GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU coach Brian Kelly could not have predicted the phenomenal start by former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels in the NFL. But some of the reasons why have not surprised him at all.
Daniels, who won the Heisman Trophy last season with the Tigers after throwing for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns and rushing for another 1,134 and 10 touchdowns, has transitioned to the NFL seamlessly and stupendously with the Washington Commanders (3-1). He became the first quarterback in NFL history to complete 85 percent of his passes in consecutive games the last two weeks, and he has the highest completion percentage in NFL history after the first four games of a season at .821.
He was 26-of-30 passing for an .866 completion percentage in Washington’s 42-14 win over Arizona on Sunday. He threw for 233 yards and a touchdown while rushing eight times for 47 yards, leading the Commanders to their highest point total in a game in eight years. The previous week, he hit 21 of 23 for a .913 completion percentage in a 38-33 win over the Cincinnati Bengals and fellow former LSU QB and Heisman winner Joe Burrow on Monday Night Football. He threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns while rushing 12 times for 39 yards and a touchdown.
Daniels’ completion percentage for the season is .820 on 87-of-106 passing for 897 yards and three touchdowns. The previous completion percentage NFL record through four games was .792 by none other than Tom Brady with New England to start the 2007 season. New England finished that regular season 16-0 before losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.
Jayden Daniels Leaves Arizona State To Be LSU’s Starter
“It’s not any magic that’s going into this,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said at his Monday press conference. “I know that’s hard to say, but he (Daniels) absolutely works his ass off. I would say that number one.”
Still, Quinn did not foresee the uncanny start that Daniels has had.
“No, I don’t think anybody would’ve said that,” he said. “But I would say is, if you’re around him, you feel his work ethic. There’s no magic pixie dust that we’re throwing into him. It is absolutely grinding, working, and a lot of confidence comes from that because he can enter the game knowing he put the work in.”
Kelly got to know that work ethic very well in the 2022 and ’23 seasons after Daniels transferred from Arizona State to LSU.
“This still comes down to the preparation level necessary to be the starting quarterback at an elite program,” Kelly said Wednesday on the Southeastern Conference teleconference. “You have to have a professionalism about you that fights the normal trend of wanting to just be good.”
Daniels’ Heisman year came in his fifth season – two at LSU and three at Arizona State before that.
“Regardless of whether it’s an extra year or not, they have to be wired to wanting to be elite,” Kelly said. “And Jayden wanted that. And it has been well documented, he was tireless in his desire to do that. He’s seen that pay off for him now. The work that he put in here certainly it showed itself in his last year as a Heisman Trophy winner, but it’s paying off in the NFL as well.”
Daniels is currently the only rookie in the top 10 of the NFL’s Quarterback Rating numbers as he is at No. 4 at 73.3.
“He treated it like he was a pro when he was here,” Kelly said. ” And I think that’s what that fifth year is about. Where are you in terms of being elite? If that’s your mindset, it’s a great year. If it’s not, it’s just like any other year.”
LSU Not Taking The Week Off
The open week is often about giving a team some days off. Kelly had his Tigers go in full pads for two hours on Tuesday.
“We’re not really taking this as an off week,” he said. “We’ll have a recovery bye week later in the year (week leading into Nov. 2) that we’ll spend more time on recovery. This week is really is still working on us in terms of execution, fundamentals, being technical sound.”
Kelly is also using younger players to replace three veterans who suffered season-ending injuries – tailback John Emery, defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory and linebacker Harold Perkins. So, they need the extra work.
“These days come in handy for us, relative to getting reps for guys who need to step up,” he said. “They were key backups who are now pressed into starting roles. This is a great week when you look at it from that perspective. It’s allowing us to get the work necessary.”
Ole Miss-South Carolina Preview
Kelly will be watching on Saturday afternoon when No. 12 Ole Miss (4-1, 0-1 SEC) plays at South Carolina (3-1, 1-1 SEC) at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN. The No. 13 Tigers (4-1, 1-0 SEC) host Ole Miss the following Saturday (6:30 p.m., ABC).
“South Carolina presents a veteran defense and one that has played a lot together,” said Kelly, whose Tigers won 36-33 at South Carolina on Sept. 14. “They’re going to be a challenge, but on the other hand, that is an elite offense (at Ole Miss). And (Ole Miss coach) Lane Kiffin’s got a week now to understand, ‘What are the things we need to be better at?’ I think it’s going to be an exciting matchup.”
Cornerback Javien Toviano Moving To Star Position
Kelly and his defensive staff have decided to move sophomore cornerback Javien Toviano to the Star position, which is a combination linebacker-safety spot for the Tigers under new defensive coordinator Blake Baker.
Linebacker/edge rusher Harold Perkins had played that position before a knee injury against UCLA on Sept. 21 ended his season. Safety Major Burns has also played the Star, but will be focusing on safety.
“He’s going to play the Star position, and we expect him to stay there the rest of the year,” Kelly said. “It allows us now some flexibility, where we can move Major Burns back to safety, if we need some help there. Because we really believe Toviano is a really good closer to the ball and the line of scrimmage because he’s such a sure tackler. And he’s assignment correct.”
Kelly did not say definitively if Toviano would start at Star.
“We really like Javien Toviano,” he said. “It’s just finding the role for him. We bounced him around quite a bit. He’s played corner, safety, nickel, and what really needs to happen for us, and we’ve had this discussion, matter of fact, this week about him. We need to settle him into a particular position, and that’s it. We can’t keep moving him around. He does a lot of things really well for us. We have to say, ‘These are the things he’s really good at. And let’s just build off of that.’ Instead of making him something that maybe he’s not.”
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