LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell has always been sure of what Jayden Daniels brings to an offense; so sure, in fact, that he gave a prophetic statement after Daniels' first season with the Tigers after transferring from Arizona State.
"I remember, verbatim, I told my dad, 'He's gonna win the Heisman Trophy next year,'" Campbell said at the NFL Scouting Combine last week.
Just as Campbell predicted, Daniels won the award in 2023 after an impressive season in which he led the SEC with 40 passing touchdowns on top of recording the best yards per attempt (11.7), yards per game (317.7) and passer rating (208) among FBS quarterbacks. He won the award by a wide margin, getting 211 more first-place votes than runner-up Michael Penix Jr.
That performance, among several other factors, convinced the Washington Commanders to draft Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick. He exceeded every expectation as a rookie and was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year for putting up numbers that were not only impressive for a first-year player but also for any NFL quarterback. That's exactly what Campbell and the rest of LSU's offensive line expected of him.
"It doesn't surprise me at all," Campbell said.
Campbell said "a lot of people slept on" Daniels after his first season at LSU. His stats improved from 2021 -- his final year at Arizona State -- to 2022, but they weren't as eye-catching as one would hope from a player of his caliber. He completed 68.6% of his passes for 2,913 yards with 17 touchdowns compared to three interceptions, which helped LSU earn a 10-4 record and an appearance in the Citrus Bowl.
That wasn't enough to make him a top pick in the 2023 draft, though, as some analysts predicted that he could be an early Day 3 pick if he chose to end his college career at that point. So, Daniels went through a rigorous offseason workout plan ahead of the 2023 season, working with his personal position coach in California. They implemented a virtual-reality flight simulator from Germany that helped him practice reps at game speed.
Daniels also drastically increased his study time. He got up at 5:30 a.m. to watch film, sometimes with his receivers and other times by himself, to get a better understanding of how defenses were attacking him and how to counter them.
The results show how much that work paid off. He set career-highs in completion rate (72.2%), yards per completion (11.7) and touchdowns (40).
"It's just an account of his hard work, dedication and the way he pushes himself every day," Campbell said.
Daniels went from being considered near the bottom of a quarterback class to one of the best players in the country. His poise, athleticism and decision making led to some of the best performances in LSU history, most notably the 606 total yards and five touchdowns he put up in the Tigers' 52-35 win over Florida. Daniels accounted for nearly all of the team's 701 yards in the win.
After witnessing that kind of performance firsthand, LSU tackle Emery Jones Jr. was confident Daniels would find a way to succeed in the NFL.
"I kind of knew he was gonna transform on the field at the next level," Jones said. "He's a great guy. He does everything right in the locker room and behind the scenes."
Daniels was the Commanders' Week 1 start after initially splitting time with Marcus Mariota in training camp and had one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history, all while taking his team to their first NFC Championship since 1991. He broke the franchise's single-season passing yards record for a first-year player, surpassed Lamar Jackson and Robert Griffin III for the most rushing yards by a rookie quarterback and put up a combined 5,416 yards in the regular season and playoffs.
There were times when Daniels' preparation made his rookie season look easier than it should; that's not the case, of course, but Jones said that's normally the case with Daniels.
"He attacks everything that he does, and then when he gets on the field, it gets easy for him."
And while there's no guarantee that Jones would be on the board when the Commanders are on the clock at No. 29 overall in the draft, Jone likes the idea of playing with Daniels again because of how he prepares and the success that follows him.
"I feel like that just epitomizes the kind of...player he is," Jones said.
