Brian Kelly offers halftime update on Jayden Daniels injury

After LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels briefly left the SEC Championship Game with injury against Georgia before later returning in the second quarter, coach Brian Kelly provided an update at halftime. Although Daniels played on the final drive of the half to lead the Tigers to a field goal, he was seen heading to the locker room early ahead of halftime, presumably to get his injury looked at more closely.

With that being the case, Kelly wasn’t able to offer much of a definitive update on his status for the second half.

“I don’t know,” Kelly told CBS Sports’ Jenny Dell. “He came out and was obviously gritty, threw it on that (last) drive and led us to a field goal. He’s a tough kid. He’s obviously banged up, but he wants to play and he’s out there competing.”

Daniels finished the first half 16-of-24 passing for 208 yards and an interception. However, he was limited to -6 yards rushing despite 68.7 yards per contest entering the game. The Tigers found themselves trailing 35-10 at the half.

Daniels was not 100% healthy to start the game, as he suffered a sprained ankle last week and was seen in a walking boot earlier this week. If Jayden Daniels is unable to go due to injury for the second half, look for LSU to turn to backup quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

Jalen Carter lifts Jayden Daniels with one arm to celebrate sack

There’s a reason Georgia interior defensive lineman Jalen Carter is such a highly sought-after talent for NFL defenses. He showed it off on Saturday with a ridiculous single-handed — literally — effort to sack LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels in the SEC Championship Game.

Bursting through the interior on a second and long right before halftime, Carter got to Daniels and got the quarterback in a bear hug. As the refs blew the play dead, Carter smartly avoided a penalty by not just keeping Daniels upright, but using his left arm to pick him up off the ground.

At the same time, Carter stuck up his right hand and pointed a single finger to the rafters as the Georgia fans in Atlanta went wild.

So, Jalen Carter lifted Jayden Daniels with one arm and threw up the No. 1 😂 pic.twitter.com/qJm4UgGw7V

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 3, 2022