Brian Kelly opens up on importance of Jayden Daniels to start of LSU tenure

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels put together arguably his best performance since joining the program last offseason. Saturday on the road against SEC West rival Mississippi State, the Tigers quarterback lit up the Bulldogs’ defense on the ground and through the air.

As LSU prepares for their Week 4 match-up against Arkansas Razorbacks, head coach Brian Kelly opened up on what Daniels has meant to the program.

“He’s been outstanding. Obviously, we’ve won a lot of football games,” said Kelly. “And certainly, his ability to win the game with his feet or throwing the football; he’s as good as anybody in the country. And we’ve seen a development now. We’re in Week 3 now; if you look at Week 3 last year, was it the week we threw for 85 yards? I think it was. And now he’s throwing 30 for 34.”

“We’ve seen incredible development at the position, and I think that’s what’s more exciting than where we would be without Daniels. It’s fun to watch the development of a quarterback in that respect.”

For Kelly, it is not just about the growth of Daniels but the growth of the Tigers quarterback room as a whole. Still, Daniels has been a direct representation of how LSU has improved at the position over the last two seasons. With his 361 passing yards, completing 30-34 attempts, and four total touchdowns en route to a 41-14 victory, the Tigers starting quarterback is showing the college football world what the quarterbacks at LSU are capable of.

Kelly provides update on LSU players dealing with injuries

Saturday afternoon’s showdown with the Mississippi State Bulldogs was pinned as a potential upset game for the LSU Tigers. That could not have been further from the truth as the Tigers dominated their SEC West foe, cruising to a 41-14 victory.

While LSU got the win in their conference play opener, they did so with a handful of starters and key contributors out for the game. After the victory and the postgame press conference, head coach Brian Kelly provided an update on the LSU players who were missing in action against Mississippi State.

“Yeah, we had a lot of guys that we weren’t sure. Mason Taylor went through pregame, and he just wasn’t 100 percent, so we held him,” said Kelly. “OV, Thursday, turns an ankle in pass rush, and we really couldn’t get him healthy to hold the edge. We did some stuff as the punt captain… we kept him in at punt, but he really couldn’t help us on defense. Omar was out with the hip flexor.

“So we had a lot of guys down. And we just found out about Greg; had a medical emergency, and our thoughts and prayers are with Greg. That was tough on the guys and tough on all of us. So, we had to just band together and play some young guys.”