Jayden Daniels is a Southern California native who stayed out West to play at Arizona State for three seasons. So transferring to LSU would always require Daniels to step out of his comfort zone. The Tigers’ quarterback seems to be assimilating just fine to his new surroundings.
Daniels led LSU to an impressive come-from-behind 31-16 win over Mississippi State in Week 3. Daniels threw for 210 yards and one touchdown. He rushed for 93 yards and the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Thanks to Daniels ‘ brilliance, LSU outscored Mississippi State 21-0 in the fourth quarter.
“My perspective of the SEC was one of the top conferences, the top conference in college football,” Daniels said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “When I got here, that hasn’t changed, but just the competition and just how serious the people in the South take football here. You don’t see that on the West Coast. You’ve got so many other things to look forward to, but here every weekend, they’re looking forward to LSU football. Everywhere you go, you’ll be noticed. They know every player from head to toe. That was probably the biggest thing for me, just how serious the fanbase takes football.”
Here’s what Daniels had to say in the wide-ranging interview:
ON BEATING MISSISSIPPI STATE:
“It was a big win, huge win. Mississippi State is a great football team. They were 2-0 coming in, so we knew we would have to fight, have to battle. The team persevered and fought all the way to the end of the game.”
ON ARIZONA STATE PARTING WAYS WITH HERM EDWARDS:
“Yeah, I mean, I talk with guys here and there. My focus has just been on LSU and what we can do here. I’m always praying for those guys over there, but since I transferred my focus has been straight on LSU and moving forward with this team.”
ON FOLLOWING HIS PARENTS’ FOOTSTEPS AS GREAT ATHLETES:
“I just developed it on my own. My dad said he put a football in my hand when I was a young kid. Basketball, it was the same thing. Track. I played all the sports. As I got older, football was the one that I chose as my first love. Always loved playing football, always wanted to be around football and loved to watch football. I developed that love for football on my own.”
ON WHY HE PICKED LSU:
“Really just the opportunity to play at the highest level, the biggest stage. There’s no better conference than the SEC to be able to play at LSU and play for the tradition and the private state of Louisiana was the best opportunity for me.”
ON NEEDING TO GAIN WEIGHT TO PLAY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL:
“It was wild. The coaches in high school wanted me to start my freshman year and I needed to get a waiver to go out and play. One, because I was too young to play varsity and two, they just wanted to make sure I was safe. We had to get a second opinion and they let me play and we went from there. At first, it was a shocker. You never hear that. But I knew that it was God’s plan, God’s timing and it worked out in my favor.”
ON HOW HE GAINED WEIGHT:
“I mean, it was just over time as I started maturing more, I put on more weight every year. I used to drink protein shakes in the morning, protein shakes middle of the night. Eat late at night before bed. It was the dedication to better myself so that I could go out there and play football at a high level.”
ON IF HE STILL IS TRYING TO ADD WEIGHT:
It’s not as bad now. Still working on packing on more weight. I’m around the desired weight I wanna be at, but here, you can continually improve.”
ON TAKING LSU TEAMMATES TO LOS ANGELES:
“Me and a couple of wide receivers went out there, couple offensive linemen, too. They wanted to go see the West Coast, see California. Most of them had not been outside of the UCLA game last year. I’m from Southern California, so being able to go show them, build that chemistry, camaraderie, work out and have fun and see different things. We got to know each other on a more personal level. We were in Hollywood so I showed them Los Angeles, the beach, the malls, Rodeo Drive, everything like a young adult, college kids want to see.”
ON ODELL BECKHAM JR.’S MESSAGE ABOUT LSU:
“He said you’re going to love it out here. Those guys, they’re big-time players at LSU and in the state. You go out there and handle your business, the state will love you. That was the biggest message I got.”
ON SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S QUARTERBACK HOTBED:
“It’s just the competition. Rising the competition level that we want to be a part of. All those guys we knew each other since we were young. I talked to Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud and they’re like, ‘You don’t get this type of feeling back home.’ You’re going to always have people pushing you here, keeping you on your toes so you can be the best version of yourself.”
ON GOING FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO LOUISIANA:
“It was shocking to me. It was a culture shock. Coming from the West Coast, everything moves so fast and going to the south, everything is slowed down a little bit. It was a culture shock just figuring out how things move. The way people talk out here, that’s the biggest thing, the humidity, still trying to battle that. When I first got here, it was pretty bad.”
ON IF HE NEEDED A TRANSLATOR:
“No, I don’t. I got it down but I had to ask, ‘What did you say’ a few times.”
ON WHAT STOOD OUT ABOUT BRIAN KELLY:
“The process and the standard and go out there and challenge it. He’s an offensive-minded head coach does a great job. Winningest coach in Notre Dame history, so the proof is in the pudding. Just go out there and challenge me every day to be better because he wants the team to succeed. Our encounter was that he would go out there and push me every day; he would teach me new habits, hold me to a high standard and help me become a better player.”
