Jayden Daniels reflects on his growth, college football journey ahead of Heisman Ceremony

Jayden Daniels has had a fascinating journey through his collegiate career, beginning it at Arizona State and taking his talents to LSU over the last two seasons.

After everything, he’s put himself in position to potentially win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday, as he’s in New York for the highly-anticipated ceremony. Ahead of finding out if he’ll be named the top player in college football, Daniels took some time on ESPN to reflect on how he’s grown.

“I’ve grown up more. I’m more mature,” Daniels said, speaking of the differences between him now versus when he first arrived at Arizona State, via SportsCenter. “I know when I was 18, walking on campus, I didn’t know what to expect. I was still immature, just getting out of high school. So being 22-years-old now, on this day, I’m obviously more mature than I was at 18.”

While the Heisman remains to be figured out, the awards are already rolling in for Daniels. He was named the recipient of the Davey O’Brien Award earlier this week, after throwing for 3,812 yards, rushing for 1,134 and accumulating 50 total touchdowns — 40 passing and 10 rushing

By winning the award on Friday, Daniels became the first LSU quarterback to do so since Joe Burrow in 2019. Of course, Burrow also won the Heisman that season before going No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft.

Through it all, Daniels has been on quite the ride over his college career, which started with the Sun Devils but he’s keeping things in perspective.

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Daniels said after the announcement. “Everything I’ve been through — the good and the bad, the highs and the lows. You’ve got to fight through adversity as a quarterback and as a human being. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

Daniels put up big numbers in his first year at LSU, but took a big leap forward in Year 2. He knew what his goals were, and he did everything he could to make that jump.

“I always believed in myself. And everything you could do, you have to put your mind into it, you have to put in the work,” Daniels said. “And for me, I was just going out here from Arizona State and then transitioning to LSU in the 2022 season and going in this past offseason, I wanted to elevate my game.

“I want to be the best version of me because I knew there was much more out there on the table. I just put in the work, the early mornings, the late nights.”

We’ll see if Jayden Daniels wins the Heisman. If the honor is bestowed upon him, he’d certainly be a deserving choice.