Who is Jayden Daniels? LSU QB’s hometown, college, and path to taking college football by storm

Quarterback Jayden Daniels led the LSU Tigers to the SEC Championship game in his first season with the team. Although the Tigers lost to the Georgia Bulldogs for the conference championship, the team will now face a hard-hitting Purdue Boilermakers team on Monday afternoon in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

A win over the Boilermakers will give the LSU Tigers a ten-win season, their first under new head coach Brian Kelly.

Daniels' ability as a playmaker has caught the attention of NFL scouts. However, he just recently made the decision to return to LSU next season instead of pursuing his NFL dream. Another year in the SEC with offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock should increase the quarterback's draft stock even more. But how did the LSU Tigers quarterback get to where he is now?

Where is LSU QB Jayden Daniels from?

Jayden Daniels was born and raised in San Bernardino, California. He attended and played high school football at Cajon High School, where he was a four-star recruit. In the 2019 class, he was ranked as the second-best in the nation in terms of dual threat quarterbacks.

Where did LSU QB Jayden Daniels start his college football career?

Jayden Daniels committed to playing college football at Arizona State University in December 2018. He graduated from Cajon High School that same semester so that he could be an early enrollee at Arizona State and participate in spring practice.

He was named the starting quarterback at the start of his freshman season at Arizona State. He threw for 2,943 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for 355 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Sun Devils to a 8-4 record in 12 starts. Arizona State went on to win the Sun Bowl with a win over Florida State.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a shortened seasons in the PAC-12 in 2020. He started all four games, but Sun Devlis went just 2-2 on the season. In 2021, Daniels was once again the starter for Arizona State, leading them to a 8-5 record and a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl. He threw for over 2,300 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 710 yards and six touchdowns that season.

In early 2022, Daniels announced that he was entering the NCAA transfer portal and later decided to commit to LSU. He arrived on campus just two weeks before the start of spring practice.

Jayden Daniels' 2022 stats

In 2022, the LSU starting quarterback started eight games and missed some time due to an ankle injury. He threw for 1,812 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for 524 yards and nine touchdowns.