Jayden Daniels discusses historic performance following win over Florida
LSU’s dynamic dual-threat, Jayden Daniels, did everything imaginable to impress Heisman voters on Saturday night in his team’s 52-35 win over the Florida Gators. Daniels carved up the Florida defense to the tune of over 600 all-purpose yards and in the process, etched his name in college football history. The fleet footed signal-caller became the only player in college football history to throw for over 350 passing yards and rush for over 200 rushing yards in a single game.
Jayden Daniels on the historic performance vs. Florida
Following his spectacular performance, Daniels spoke with Alyssa Lang of the SEC Network on the field in Tiger Stadium.
What type of preparations did Daniels have for the game coming out of concussion protocol? “I mean, the same I’m always prepared. Doing the same thing. Same routine. Little limited, but even though I wasn’t out there physically most of the time. Just mentally preparing myself and preparing like I was gonna play this week,” Daniels said.
What does it mean to him to become the only player in college football history to throw for over 350 yards and rush for over 200 yards in the same game? “It means a lot. I thank God for everything. The talent that he gave me and everything. I thank my o-line. I can’t do this without them at all,” the fleet footed quarterback said.
Daniels completed 17 of 26 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday night. As a runner, he shredded the Gator defense to the tune of 234 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries. One of those was a beautiful 85-yard touchdown run that gave the Tigers a 17-7 lead in the second quarter. It was the longest run ever by a quarterback in LSU football history.
How is he able to be so confident as a runner every time he takes off in the open field? “Yeah, I mean, that’s just who I was as a young kid. Backyard, playing in the streets, stuff like that. So, when you come out on the football field, you’re just having fun,” Daniels noted.
We saw Daniels hit the Heisman pose on the LSU sidelines in the second half. What did he have to say about that? “They wanted me to hit it, so you know, we’ll see. Just gotta keep going on. Next week we’ve got Georgia State, so prepare for a new week,” Daniels said with a smile on his face.
Daniels historic night also gave him a number of other impressive records, according to ESPN Stats & Info. He also had the most yards of total offense in SEC history. Not only that, Daniels’ 234 rushing yards on Saturday night were the most by a quarterback in LSU program history.
The LSU offense racked up 701 total yards of offense on Saturday night, the most ever allowed by a Florida defense in school history.
Through 10 games, Jayden Daniels has racked up 4,082 total yards and he’s been responsible for 38 total touchdowns.