Brian Kelly explains why Jayden Daniels returned vs. Alabama before leaving with head injury

During the fourth quarter of another impressive game, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels headed into the injury tent after taking a hit from Dallas Turner, who was flagged for roughing the passer. CBS’ Jenny Dell reported Daniels went into concussion protocol and, as a result, missed the rest of the matchup.

Afterward, Brian Kelly had an update on Daniels’ prognosis. He confirmed it was a head injury, although couldn’t say if it was a concussion or not and further testing would be needed.

As for why Daniels came back into the game briefly after the hit, Kelly said he received clearance from the medical staff initially. When he returned to the sidelines, they said he couldn’t go back out.

“He was evaluated, was cleared and then came back,” Kelly said. “They looked at him again and felt like he wasn’t prepared to go back into the game, and held him out of the game. Those are decisions that are made by our medical team.”

The CBS broadcast team of Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson also speculated about a possible targeting call on Turner. They brought in rules analyst Gene Steratore to discuss that idea, and he thought the officials would at least go to the monitor to look even though Turner didn’t lower the crown of the helmet.

Per NCAA rules, lowering the helmet isn’t the only indicator of targeting. Turner hit Daniels high, which Steratore said could spark a review.

Kelly told reporters the officials did end up taking a look for potential targeting, but didn’t feel it was worth stopping the game to go to replay for it, according to The Bengal Tiger’s Matthew Brune.

Jayden Daniels had another huge game against Alabama before his injury

Saturday’s game was a full offensive display as Daniels and Jalen Milroe put on a quarterback clinic at Bryant Denny Stadium. Before his injury, Milroe completed 15 of 25 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns in the air while also adding a game-high 163 yards on the ground with a rushing touchdown.

Daniels has been building his Heisman Trophy case for some time, steadily rising up the odds board as the season goes along. He was looking to once again add to his candidacy in prime time on Saturday night as he looked to defeat Alabama for the second straight year.

Alabama held a 42-28 lead at the time of Daniels’ injury. Garrett Nussmeier will now lead the LSU offense for the rest of the game.