Where could Jayden Daniels end up on LSU’s all-time passing leaderboards?
Jayden Daniels had a strong Year 1 with LSU.
Having started three years at Arizona State, the quarterback had plenty of P5 experience. But at LSU, he entered a situation with a first-year head coach in a tougher conference.
It was the best year of his collegiate career. Daniels elected to pass up the NFL draft, return to LSU and build on it.
In this new era of offense, stats can accumulate fast. That puts him in a position to climb up some of LSU’s all-time quarterback leaderboards.
Here’s what Daniels needs to do this fall to approach some of the top spots.
Passing yards
John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Daniels is 19th on LSU’s all-time passing yards list with 2,913 in Year 1.
If he repeats that, he’ll finish seventh, just behind Zach Mettenberger and just in front of Jordan Jefferson.
To reach the top five and surpass Herb Tyler, Daniels would need 3,245 yards. That seems unlikely given his tendency to run, but if LSU makes a playoff run, it’s more than possible.
As long as he’s healthy and playing, Daniels appears to be a lock for the top 10. He needs just 1,672 yards to get there.
Total yards
SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY NETWORK.
Total yards is a different story. If you include his rushing total, Daniels had 3,798 yards last year. Repeating that puts him third all-time, only behind Tommy Hodson and Joe Burrow.
He wouldn’t even need that much to reach third. All it would take is 2,907 total yards.
Passing touchdowns
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Daniels threw 17 touchdowns last year, which puts him 20th on LSU’s all-time passing touchdown list.
To reach the top 10, he needs to catch Jarrett Lee at 32. The top five begins with Matt Mauck at 37, so he’d need 20 touchdowns to get there.
Anywhere in-between 15 and 20 passing TDs is the most likely scenario, but that doesn’t mean he can’t surpass that. I’d bet he ends top 10 on this list but top five might be tough.
Total touchdowns
Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
Daniels had 28 total touchdowns last year. That puts him 17th all-time among LSU quarterbacks.
Repeating that would tie him for fourth with JaMarcus Russell. For third all-time, he’d need to hit Tyler at 63. Burrow and Hodson are out ahead of the pack with 88 and 71.
Completion percentage
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
This might surprise you, but Jayden Daniels is currently LSU’s all-time leader in completion percentage according to Sports Reference.
He sits at 68.6% while Joe Burrow is at 68.5%.
So the math is simple there. Daniels needs to meet that mark again and he holds the record, Anything below it, and he likely loses it to Burrow.
Rushing TDs by a QB
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Tyler is the record holder here with 23 career rushing touchdowns. Daniels had 11 last year, so a repeat would put him at second.
Daniels needs just one more to tie Burrow and Jefferson at No. 5.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1389]
