Jayden Daniels Will Win Heisman Saturday, But Many LSU Fans Didn't Consider Him The Best QB At LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. - Jayden Daniels arrived at LSU as a backup, in some circles.

He will leave as the 89th Heisman Trophy winner and in the most elite of LSU circles - just the third winner in the history of the program. Tailback Billy Cannon won it in 1959. Quarterback Joe Burrow took it in 2019.

The LSU Daniels leaves is more of a defense-weak, Pac-12 school than that of the Southeastern Conference - a Quarterback U., instead of a once-proud defensive brand.

The oddsmakers have the senior from San Bernardino (so foreign to LSU that the 2022 media guide doesn't have the second r), California, winning THE college football award Saturday (8 p.m., ESPN) at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

LSU's Jayden Daniels Favored To Win Heisman Trophy

Daniels is the consensus favorite to win the Heisman by the various oddsmakers with -1,400 to -1,600 odds across the board. Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is No. 2 with +900 to +1,000 numbers. Oregon quarterback Bo Nix is next at +2,200. Those three and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. have been in New York City as finalists. Harrison has +20,000 odds of winning.

Jayden Daniels in a near Heisman pose inadvertently while leading LSU by Florida. (Getty Images).

On Thursday, Daniels won the Associated Press college football player of the year award after one of the best seasons for a dual-threat quarterback in NCAA history. On Friday, he took the Walter Camp player of the year and the Davey O'Brien award that goes to the nation's best quarterback. And he previously won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award.

Daniels is the only 1,000-yard rushing quarterback in college football this season with 1,134 and 10 touchdowns on 135 carries for an 8.4-yard average. That's not just scrambling either. He runs like a tailback, though a skinny and long one at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds.

"He's phenomenal to watch as a downfield runner," WWL Radio-New Orleans analyst Mike Detillier told OutKick Friday. "What tips the scales to Daniels is his running skills."

Penix and Nix have comparable passing statistics to Daniels, but they are not close as runners.

Penix finished No. in the nation in passing yards per game (324.5) and passing yards (4,218) in 13 games. No. 2 Washington (13-0) beat No. 6 Oregon (11-2), 34-31, in the Pac-12 title game a week ago Friday to reach the four-team College Football Playoff. Nix was second in those categories at 318.8 and 4,145.

Oregon Quarterback Bo Nix Contended For Heisman Trophy

But neither was close to Daniels in the comprehensive passing efficiency statistical category. Daniels completed 236 of 327 for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns with four interceptions for a 208 rating. That was in 12 games for a 9-3 team with one of the worst defenses in the nation.

Nix was next 22 points later at 186.2 (336-of-435, 40 TDs, 3 INTs) with one of the top defenses in the nation. That is rare for the Pac-12. Penix finished 14th in efficiency at 161.4 (307-of-466, 33 TDs, 9 INTs).

Playing without a dominant tailback unlike Nix and Penix, Daniels also finished No. 1 in total offense (412.2 yards) to No. 3 Nix (336.4) and No. 6 Penix (323.1). He led the way in points responsible for, too, with 302 to 280 by Nix and 218 by Penix.

"Jayden carried this LSU team on his back all season long," Detillier said. "He's so talented as a runner and downfield passer. But what isn't talked about enough is his competitive edge as a player and his toughness."

Jayden Daniels May Be A Top 4 Pick In NFL Draft

Detillier, who produced a draft guide for four decades, sees Daniels as one of the top four picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. The other three are USC quarterback and 2023 Heisman winner Caleb Williams, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye and Harrison.

Yet when Daniels transferred to LSU from Arizona State after the 2021 season as a junior, he was not expected by many to dislodge Myles Brennan as starting quarterback. Brennan had followed Burrow and the national championship as the starter in the 2020 season. He suffered an abdominal injury and missed most of that season, then missed all of 2021 after breaking his non-throwing arm when he slipped getting in a boat.

Max Johnson started and played well in spots for the Tigers in 2021. But he transferred to Texas A&M following the season as Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly replaced fired coach Ed Orgeron. Brennan was seen as the starter for 2022 by many even after Daniels' transfer to LSU that March. And Daniels had started all 29 games at Arizona State for coach Herm Edwards from 2019-21.

But many LSU fans tend to be quarterback challenged. For they saw so few good ones and many bad ones between Tommy Hodson in the late 1980s and Burrow. So, they often do not know a good one when they see one, until it is painfully obvious.

Daniels' transfer did not draw a Mardi Gras parade in south Louisiana.

"Don’t understand the transfer here," one OutKick reader posted after Daniels' transfer. "Wonder what happened. Dudes don’t usually transfer out unless they lose their starting spot."

Another reader wrote, "Hearing he is not the best locker room guy."

There was a locker room issue, literally, but it ended up amounting to nothing.

Another reader said, "So basically, this guy can’t throw a forward pass and is somewhat of a decent runner, in the Pac-12 nonetheless. Personally, I don’t see him beating Myles Brennan out of a job."

Brennan and Daniels looked good in the spring game in 2022, but freshman Garrett Nussmeier looked the best. Still, throughout the summer, it appeared Brennan would retain his old job. In July, he attended the prestigious Manning Passing Academy, which most often is reserved for starters.

Kelly, though, told Brennan in August after a week of preseason practices that he would not be the starter, and Brennan left football. Daniels beat out Nussmeier and played well throughout the 2022 season. But not spectacularly. He finished No. 39 nationally and sixth in the SEC in passing efficiency at 144.5 (266-of-380, 2,913 yards, 17 TDs, 3 INTs). He did not look like a drop-back passer as he tended to tuck the ball quickly and rushed 186 times for 885 yards and 11 touchdowns.

LSU Fans Wanted Garrett Nussmeier To Be QB

But that was because Daniels played behind a weak offensive line, no matter how many different combinations Kelly tried. Still, many fans favored Nussmeier. And that was fueled by a late-season surge from Nussmeier. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns for an injured Daniels in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia in early December of last year. Never mind that LSU was not in the game by early second quarter and fell, 50-30. Fans still wanted Nussmeier, period.

"LSU’s delicate QB situation: Jayden Daniels, Garrett Nussmeier and an offseason of intrigue," stated a headline in The Athletic on Dec. 31, 2022.

Nussmeier hit another 11 of 15 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in a 63-7 win over Purdue in the Citrus Bowl. Five-star LSU freshman quarterback Walker Howard then transferred to Ole Miss, and LSU entered and exited spring drills with a supposed Nussmeier-Daniels duel on hand. But it was never really close.

"Jayden Daniels is not a bad collegiate quarterback or starting option for LSU. However, a better option is Garrett Nussmeier."

-Deathvalleyvoice.com, July 31, 2023

Daniels won the starting job for 2023 to the surprise of no one close to the program and not afflicted by backup-itis. But the fever for Nussmeier returned when No. 5 LSU lost 45-24 to No. 8 Florida State in the season opener. Daniels completed 22 of 37 for 346 yards and rushed for 64, but he led the Tigers to just one touchdown in the second half. He also threw a key interception to open the fourth quarter while down just 24-17. Reporters asked Kelly about Nussmeier.

Soon, though, the naysayers and Nussmeier fans quieted as Daniels took off and drowned everyone in passing and rushing statistics.

Anthony "Booger" McFarland is a former LSU first team All-American from Winnsboro, Louisiana, but he said it all on Nov. 25.

"Be honest and tell me he ain't the (Heisman) winner," he said on X.

That is hard to argue.

Meanwhile, Nussmeier is the projected starter for LSU's 2024 season as a redshirt junior. With Daniels likely not playing for the Tigers in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa against Wisconsin (7-5) on Jan. 1 (Noon, ESPN2), Nussmeier should be the starter at last.

"It would surprise me if Daniels played in the bowl," Detillier said. "He has nothing more to prove to the pros."

Or to any LSU fans.