Brian Kelly evaluates Jayden Daniels' performance in first LSU start

In his first game at LSU, Brian Kelly lost in New Orleans to Mike Norvell’s Florida State Seminoles. His quarterback for that game was Jayden Daniels, who transferred into the program from Arizona State. This came after a three-person quarterback competition throughout the offseason.

Much of the game was frustrating for the LSU offense, but Jayden Daniels was the undeniable bright spot. He led the team in rushing and was efficient throwing the ball around the field. He also led the team on a 99-yard touchdown drive in the final minute of the game.

During his postgame press conference, Brian Kelly was asked what he thought about his quarterback’s performance.

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“It’s an opener and you saw a better rhythm,” Brian Kelly said. “You know, we had some dropped passes and we didn’t protect as well.”

“You know, that’s a good team. Florida State played well. That’s why I congratulated them at the very beginning. They, for four quarters they played better football, quite frankly. But, yeah, we got into a better rhythm, certainly in the second half. Jayden did. He’s a threat, but we don’t want to rely on him having to go back there and when he does sit in the pocket, we saw his ability to find open receivers, show the patience, and in particular, on the last touchdown he stayed in the pocket, showed great patience, and found Jaray Jenkins in the back of the end zone.”

Later in the press conference, Brian Kelly was asked more about the offensive structure as it relates to Jayden Daniels’ skillset. The amount that Daniels ran wasn’t necessarily part of the gameplan. Rather it was a response to what Florida State was playing on defense.

“We didn’t want him, those weren’t–those were scrambles that he was smart there,” Brian Kelly tried to explain why Daniels ran so much.

“There was a lot of man coverage. So, you know, we’re telling our quarterback, we’ve got a lot of bear up front. We got a lot of pressure fronts and that was a gameplan that we hadn’t seen from them. And, you know, if he didn’t feel like there was somebody open that’s the dimension that he brings and that’s running the football. So, that’s the one thing you’re going to give up if you get guys turning their backs and running we took advantage of that.”