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Immediately at the end of ASU's regular-season some may have speculated as to whether its starting quarterback for the last three years, Jayden Daniels, would continue with the team next season. Today, those questions were put to rest as the Sun Devil signal-caller made it official that he is returning for the 2022 season.
The 2021 season has been a peculiar one for Daniels. The Arizona State quarterback’s 645 rushing yards topped all Pac-12 signal callers, did his pass completion percentage of 66 percent (186 of 280 completed passes). Conversely, his nine interceptions, second-most in the conference, were a career-high for Daniels after recording just three interceptions in his first two years in Tempe. His ten touchdown passes were the lowest figure he posted during a full season in a Sun Devil uniform (he had five touchdown passes in a four-game 2020 campaign). To date, Daniels has completed 186 of 280 passes for 2,222 yards and ten touchdowns, coupled with 670 net rushing yards and six touchdowns which rank only behind running back Rachaad White (1,006 and 15).
In his freshman year at ASU, Daniels Became the first true freshman quarterback in program history to start the first game of the season. He passes for 2,943 yards and 17 touchdowns, completing 61 percent of his passes and tallying two interceptions. He also rushed for three touchdowns that year, including a game-winning score against Washington State.
Among quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts, he was tied for the fewest interceptions nationally in 2019 with just two. Despite missing the USC game that year (his only missed start of his career), he accounted for 784 passing yards in the fourth quarter of games, good for 10th nationally, while his 34 passing first downs are also 10th. He has recorded nine fourth-quarter passing touchdowns (fourth nationally) to one interception. His 183.84 QB efficiency rating in the fourth quarter was good for 12th in the country. While under pressure that season, he has posted the sixth-highest NFL passer rating of any quarterback in the FBS at 97.2. For reference, the national average is 68.6.
In a four-game 2020 season, Daniels completed 49 of 84 passes for 701 yards and five touchdowns along with one interception. He also rushed for four touchdowns last year.
Daniels is returning to an ASU offense which will try and improve over this year, a season where ASU averaged just 29.67 points and 197.67 passing yards. Daniels failed to pass over 200 yards in the month of November, and in two games, both wins over Washington and Arizona, he didn’t eclipse the century mark (90 and 86 passing yards, respectively). ASU’s 314 yards of total offense in the Territorial Cup and the regular-season finale were near last among all games this season and 96 yards less than its season-to-date average of 410.6 yards. ASU has recorded only one win thus far over a team with a winning mark (UCLA 8-4).
He has passed for 721 yards less than he did as a freshman, ironically while recording a career-high completion percentage of 66 percent. Another diacomdity is that despite an imbalanced offense where 61 percent of ist offensive plays were rushing attempts and the average yards gained on the ground is higher (204.5), the Sun Devils’ 6.3 yards per play tied for second in what is traditionally an offensively potent Pac-12 league.
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