This week, LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly made it clear that Jayden Daniels would be the team’s starting quarterback this fall, which isn’t exactly surprising given that Daniels was also the team’s starter last season. But what is surprising is just how close that quarterback battle seems to be.
Even though Brian Kelly is committing to Jayden Daniels beginning the season as the team’s starting quarterback, it does not sound like that’s guaranteed for the rest of the season because of how well backup quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is progressing.
“Jayden’s our starter. He’ll start, but he’ll have to continue to improve and progress because Garrett [Nussmeier] is getting better every single day as well,” Kelly said at SEC Media Days according to On3.
It sounds unlikely, given how well Daniels performed last season, throwing for 2,913 yards and 17 touchdowns with a 68.6% completion percentage along with 885 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. But Kelly is adamant that Nussmeier is pushing Daniels.
“You want to talk about great competition? That’s about as about as good as a head coach could hope for at the quarterback position. So Jayden’s the starter, but he’s got to have a great camp. He’s got to continue to progress. He’s got to continue to work. He’s got to continue to move forward because the guy right there, as well, he wants to take his job in the right way. They’ve got a great relationship, but he wants his job too. So, I think that that’s a really positive situation,” Kelly said.
Those are some bold words, and they led to plenty of reactions from the college football world.
https://twitter.com/caseyaaronhurst/status/1681000503952506880?s=20
https://twitter.com/Tapiasteiner/status/1656799079916085248?s=20
We’ll have to see if Nussmeier lives up to the hype whenever he gets his chance.
[On3]
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