Arizona State junior quarterback Jayden Daniels lets his talent and effort on the football field speak for itself. During his three seasons, he completed 6025 passing yards and committed 32 touchdown throws. He also showed his athleticism through his 1288 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.
Among FBS quarterbacks, Daniels comes in second in yards per completion on third down with 16.3 since 2019. As a leader, Daniels wants his teammates to glean from his actions.
“My thing is I got to lead by example,” Daniels said. “If people see me work hard and they see me with great effort, the energy is coming out there at practice every day, workouts every day… at the end of the day, it’s not me being so much vocal, it’s the little things that might change people.”
His demure leadership style led the Sun Devils to an 8-5 overall record this season. Another highlight of their season was their 38-15 victory over their rivals: the Arizona Wildcats. Daniels has also taken advantage of the NCAA’s name, image, and likeness (NIL) policy by partnering up with businesses in the Tempe area. At the beginning of the season, he partnered with the Venezia New York Style Pizzeria, releasing a specialty pizza called the “JD5.”
With his partnership with the Jones Auto Group, Daniels has been driving around in the 2020 Ford Mustang GT. He also partnered with Frys Food Stores. The process of choosing NIL deals has been fun according to Daniels.
“We got a chance to make money off of our name,” he said. “It’s how you brand yourself, like how people see you. Everywhere you go, you’re a brand now.”
Daniels is a business communication major, his favorite class was an internship class. The class allowed him to be mentored by his mother’s friend who works in human resources.
“Being able to go up there and model after her and see what she does, it was very fun to take that class,” Daniels said.
A San Bernardino native, Daniels made a season high 125 rushing yards against UNLV. Against UCLA, Daniels made a season high of 287 passing yards.
During his time at Cajon, Daniels was a four-star prep athlete and was invited to compete in the Under Armour All-American Game. During his junior year, he completed 69 percent of passes for 5136 yards and 62 touchdowns. This led him to defeat Downey in the 2017 CIF Southern Section Championship.
By 2018, he had a keen ability to advance the ball by either slinging or rushing the ball. His performance broke school and state records.
He also became the third freshman in ASU history to win a career start. He became eighth in the country with 15 completed passes for over 40 yards. These efforts would earn him Pac-12 Honorable Mention Freshman of the Year.
