With No. 9 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC) set to play host to No. 15 LSU (6-2, 4-1 SEC) next weekend, Nick Saban’s team will have one of the biggest challenges of the season on its hands.
The challenge comes in the form of quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is likely the best quarterback they’ll face in SEC play this season. Alabama has already faced off against—and lost—to Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns, but they won’t leave the Big 12 for the SEC until 2024. You could make an argument for Will Rogers III (Mississippi State) or Devin Leary (Kentucky), but Daniels has been far better than both this season.
Daniels currently leads the SEC in passing yards, yards per attempt, and touchdowns. On the season, he’s completed 163-of-223 pass attempts (73.1 percent) for 2,573 yards with 25 touchdowns against three interceptions. In his last time out against Army, Daniels completed 11-of-15 passes (73 percent) for 279 yards with three touchdown passes in a 62-0 drubbing.
Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban was quick to praise the dual-threat quarterback for his play through eight games.
“We played against him last year,” Saban said on Thursday during Hey Coach!, via On3. “First of all, the guy is an outstanding athlete. He’s a dual-threat quarterback. He can run, he can make you miss, he can extend plays, and he’s a really good passer. And they have really good-skill guys on offense.”
Alabama lost at LSU, 32-31 last season, a game in which Daniels completed 22-of-32 passes (68.7 percent) for 182 yards with two passing touchdowns while adding 95 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. So, Saban knows that his team’s hands will be full against a player like Daniels, as they also have to account for what he’s able to add to the ground game as well.
“They have great balance on offense too,” Saban said. “They run the ball effectively. They got a really good scheme in terms of how they use (Jayden Daniels) to create triple option-type plays that you have to defend — which really helps their running game. Not just because he can run but it helps their runners run because of the way you have to defend (Daniels) on the perimeter.”
Against AP top-25 ranked opponents this season, the 22-year-old Arizona State transfer is 64-of-94 (68.1 percent) for 1,019 yards with eight touchdowns against one interception.
It remains to be seen if that trend of high play against top opponents continues this weekend against Alabama.
[On3]
