting. We sent it to the league office because we felt like it checked all the boxes. Again, we want to protect the quarterback here.”

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Brian Kelly provides Jayden Daniels' injury update

Coach Brian Kelly gave reporters an update on Jayden Daniels and described his star QB as "day-to-day." He stated:

"I can tell you he's made some progress. We'll take Jayden's situation day by day, and we're hopeful things continue to move in the right direction, but you always have to prepare yourself."

If Daniels cannot play, third-year quarterback Garrett Nussmeier will be stepping in for his first start of the season. This could serve as valuable experience for Nussmeier, getting his gears fixed with the first team. The 21-year-old is expected to take the QB1 role for LSU in 2024.

Brian Kelly also thinks highly of Nussmeier. He underlined the importance of each week in Nussmeier's preparation:

“I think every week has been important for him in terms of preparation. Certainly, we're gonna make sure he's ready. There's some things we gotta clean up, and he knows it. He clearly recognizes there's some things he's gotta do better during practice, and he's up for it.”

Coming back to the Jayden Daniels hit, the incident has once again brought the ever-looming question of player safety to the forefront. There’s still some ambiguity as to whether the issue falls under the NCAA's targeting rule or not. If we go by the rulebook, it states:

“No player shall target and make forcible contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless player or contact an opponent with the crown (top) of their helmet.

“The definition of ‘crown of the helmet,’ approved starting with the 2022 season, focused the attention on the top of the helmet. The term ‘forcible contact’ has replaced the word ‘initiate’ to ensure the intent of the rule is clear.”

With Jayden Daniels almost ruled out, the LSU Tigers (6-3, 4-2 SEC) would like to get back to winning ways this coming Sunday in their Week 11 matchup against the Florida Gators (5-4, 3-3 SEC).