Former Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels spoke with the media for the first time since transferring to Louisiana State in March and provided his thought process that brought on the decision to leave.

“Decided to make the transfer, make the best decision for me and my future,” he said Tuesday. “Just the opportunity that presented itself to come in and compete at the highest level against the best conference in college football, the SEC West.

“To be able to go here, be able to be around the talent that matches where I’m trying to go and where I’m trying to be. So that’s the reason why I chose to come here.”

Daniels was one of many Sun Devils to leave the program via the transfer portal amid an NCAA investigation that forced ASU to bring in 43 new players. As the starting quarterback for the last three years, Daniels was certainly the most notable name to depart.

The 21-year-old joins a Tigers squad that is currently in the midst of a quarterback competition. Alongside Daniels is redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier and five-star freshman Walker Howard. The group previously had four names involved before fifth-year senior Myles Brennan announced on Monday that he is stepping away from football. Brennan had been LSU’s backup signal caller each of the last three years.

Daniels said he has not been told he’s the starter yet, while WWL’s Kristain Garic reported with the Brennan news that Daniels is going to be the starter. Daniels called it one of the best quarterback rooms in the country and said everyone is ready to support each other no matter who the starter is.

It’s a huge jump for Daniels not only with the quality of competition but how much bigger the spotlight will be on him as the QB for a program with four national championships and 12 SEC titles.

After a stellar freshman campaign and the pandemic-affected 2020 season, Daniels’ career touchdown-to-interception ratio of 22-to-3 took a significant hit as a junior with 10 touchdowns and interceptions apiece. What did get better, though, was his completion percentage of 65.4% and his yards per carry, which jumped from 2.8 as a freshman to 5.1 last year.

Daniels said he’s inevitably going to see criticism that he relies on his legs too often but doesn’t pay attention to it.

“The main thing just is being the best version of me,” Daniels said of how he wants to balance passing and running for the Tigers this year.

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