Jayden Daniels says he ‘played on one leg’ against Georgia

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels entered last year’s SEC championship game against Georgia with his ankle at less than 100 percent. Daniels shared on Friday at the Manning Passing Academy held at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La. just how banged up he was against the Bulldogs.

“The Georgia game I rolled my ankle and I was playing on one leg, basically,” Daniels said. “But you know, I’ve gotta push through. At the end of the day, show my team my toughness and that they can count on me no matter what.”

Jayden Daniels finished the game 16-for-24 passing for 208 yards and a touchdown, but he was sacked three times.

He was clearly in a lot of pain after being sacked late in the first half and limped to the sideline. He was replaced for one play by Garrett Nussmeier, before returning to the game for the next drive.

Daniels led the Tigers to a field goal on the ensuing drive, cutting the Georgia lead to 35-10 at the half. However, he was unable to return for the second half due to the injury. Georgia went on to win by a score of 50-30.

LSU coach Brian Kelly admitted ahead of the game that Daniels wasn’t 100 percent and had missed practice time leading up to the game.

“He obviously had the sprained ankle,” Kelly told SEC Network’s Alyssa Lang prior to the matchup. “Finished the game against A&M. He was a little bit sore, I think, on Monday. Tuesday, he was able to practice, Wednesday, Thursday, and looked like himself, obviously, or we wouldn’t play him. But we got Garrett Nussmeier a lot of work. He’s an outstanding quarterback, too. We’re blessed, we’ve got two really good quarterbacks.”

The Bengal Tiger’s Shea Dixon contributed to this article

Greg McElroy names Jayden Daniels the top quarterback in SEC

Expectations are high for Jayden Daniels heading into the 2023 season, and he could have LSU right back in the SEC title game again this year.

Count Greg McElroy as a big time believer in LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels.

That may hurt some Alabama fans to read, but the former Crimson Tide signal caller is taking a bold stand regarding Daniels. According to McElroy, Daniels is the best returning quarterback in all of the SEC, which should be music to Tigers fans’ ears.

“The best quarterback returning in the SEC to me, is Jayden Daniels at LSU,” stated McElroy. “Now you look at what he did last year, can you tell me a player — maybe in the SEC, maybe in all of college football, maybe you want to take it in the Power Five, however you want to explain it. Tell me a player that looked more comfortable in their final game of the season than their first game of the season than Jayden Daniels.”