Arizona’s de Laura tops ASU’s Jones in 247Sports’ QB rankings

Will Backus of 247Sports on Wednesday released his ranking of the 131 expected starting quarterbacks in FBS.

Three have ties to Arizona colleges: Emory Jones (Arizona State), Jayden de Laura (Arizona) and Jayden Daniels (former ASU starter).

Jones, the former Florida Gator, came in 68th in Backus’ rankings. Jones transferred to ASU in May after an unspectacular junior season in which he threw 19 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. The fifth-year senior beat out fellow SEC transfer Paul Tyson for ASU’s starting quarterback job, as coach Herm Edwards announced on Thursday.

Looking for a career resurrection in the desert, Jones fills the shoes for now-expected LSU starter Daniels, who ranked 41st on Backus’ list. Like Jones, he is also looking for a resurgence in a new environment. The senior left the Valley of the Sun for the bayou after mixed results the past few seasons.

The highlight of Daniels’ career was a 408-yard performance against Oregon in 2019, but he threw only 1.4 touchdowns-per-interception in his final two seasons as the Sun Devils’ play-caller.

However, he did go 3-0 against rival Arizona, whose quarterback is the highest-ranked from an Arizona college on Backus’ list. De Laura (No. 34), another transfer, was impressive for Washington State in 2021-22. The now-sophomore completed 63.2% of his passes for 2,798 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

His 23 touchdown passes and 148.8 passing efficiency rating ranked first among Pac-12 quarterbacks with at least 300 pass attempts. He takes his talents to a Wildcats team that is 1-16 the past two seasons and hasn’t had a winning season since 2017.