Jayden Daniels accomplishes historic feat vs. Florida defense

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is one of the leading Heisman contenders for a reason. He’s an electrifying runner with the football in his hands and he’s also a dynamic passer. On Saturday against the Florida Gators’ defense, Daniels carved their defense up in historic fashion and etched his name in college football history in the process. With over nine minutes remaining fourth quarter, Daniels became the first player in college football history to throw for over 350 passing yards and rush for over 200 rushing yards.

Check out the play where he stamped his name in the record books for good.

Jayden to BT for the TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/szXMYMaCYX

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) November 12, 2023

Daniels struck a Heisman pose and who can blame him? With those kinds of numbers, he’s certainly making as strong an argument as possible to hoist the coveted hardware.

LSU ended up winning the game, 52-35, but the game was very close for much of the contest, and it was a highly entertaining affair.

Daniels carved up the Florida defense to the tune of over 600 all-purpose yards and in the process, etched his name in college football history forever.

Jayden Daniels on the historic performance vs. Florida

Following his spectacular performance, Daniels spoke with Alyssa Lang of the SEC Network on the field in Tiger Stadium.

What type of preparations did Daniels have for the game coming out of concussion protocol? “I mean, the same I’m always prepared. Doing the same thing. Same routine. Little limited, but even though I wasn’t out there physically most of the time. Just mentally preparing myself and preparing like I was gonna play this week,” Daniels said.

What does it mean to him to become the only player in college football history to throw for over 350 yards and rush for over 200 yards in the same game? “It means a lot. I thank God for everything. The talent that he gave me and everything. I thank my o-line. I can’t do this without them at all,” the fleet footed quarterback said.

Daniels completed 17 of 26 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday night. As a runner, he shredded the Gator defense to the tune of 234 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries. One of those was a beautiful 85-yard touchdown run that gave the Tigers a 17-7 lead in the second quarter. It was also the longest run ever by a quarterback in LSU football history.

How is he able to be so confident as a runner every time he takes off in the open field? “Yeah, I mean, that’s just who I was as a young kid. Backyard, playing in the streets, stuff like that. So, when you come out on the football field, you’re just having fun,” Daniels noted.

We saw Daniels hit the Heisman pose on the LSU sidelines in the second half. What did he have to say about that? “They wanted me to hit it, so you know, we’ll see. Just gotta keep going on. Next week we’ve got Georgia State, so prepare for a new week,” Daniels said with a smile on his face.

Daniels’ historic night also gave him a number of other impressive records, according to ESPN Stats & Info. He also had the most yards of total offense in SEC history. Not only that, Daniels’ 234 rushing yards on Saturday night were the most by a quarterback in LSU program history.

The LSU offense racked up 701 total yards of offense on Saturday night, the most ever allowed by a Florida defense in school history.

Through 10 games, Jayden Daniels has racked up 4,082 total yards and he’s been responsible for 38 total touchdowns.