Where did Jayden Daniels go to college?

The Washington Commanders quarterback, Jayden Daniels, was born on December 18, 2000. The Commanders selected the Heisman Trophy winner with the 2nd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 12 games, passing for 2613 yards, 17 total touchdowns, and a 97.6 passer rating through the first 12 games of the 2024 NFL season.

The San Bernardino, California, native Daniels went to Cajon High School and as a four-star recruit, he opted for Arizona State University in 2019. However, due to recruiting violations and a then-ongoing NCAA investigation, he used the transfer portal to enroll at Louisiana State University in 2022-2023.

Where did Jayden Daniels attend college?

Jayden Daniels went to the Arizona State University (ASU) for three seasons, after which he transferred to the Louisiana State University (LSU) for two seasons. During his college career, he broke several records and received numerous awards. He participated in 55 games and finished with a 37-18 record; further, he has 953 combined tackles, 1,438 attempts for 12,749 passing yards, and 89 touchdowns. He also had 617 rushing attempts for 3,307 yards and 34 touchdowns.

ASU (2019-2021)

Daniels was the first rookie quarterback to start for the Sun Devils in the opening week of 2019. He was forced to sit out the next week due to a minor knee injury he sustained against the UCLA Bruins in Week 8. After a victory over the Oregon Ducks in Week 13, Daniels was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for 408 yards and scoring three touchdowns.

During the season, Daniels passed for 2,943 yards and 17 touchdowns, setting a freshman school record in the latter category. In a victory over the Florida State Seminoles, he was voted the 2019 Sun Bowl's most valuable player (MVP). He concluded the season with 17 touchdowns and 2,943 yards, a freshman school record.

Daniels and the Sun Devils only participated in four games during the 2020 season due to COVID-19. In one of the games, the team defeated the Arizona Wildcats 70-7, the biggest victory margin in the rivalry's history. In 2021, he had 710 rushing yards with six touchdowns and 2,381 passing yards with ten touchdowns, leading the Pac-12 in completion percentage (65.4%). Daniels entered the transfer portal in February 2022.

LSU (2022-2023)

In March 2022, Daniels moved to Louisiana State University to play for the Tigers. Under his direction, the Tigers defeated the Georgia Bulldogs to advance to the SEC Championship Game in 2022. However, he departed the game after Jalen Carter sacked him late in the second quarter due to a sprained ankle.

In the 2023 Citrus Bowl, Daniels made a comeback and helped the team defeat the Purdue Boilermakers 63-7. He finished the season with a total of 3,798 yards (2,913 passing, 885 rushing) and 28 touchdowns (17 passing, 11 rushing). He was the MVP of the Tigers football team. For the 2023 season, Daniels was chosen as the team captain. He suffered a concussion in Week 9 against the Alabama Crimson Tide as a result of a hit from Dallas Turner. The next week, he played against the Florida Gators again, and he broke the SEC record with 606 total yards. He also made Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history by becoming the first player to ever have 350 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in the same game. A week later, he scored eight touchdowns against the Georgia State Panthers, tying yet another SEC record.

Daniels won the 2023 Heisman Trophy. After Joe Burrow in 2019 and Billy Cannon in 1959, he was the third player from LSU to win the Heisman Trophy. To get ready for the NFL draft, he skipped the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl in January. He finished his collegiate career with 16,056 total yards, which is the sixth-highest in FBS history and makes him the only player to pass for 12,000 yards while rushing for 3,000.

Jayden Daniels' College Stats

Year	Team	Games		Passing								Rushing
		GP	Rec	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
2019	ASU	12	8–4	205	338	60.7	2,943	8.7	17	2	149.2	125	355	2.8	3
2020		4	2–2	49	84	58.3	701	8.3	5	1	145.7	33	223	6.8	4
2021		13	8–5	197	301	65.4	2,380	7.9	10	10	136.2	138	710	5.1	6
2022	LSU	14	10–4	266	388	69	2,913	7.5	17	3	144.5	186	885	4.8	11
2023		12	9–3	236	327	72	3,812	11.7	40	4	208	135	1,134	8.4	10
Career		55	37–18	953	1,438	66	12,749	8.9	89	20	158.4	617	3,307	5.4	34

Jayden Daniels' College Awards

Award	Year
SEC Male Athlete of the Year	2024
Best College Athlete, Men's Sports (ESPYs)	2024
Heisman Trophy	2023
Walter Camp Award	2023
Associated Press College Football Player of the Year	2023
Sporting News College Football Player of the Year	2023
Davey O'Brien Award	2023
Manning Award	2023
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award	2023
Consensus All-American	2023
SEC Football Offensive Player of the Year	2023
LSU Tigers football MVP	2022
Sun Bowl MVP	2019
7× SEC Offensive Player of the Week	2022, 2023
2× Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week	2019, 2021

Jayden Daniels' College Records

Records	Year
FBS single-season passer rating record: 208.0	2023
Only player in FBS history with 12,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing	-
SEC single-game touchdowns: 8 (tied with Joe Burrow)	2023
SEC single-game total yards: 606	2023
LSU career quarterback rushing yards: 2,019	-
LSU single-season total yards: 4,946	2023
LSU single-season quarterback rushing yards: 1,134	2023
LSU single-season quarterback rushing touchdowns: 11	2022
Only player in FBS history with 350 yards passing and 200 yards rushing in a game	-
Arizona State freshman passing yards: 2,943	2019
CIF Southern Section passing touchdowns: 170 and yards: 14,007	-

Jayden Daniels' High School

Daniels went to Cajon High School in 2015 and as a freshman, he was selected as the starting quarterback. That year, he guided the team to the CIF Southern Section (CIF-SS) Inland Division playoffs, being defeated by Heritage. In the 2016 season, though, he didn't miss any games but broke the finger of his throwing hand.

Daniels set a record for the most yards in a season with 6,431 in 2017, leading Cajon to a Citrus Belt League (CBL) championship and a trip to the Division 2-AA state finals versus Junípero Serra. In 2018, as a senior, he guided Cajon to yet another CBL championship but lost. After the season, he was awarded the men's winner of the Ken Hubbs Award.

Daniels played in a total of 53 games and finished with 17,642 career yards (14,007 passing, 3,635 rushing) and 211 touchdowns (170 passing, 41 rushing), setting CIF-SS records. At the school, he also took part in relay sprints for the 100, 200, 400, and 4 × 100 meters, as well as hurdling.

Listed by 247Sports as the best dual-threat quarterback prospect in his class, Daniels, before deciding to play football for ASU's Sun Devils, received scholarships from 25 colleges.