10 Facts You Didn't Know About Jayden Daniels
Jayden Daniels is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League. He also played for the LSU Tigers and Arizona State Sun Devils. He is the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Here's the 10 Facts You Didn't Know About Jayden Daniels.
10. Daniels was born on December 18, 2000, in Fontana, California, and raised in nearby San Bernardino.
He is a Christian. He was born to Javon “Jay” Daniels, a college football cornerback in the late 1990s for the Washington Huskies and Iowa State Cyclones, and Regina Jackson.
His mother, Regina Jackson, became an NFLPA certified agent in 2024. He has an older sister named Bianca. Daniels began playing flag football at the age of five and contact football by seven, briefly playing the cornerback position before moving to quarterback. He also ran track and played basketball and soccer as a youth before starting his freshman year at Cajon High School in 2015.
Daniels, initially needing a medical note to play due to being considered undersized for the position at 125 pounds, started on Cajon’s varsity team as a freshman.
9. In the first game of his 2016 sophomore season, Daniels broke the little finger of his right throwing hand attempting to recover a fumble but missed no games.
Daniels also participated in hurdling and the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, and 4 x 100 meters relay sprints at the school.
Daniels was ranked a four-star prospect and the top dual-threat quarterback of his class by college recruiting website 247Sports and received 25 college football scholarship offers before choosing the Sun Devils of Arizona State University in December 2018. He graduated from Cajon and enrolled at ASU in January 2019.
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8. Daniels, named the starter for the 2019 season, was the first Sun Devils freshman quarterback to start opening week.
For the 2020 season, Daniels and the Sun Devils played only four games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Daniels earned an undergraduate degree from Arizona State in December 2021.
Due to significant coaching staff turnover following the season, in which several had been fired following an NCAA investigation into the team for COVID-related recruiting violations, Daniels entered the transfer portal in February 2022.
His mother Regina was later implicated in helping arrange unofficial visits for recruits by paying for flight tickets.
7. Daniels transferred to Louisiana State University to play for the LSU Tigers in March 2022, winning a competition over Garrett Nussmeier to be named the starter prior to the 2022 season opener.
He was the third LSU player to win the Heisman behind Billy Cannon in 1959 and Joe Burrow in 2019. Daniels pursued a Master of Liberal Arts degree at LSU. He signed NIL deals with Raising Cane’s, Powerade, Beats by Dre, and Urban Outfitters.
Daniels was featured on “The Money Game: LSU”, a six-part NIL-focused docuseries by Prime Video that followed him, Angel Reese, Flau'jae Johnson, Livvy Dunne, and Alia Armstrong through LSU’s 2023-24 sports season.
6. Daniels became one of the top quarterbacks in college football at LSU due to his hard work.
According to Cody Bellaire, “Daniels was the first player in the building, the last guy to leave, and any chance he could get to throw to his teammates he would.”
Daniels spent so much time in the LSU facility that he had to ask for extended access to the building. He got up at 5:30 a.m. to start watching film. Sometimes he watched with his receivers; other times, he was by himself.
“I don’t have to worry about any other distractions”, Daniels said. “I’m pretty much the only one in the building at the time. It’s me, myself and my thoughts.”
5. In the offseason before his rookie year, Daniels and former LSU teammate Malik Nabers received training from the NFL on its gambling policy for proposing a friendly $10,000 bet on who would be named Offensive Rookie of the Year.
He acquired uniform number 5 in a deal with Tress Way, who had worn it with the team since 2014. Daniels cited Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, and Reggie Bush as inspirations growing up, choosing 5 as his uniform number after McNabb and Bush. His father showed him videos of San Francisco 49ers great Joe Montana as an example of how to handle himself on the field.
Kobe Bryant is Daniels’ favorite basketball player. Daniels was selected to the 2025 Pro Bowl Games, becoming the fourth rookie quarterback since 1970 to make an initial Pro Bowl roster.
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4. He used virtual reality as part of his training, using software designed by German company Cognilize that incorporates custom game plans and allows for speed adjustments and opposing players, teams, and their stadiums to be represented.
He didn’t just go through simulated games every week; he went through them at the top speed allowed by the settings. By the time he got to the actual game on the weekend, everything seemed to slow down for him. He began the practice at LSU in 2023 and continued to use the technology in the NFL.
Daniels warms up before games with a basketball, saying the practice helps him mentally prepare as footballs feel smaller and lighter afterwards.
3. In 2024, San Bernardino mayor Helen Tran presented him with the key to the city and declared January 20th “Jayden Daniels Day”, with Cajon High School additionally renaming their football stadium after him.
Daniels threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game in June 2024 and presented the Best Play Award to Lamar Jackson alongside Livvy Dunne and Lil Wayne at the 2024 ESPYs the following month.
Jordan Schultz received a text from an NFL GM that said, “Jayden Daniels is already the most poised quarterback in the entire NFC. I’ve never seen anything like this for a rookie.” Giants coach Brian Daboll famously told general manager Joe Schoen they should try to trade up in the draft for Daniels, as seen on HBO’s “Hard Knocks”, even though there was no chance the Commanders were going to let him slide. C.J Stroud and Daniels grew up together. Stroud said that Daniels is having the best rookie year of all time.
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2. The quarterback likes a routine. There was a time when he would grab a Subway sandwich, but his plan became more specific at LSU.
He ate an omelet and two waffles the morning before games. The omelet order: bacon, spinach and onions topped with a little hot sauce. When asked why he eats two waffles, he said, “I don’t want to eat one, I don’t want to eat three.” Beginning in high school, Daniels’ mom gave him Pedialyte every game day – always strawberry lemonade.
His preferred concoction these days is grape Powerade mixed with cherry Pedialyte. “Drink some of the Powerade, mix it together, shake it up, I’m good for the day”, Daniels said. “It’s not for everybody. That’s why it’s my routine.”
His diet in the NFL looks a little different. For breakfast, Daniels eats an omelet with hash browns. For lunch, he eats salmon over rice with broccoli. For dessert, he eats chocolate chip cookies and ice cream. His cheat snack is honeybuns. For dinner, he eats spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. His caloric intake is 2,712 calories and his bedtime is around 11pm.
1. Family means everything to Daniels. He took some time before the NFL Draft to show his appreciation to those responsible for his success in a Players’ Tribune piece.
Daniels started with his grandfather because he was there “every step of the way, for 20 years of my life.” He picked Daniels up from school, took him to practice and was like a best friend.
Daniels was heartbroken when his grandfather passed away, followed by his grandmother two weeks later. His paternal grandparents passed away from COVID-19. The grief, as hard as it was, taught Daniels that “you really gotta love the ones that love you, because you never know when that time might be up.” His grandparents weren’t the only ones who helped him get to the NFL.
His mom, dad, sister and extended family were all there to help him achieve his dream. “It takes a village”, Daniels wrote. “To get in this position, It also takes a lot of love. I just want to thank all of the people who helped me get to this point. I’m grateful for the people who loved and believed in me enough to invest their time and energy, just so I could have a shot at reaching my dreams.”
Daniels always knew he would be a quarterback in the NFL. In the same Players’ Tribune piece, he wrote, “When I was 12, I had the vision of myself playing in the NFL. I could really see myself doing that. I could visualize it in my mind. Deep down, I still feel like that 12-year-old kid. Like, Dang, this is really real.”
That’s all 10 Facts You Didn't Know About Jayden Daniels, tell us if you think Jayden Daniels is having the greatest rookie year in NFL history!