Jayden Daniels explains decision to transfer to LSU

LSU had a busy offseason in the transfer portal after first-year head coach Brian Kelly looked to rebuild the roster. Among the most surprising additions, the Tigers added former Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels to the roster to compete for the starting job.

During his first LSU media session, Jayden Daniels broke down why he chose to transfer to the Tigers and compete for the starting job with other veterans.

“My decision to enter the transfer portal was probably the best decision for me and my future career, the goals I want to accomplish,” said Daniels. “Those conversations with coach Kelly and them, I showed interest in them, they showed interest back. Talked on the phone, just had the opportunity to come play at the highest level, help a powerhouse win another national championship so I could showcase my skills. That’s probably the most intriguing thing for me.

“Coach Kelly is the winningest coach in Notre Dame history, so you know he knows how to win. He knows how to get his team where he needs it to be, so I wanted to be a part of it.”

Jayden Daniels, now competing with Myles Brennan, Walker Howard and Garrett Nussmeier for the starting job at LSU, ranked as the 60th overall transfer prospect in the On3 transfer rankings. He also has an NIL value of $106,000 after his SEC move.

At Arizona State, Daniels completed 62.4% of his passes for 6,025 yards and 32 touchdowns in 29 games over three years.

Out of high school from the class of 2019, Daniels was a four-star recruit and the No. 8-ranked recruit from the state of California, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Brian Kelly on LSU quarterback battle

LSU head coach Brian Kelly hasn’t came to a decision regarding who his starting quarterback will be come September, but spring camp is giving him a better idea of who that might be as each practice passes.

“I thought this was going to be a lot in terms of reps, but coach [Joe] Sloan, coach [Mike] Denbrock have done a great job of really getting all them the appropriate work so we can evaluate them so that they go through the spring and go, ‘this [competition] was fair,’” Kelly said. “We got an opportunity to compete and they’re all getting an opportunity to compete.

“It’s been fun to see them compete. All of them have strengths. We can’t play them all. But as we get closer to the end of the spring, I think we’re starting to feel like we know what their strengths are, and that’s what you want from the spring.”