Jayden Daniels: LSU can have the best offense in the country in 2023

Brian Kelly has discussed at length Jayden Daniels being more aggressive this season. Not to say the quarterback was completely conservative during his first season at LSU. But there should be more opportunities for Daniels to throw the ball downfield and attempt to attack defenses.

Add in some talented skill position players — mainly wide receiver Malik Nabers — and Daniels believes LSU could have one of the best offenses in the country. Everyone in Baton Rouge has been working hard this offseason, even after winning the SEC West last year. They are ready to get on the field and seize those opportunities.

“I feel like that’s what we need to do, take the offense to the next level,” Daniels said. “I feel like we have a top offense in the country. We have the talent out there to go out there and make those plays. Just this summer, we’ve been working hard at it, hard on our timing. Even if our player-led practices and stuff, we’re giving guys an opportunity to go make plays.”

There will be more to LSU’s attack than Daniels and the wide receiving core. Kelly was able to rebuild the offensive line before the 2022 season, starting two true freshmen at the tackle positions. They return for another year and are expected to be better. Being aggressive at the line of scrimmage is something Kelly mentioned at SEC Media Days.

You then tap into the Tigers’ running back room and the potential is unlimited. Josh Williams and Noah Cain return while Logan Diggs was brought into the program via the NCAA transfer portal and Notre Dame. There will be plenty of bodies for LSU to throw out there to run the ball.

But if LSU is going to become the top offense in college football like Daniels believes they can be, everything will have to go through the quarterback. Daniels was under 3,000 passing yards during the 2022 season, good enough for seventh in the SEC. For comparison, Georgia‘s national championship-winning QB Stetson Bennett led the conference at 4,128 yards.

Daniels knows he will have to be more aggressive and potentially take some risks. It’s something he is willing to do in order to elevate LSU to another level. If the risks pay off, the Tigers could be able to better their impressive first season under Kelly — a scary thought for the rest of the SEC West.