Jayden Daniels, the quarterback for LSU, will not play within the bowl matchup against Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Badgers will play the LSU Tigers during the ReliaQuest Bowl on January 1, 2024. However, their team will be very different from the one that played the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the last game of the season last month.
First, running back Braelon Allen or cornerback Jason Maitre have decided not to play in the bowl game. Also, a number of players have left the school.
But the Tigers will be in the same situation because on Monday, star quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels said he was going to enter an 2024 NFL Draft instead of going to the bowl game.
Sophomore Garrett Nussmeier, who has completed passes for 196 yards and a score this year, will likely fill in for Daniels for the Tigers.
Daniels had one of the best seasons in LSU history as a fifth-year senior. He threw for 4,946 yards and 50 scores.
But the Tigers will have most of their team, including the receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.
Head coach Brian Kelly said on Monday that Daniels and the transfers are the only players who are choosing not to play in the bowl game.
Monday, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels said he didn’t play in what might have been his final college game.
He has now begun getting ready for the 2024 NFL Draft. Daniels, who won the Heisman Trophy, is expected to be picked in the first round by NFL teams.
There is a bowl game in Tampa, Florida, on January 1 between No. 13 LSU and Wisconsin. Garrett Nussmeier, a redshirt junior, is likely to make his first start as a Tiger without Daniels.
This will give the Tigers a chance to get a better look at Daniels’ likely replacement before the offseason.
The Tigers scored 46.4 points and gained 547.8 yards every game on average with Daniels at QB, which was the best in the country in both categories. Daniels was in charge of 90 plays that went over 20 yards.
Nussmeier showed what he could do in limited play as Daniels’ backup for the previous two seasons.
Last season, he made 62% (26 of 42) of his passes, gaining 467 yards, scoring four touchdowns, and throwing two interceptions. He did this in the Southeastern Conference championship or the Citrus Bowl.
So far, Daniels is the only LSU player who has chosen not to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl. This means that Nussmeier might have the rest of the squad around him. This year, Daniels threw for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and only four picks.
The Tigers started bowl practice last week, and the team shared video of wide receivers Malik Nabers as well as Brian Thomas on the field.
Both of them are expected to be picked in the first round of the draft. Wide receiver Kyren Lacy and running back Logan Diggs also worked out.
Daniels moved to LSU in 2022 after three years as a player at Arizona State. He was born in San Bernardino, California.
He ran for 885 yards and scored 11 touchdowns as a quarterback in a single season, which were both LSU records.
Daniels also threw for 2,913 yards, 17 scores, and only three interceptions as LSU won the SEC West.
At the start of the season, Daniels had trouble throwing the ball downfield, so he needed to work on that.
NFL scouts said he was “hesitant” and that he would likely be picked in the middle to late stages of Day 2. Daniels then chose to go back to LSU, where he worked on his game during the off-season.
He ran for 1,134 yards and 10 more scores. Along with Johnny Manziel, a former quarterback for Texas A&M, he is the only athlete in SEC history to throw for 3,500 yards and run for 1,000 yards in the same season.
“Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen, but all good things must end,” Daniels said in a video that went viral on Monday. “Now that we have a quarterback, I feel better concerning the state of the program.”
Garrett Nussmeier, who is in his third year at LSU and still has an additional two years of eligibility, will start against the Badgers. He has played in five games this season as Daniels’ backup quarterback.
Daniels had the most total offense in the country this season. He threw for 3,812 yards as well as 40 touchdowns and ran for 1,134 yards and 10 scores.
On New Year’s Day, No. 13 LSU or Wisconsin will clash at the ReliaQuest Bowl within Tampa, Florida.
The Heisman Trophy was given to him in New York on December 9. Also in the running were Michael Penix Jr., quarterback for Washington, Bo Nix, quarterback for Oregon, and Marvin Harrison Jr., receiver for Ohio State.
Daniels played college football for five years, with the first three years spent at Arizona State. In 2022, he moved to LSU.
That same year, coach Brian Kelly’s first year within Baton Rouge after more than ten years as a coach at Notre Dame.
Daniels became one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country after he won the starting job at LSU in 2022.
His season was marked by an upset win over Alabama. He threw for 2,913 yards and ran for 885 yards as he led the Tigers to the SEC Western Division title.
Daniels won the Heisman this year, making him the second LSU center in the last five years to do so. Bob Griese won in 2019, the last time he led LSU to a national title.