Quarterback Jayden Daniels Headlines Final Challenge for Purdue Defense
ORLANDO — As Purdue football's matchup against LSU in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl draws near, slowing down junior quarterback Jayden Daniels becomes a top priority on defense.
Daniels, in his first season with the Tigers, spearheads an offense that averaged 442.7 total yards per game in 2022. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound signal caller completed 68.5% of his passing attempts for 2,774 yards and 16 touchdowns with just three interceptions.
With the ability to make plays with his feet, Daniels also led LSU with 180 carries for 818 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns.
"He is obviously a very, very talented young man," Purdue defensive coordinator Mark Hagen said. "Every game you turn on, he makes plays. He is able to escape a rush. We have used the word slippery to describe him. It looks like defenses will have a shot on him, and he finds a way to get out of it."
Before joining LSU in 2022, Daniels spent three seasons as the starting quarterback at Arizona State, compiling 7,313 through the air and on the ground. He accounted for 45 touchdowns with the Sun Devils in 29 game appearances.
In just one season with the program, Daniels set career highs with 371 passes and 254 completions in the Tigers' offense. The team had 10 different players record at least 100 yards receiving, and seven brought in double-digit receptions on the year.
LSU ranked fifth in the Southeastern Conference with 261.6 yards passing while adding 181.1 yards rushing per game.
"What has been remarkable for me is the development he has made as a thrower, and I think his accuracy has improved," LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said of Daniels. "I think his ability to see things, his movement keys, all those things have grown as the season has grown. I think his confidence has grown, and I think his ability to make plays in the game has grown."
Daniels threw for at least 300 yards in back-to-back games with the Tigers this year, a mark he hadn't reached since his true freshman season for the Sun Devils in 2019. He completed a season-high 32 passes for 300 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 40-13 loss to Tennessee on Oct. 8.
The defeat brought LSU to 4-2 in its first six games but sparked a five-game win streak before finishing the regular season with a loss against Texas A&M. Sitting at 9-3 overall, the Tigers advanced to the SEC Championship Game for the first time since 2019.
"I always knew I was very athletic and I could make plays outside the pocket," Daniels said. "It's going back to the movement keys. And the big growth in the passing game, I would say the Tennessee game is kind of what clicked for me in the offense.
"The receivers, being out there on the same page and just going out there making plays, knowing where I am going and being decisive about it. As the season went on, my confidence grew. I guess you could see that on the field from everybody, not just myself."
As Monday's matchup inches closer, Purdue has prepared without starting cornerback Cory Trice, who opted out of the final game of the season to prepare for the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Boilermakers were fourth in the Big Ten with 14 interceptions on the season, including a league-high three that were returned for touchdowns. Not having Trice will be a huge blow to the secondary, but Hagen said that redshirt senior Bryce Hampton and junior Antonio Stevens are ready for extended playing time.
"We are not the only team that has had some opt-outs and injury situations," Hagen said. "I think every team has to deal with it and it is a next-man-up mentality. We don't focus on the obstacles from day to day. We talked about it early on, what we need to do and what we are expected to do. I think our guys have handled it well to this point."
Purdue has often struggled against dual-threat quarterbacks in 2022, giving up 83 yards on the ground to Syracuse's Garrett Shrader before allowing 94 yards to Florida Atlantic's N'Kosi Perry.
However, as dynamic as Daniels has been this season for LSU, he was sacked 43 times in 13 games. The Tigers ranked dead last in the SEC in sacks allowed. He was taken down behind the line of scrimmage at least once in every matchup this season, including seven times during a narrow 13-10 victory against Arkansas.
The Boilermakers will look to contain Daniels and keep him under pressure in order to have success come Monday.
"I think that maybe one of the knocks on him is he will hold the ball a little bit too long at times," Hagen said. "Some people have been able to get pressure and sack him and knock him down a little bit. He really is the guy that makes their offense go, there is no question about it. We have to do a good job of containing him. That is easier said than done, but our guys know the challenge that he poses."
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.