Greg McElroy names Jayden Daniels the top quarterback in SEC

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.

“Think about the progression that was made when he played against Florida State, to when we saw him in the bowl game, where he was completely lights out. Now, you can take into account the final two games of the quote regular season. Look at how he played against [Texas] A&M, you look at how he played in the SEC Championship Game in the first half. Second half was great, but either way, this is a player that got more and more comfortable as the season went along.”

McElroy makes a good point, as Daniels certainly grew into the starting role at LSU throughout the 2022 season. Continuing, the former Alabama quarterback believes that the Tigers’ strong supporting cast will aid Daniels in his ascent to the top of the SEC.

“You think about too, what he accomplished previously at Arizona State, this is a guy that has 9,000 yards career throwing the football. He also could be a guy this year that might have 1,000 on the ground, might have 3,000 through the air and returns an excellent supporting cast,” added McElroy. “Offensive line should be if not the best in the SEC, but arguably the best. Wide receivers, if not the best in the SEC, arguably the best. You look across the board man, he’s got everything that you could want, especially now with another year in the system.

“Mike Denbrock, the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. Brian Kelly, who’s very hands-on with how they go about tutoring that position. You’ve seen signs of growth throughout the season last year. You only can assume that that growth is going to increase exponentially now that he’s had an entire offseason as the No. 1 guy. Jayden Daniels is my No. 1 guy coming into the fall for the 2023 SEC quarterbacks.”

It remains to be seen if Jayden Daniels can make good on the hype behind his name for 2023, but it’s easy to see why many are becoming big time believers in his game.