LSU's Jayden Daniels: 'We have the best quarterback room in the country'

As head coach Brian Kelly looks to build off an impressive 10-4 season in his first year in Baton Rouge, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels believes the Tigers have a clear-cut advantage over the rest of the contenders college football heading into 2023.

Daniels, heading into his redshirt senior season, believes that he and the quarterbacks around him that comprise the LSU quarterback room are the best in the business.

“We have the best quarterback room in the country,” Daniels told the media while at the Manning Passing Academy, per On3. “I’d put us against anybody in the country.”

Daniels is coming off a season that saw him start all 14 games for LSU, completing 266-of-388 passes for 2,913 yards and 17 touchdowns with just three interceptions. A dual threat, he also rushed for a team high 885 yards and 11 scores on the ground.

Daniels is a potential Heisman trophy candidate this season, but LSU could also lean on redshirt sophomore Garrett Nussmeier in a pinch. A former four-star quarterback recruit, Nussmeier appeared in seven games last season, completing 52-of-84 passes for 800 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions. 

LSU feels extremely comfortable in Nussmeier if he were to be called into action, but the Tigers do also have a potential star waiting in the wings in freshman quarterback Rickie Collins, who was rated as the No. 15 quarterback in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports.

"I treat him like my little brother,” Daniels said of Collins. “Just seeing him be able to grow day in and day out. Coming in as a true freshman. Trying to just learn how to live on his own, even though he’s from Baton Rouge but it’s different living on your own. Just how to maneuver and how to treat things professionally? [It’s] how tight we are.”

The Tigers kick off the 2023 season in a potentially huge matchup against Florida State. Last year, the Seminoles beat LSU in the season opener, 24-23.