Jayden Daniels on winning Heisman after Arizona State doubters: 'It was pretty satisfying'

Jayden Daniels knew there would be criticism when he left Arizona State, but he eventually proved the doubters wrong with a Heisman Trophy win this season.

The LSU quarterback just wrapped up his second season in Baton Rouge and is getting a lot of NFL Draft love for the 2024 edition. But after a breakout freshman year at Arizona State, Daniels didn’t get back on the upswing until he got to LSU.

Safe to say, he was quite happy to prove any doubters wrong.

“I’ll say, I ain’t going to lie, it was pretty satisfying,” Daniels said on Pardon My Take. “You know, everybody that doubted me from Arizona State. And, as you know, I’m happy that I proved them wrong at the end of the day.”

In 2019, Daniels finished his freshman campaign at Arizona State with 2,943 yards, 17 touchdowns, two interceptions, a 60.7% completion percentage, 355 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.

It was a rollercoaster after that. Even his first season at LSU in 2022, albeit productive, wasn’t like what he did this fall.

This year, Daniels threw for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, four interceptions, a 72.2% completion percentage, 1,134 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.

As a member of the Class of 2019, Daniels was a four-star recruit out of San Bernardino (Calif.) Cajon, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 7 overall prospect in the state, the No. 3 quarterback in the class and the No. 50 overall prospect in the class.

Daniels and Arizona State will always have a connection. His former head coach Herm Edwards, who was fired the year after Daniels transferred, was very happy to see his former quarterback win the Heisman.

“Well, you could feel it (coming),” Edwards said on SportsCenter. “I had the pleasure of coaching him when he was a young guy, a freshman. Just watching his maturity, not only as a quarterback but as a young man and think about this. He’s played 55 games of college football. That is the number you want to play, in the 50s, because you really get to grow into position. 

“He went down to LSU and won the hardest award you can actually try to win in college football, the Heisman. I feel good for his mom and his dad, just what he’s accomplished after leaving Arizona State, well deserved. He deserves this award. There’s no doubt about it.”