Arizona State Football: Jayden Daniels will be nightmare in Pac-12 for years

Arizona State football has a star under center by the name of Jayden Daniels and he’s going to be a nightmare for Pac-12 defenses for years.

Herm Edwards probably had a hunch, but he may not have guessed that Jayden Daniels would have had such a major impact on his football team in 2019.

As a true freshman, Daniels was tasked with replacing Manny Wilkins following a successful 2018 season and he looked like the real deal from the start. In his first career start against Kent State, the Sun Devils struggled as a team, but he finished with 284 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-24 completions with a rushing touchdown as well.

The next week, he passed for 304 yards and a touchdown on 17-of-27 completions. He had three touchdown passes and no interceptions through the first two games and his confidence was just gaining steam.

Then he went to Michigan State and struggled a bit against that defense, passing for just 140 yards and no touchdowns, but he stepped up in the biggest moment of the game, rushing for a huge first down on fourth-and-long to give the Sun Devils position to kick a game-winning field goal and improve to 3-0.

Arizona State finished the season 8-5, led by Daniels’ 2,943 yards and 17 touchdowns through the air but he only had two interceptions and completed 61 percent of his throws. He also rushed for 355 yards and three more scores. He was a menace for opposing defenses.

Going through an entire freshman season and accounting for over 3,000 total yards and only two interceptions is unheard of and just shows the type of calm, collected player he is. Defenses couldn’t rattle him, even when he was getting rushed behind a shaky offensive line. He stood strong and made play after play.

Edwards even believes the offense was held back by issues at the offensive coordinator position as he let go of Rob Likens after the regular season and hired Boise State’s Zak Hill.

With major offensive changes coming, in a positive regard, the Sun Devils should take a step in the right direction in 2020 and contend for the Pac-12 title.

Leading the way will be Daniels with another year of experience under his belt and an even calmer demeanor. This kid is going to be a menace to opposing defenses for years to come.