Jayden Daniels previews LSU taking the next step in 2023

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels wants to continue building off his impressive first season as the Tigers’ starting quarterback. And in order to do so, he has to take the next step in his growth and development. Recently the Tigers’ signal caller took some time to preview what he believes are the next steps he must take and how he must go about doing so.

“Really, just dominating. Going out there and just showing on teams, showing people around the world, that LSU is back on the map,” said Daniels. “Going out there for me, just dominating, going out there and just having fun again.

“Last year, towards the end of the season, started seeing that progression… going back out there and having fun and just playing football. That’s the game I’ve been playing since I was a young kid. And those are times you weren’t really thinking. You were just going out there playing football. So for me, it’s just going out there showing that next progression and showing the elite level, elite traits of domination.

Last season in 14 games for LSU, Daniels proved to be one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks in college football. The Tigers signal caller completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 2913 yards, 17 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Daniels also had 885 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, and 1 receiving touchdown.

Daniels was a massive part of LSU’s offensive game plan in 2022, and given his mindset heading into 2023, Tigers fans should expect his production output to increase.

Daniels explains the significance of opening matchup against Florida State

Daniels also touched on LSU’s season-opening matchup against Florida State. Last year when the two squads faced off, LSU fell in gut-wrenching fashion by one point, 24-23. So, because of that crushing defeat, do the Tigers have that rematch against the Seminoles air marked on their calendar? According to Daniels, yes, they do, but for a different reason.

“We air mark it because it’s the first one. I mean, we all know what happened last year; we want that taste out of our mouths,” said Daniels. “We’re going to go up against a great opponent in Florida State that hit a high note at the end of the season. So it’s going to be a dog fight. But it’s the first one. It should be a top-ten matchup. So, all eyes are gonna be on us.”

LSU and Florida State’s Week 1 matchup will go a long way in setting the tone for both teams’ direction as the 2023 season continues. Both programs have aspirations of winning their respective conferences and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff.