The reader will have to forgive me and us at The Hayride, as this piece is a little tardy. Had I been back in the fold writing on LSU football two weeks ago, I assure you I would have given Jayden Daniels the treatment I gave Joe Burrow in December 2019. Hopefully my “Farewell, Five” article did some of that, even though my scope was oriented more toward Tiger fans than Five himself.

One final time, before we turn our attention to a little recent LSU history and Garrett Nussmeier’s start in the ReliaQuest Bowl, let us tip our cap to one Jayden Daniels, the best player in college football.

Four years ago, former LSU great and still ambassador of the program Tyrann Mathieu narrated a video before quarterback Joe Burrow’s trip to New York and the Heisman Trophy presentation ceremony. In it, he was welcoming “Joe” to “The Club,” a reference to Mathieu’s own invitation to New York after the 2011 season:

Also four years ago, unthinkably, Daniels was a freshman quarterback at Arizona State, leading the Sun Devils to a pedestrian 8-5 season while completing nearly 61% of his passes for 2,943 yards.

Four years later, equally unthinkably, the two quarterbacks’ paths converged.

Already a Super Bowl appearance in hand, Burrow would pay the favor forward, extending Daniels the courtesy of welcoming him to the club as well. Daniels was the third Tiger to be invited to New York for the ceremony, and he became the second one to take home the hardware. Overall, it was LSU’s third Heisman Trophy winner, with the late Billy Cannon winning the award in 1959, a year after LSU’s first national championship in 1958 when Cannon finished third in the Heisman voting.

In 2023, Daniels did something no one ever thought would happen–meet and exceed Burrow’s 2019 numbers. It is undoubtedly true that Burrow’s numbers seemed more astronomical only because Tiger fans and the media were accustomed to the Les Miles, plodding offensive scheme that grew to fool no one. The contrast was so stark that it seemed Burrow’s year could never be duplicated.

And in some sense, it never will, simply because of how different LSU’s offense was that year. The optics, the impression, will live in infamy.

Not to mention the national title and the respect of being dubbed the greatest of all time.

But in terms of raw numbers and sheer excitement, Jayden Daniels was every bit the quarterback Joe Burrow was. Whether or not that translates to the NFL or not remains to be seen, especially since they play with different styles, but the fact that Five was breathtaking on that field this year is something he will always share with the likes of Burrow and Mathieu.

We may even need to revisit this article from four years ago yesterday that identified one analyst’s All-Decade Team at LSU, which included Burrow, Mathieu, Leonard Fournette, and Devin White. It is a new decade now, of course, and certainly Daniels would be first on that list of the 2020s version of LSU Mount Rushmore.

Daniels didn’t win the national title or even a conference title, but neither did Fournette and White. 9-3 is certainly not in the same universe as 15-0, but LSU’s offense in 2023 was tops in the nation and even more explosive than the one in 2019. Is it out of the realm of possibility to think that, with any defense at all, this LSU team would be on the cusp of its second CFP appearance right now on this cool December 22 day?

It is all conjecture and fun to consider. It is also a nod of respect to Daniels and what he did this season. We’d say there will never be another like him, but chances are, there will be. And that isn’t a bad thing, and that doesn’t take one shred of respect away from Daniels, just as placing him on the Mount Rushmore of all-time LSU greats doesn’t diminish Burrow.

When that day comes, it’ll be Daniels passing the torch to some kid we don’t even know right now, perhaps a high-potential underclassman in high school or a fledgling backup at Washington State looking for a fresh start. Until then, the latest phone call from Tiger great to Tiger great is the only one that matters.

Respect.

“Hey Jayden, it’s Joe…”

Welcome to the club, Jayden.

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Jeff LeJeune is the author of several books, writer for RVIVR, editor, master of English and avid historian, teacher and tutor, aspiring ghostwriter and podcaster, and creator of LeJeune Said. Visit his website at jefflejeune.com, where you can find a conglomerate of content.