LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly shared the secret sauce that makes QBs like Jayden Daniels so special
In today's world of college football we're continuing to see incredible success stories from quarterbacks who choose to stay five years (or more) to fully prepare themselves for the NFL. And in many cases those types of quarterbacks are demonstrating that they're ready to find early success at the next level thanks to their immense […]
In today's world of college football we're continuing to see incredible success stories from quarterbacks who choose to stay five years (or more) to fully prepare themselves for the NFL. And in many cases those types of quarterbacks are demonstrating that they're ready to find early success at the next level thanks to their immense experience prior to reaching the pro level.
Former LSU star quarterback Jayden Daniels is just the latest iteration of this particular college-to-NFL career arc as he's already off to a phenomenal start with the Washington Commanders in his rookie season.
When LSU head coach Brian Kelly was asked about super senior quarterbacks like Jayden Daniels finding such success late in their college careers (and beyond), here's what he had to say this week:
"This still comes down to the preparation level necessary to be the starting quarterback at a power [conference] elite program. You have to have a professionalism about you that fights the normal trend of wanting to just be "good". And so regardless, if it's an extra [fifth or sixth] year or not, they have to be wired to wanting to be elite. And Jayden [Daniels] wanted that."
Coach Kelly isn't kidding when it comes to Jayden Daniels' desire to be elite. His intense training regimen from on the field, to the weight room, to even training with AI and Virtual Reality technologies demonstrated his intense efforts to be one of the best quarterbacks LSU (and all of football) has ever seen.
In case you missed the detailed breakdown of Jayden Daniels' VR technology training this spring, just check out this post below. Thanks to groundbreaking technology and his commitment to pushing himself, by the end of last season Daniels was "going in before the game and running [virtual] reps at 70% faster than baseline [real] speed", which essentially made in-game reps feel like slow motion.
Not every great fifth year (and beyond) quarterback is going to engage in intense virtual reality training to make themselves great, but that (among other things) was the secret sauce for Jayden Daniels.
Over the past several drafts we've continued to see super senior quarterbacks who desire to be truly "elite" break through and earn early round draft capital. In this 2024 NFL Draft class alone we saw Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix go round one after five or six years in college and an incredible final peak season. LSU's Joe Burrow exploded in his record-breaking 2019 season late in his career too.
This trend seems like it's going to continue as more and more quarterbacks look to perfect their craft a la Jayden Daniels. But as Coach Brian Kelly put it, it all comes down to where you want to be "in terms of wanting to be elite":
"As has been well documented and talked about, he was tireless in his desire to do that, and he's seeing that payoff for him. Now, the work that he put in here certainly showed itself in his last year as a Heisman Trophy winner, but it's paying off in the NFL as well, because he treated it like he was a pro when he was here. And I think that that's what that fifth year is about. It's, "Where are you in terms of wanting to be elite?" And if that's your mindset, it's a great year. If it's not then it's just like any other year."
Jayden Daniels is now off to one of the best starts in NFL history for any rookie quarterback ever. He posted back to back games leading Washington Commanders to scores on every single offensive drive of the game (outside of kneel downs). He's scored seven total touchdowns through his first four games, and has led the Commanders to a 3-1 start this season.
Former LSU star QB Jayden Daniels off to hot start better than a handful of Hall of Fame quarterbacks combined
Jayden Daniels looking unstoppable on offense so far
Who will be the next Jayden Daniels to follow in his elite final season footsteps?
Cameron Ward (Miami), Tyler Shough (Texas Tech), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon), Will Howard (Ohio State), and a few other super seniors this year are all off to fast starts. They'll all be hard-pressed to come anywhere what Jayden Daniels just did in 2023. However, thanks to Daniels' example of elite-level hard work and dedication to embracing any and every kind of training methods available to him, he's set an achievable precedent for top super senior quarterbacks to follow for many years to come.
Be looking for more LSU Tigers coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you want to reflect on the special final season that Jayden Daniels put together with the LSU Tigers just check out his 2023 highlights video below!
