Edwards: 'Daniels is not the savior.'
Herms Edwards' quotes transcribed
Announcing Jayden Daniels as the starting QB:
“Jayden Daniels is the starting quarterback. It says a lot about him and his ability right now to do some things that we feel real good about. You think about the history of ASU, first freshman ever to start on opening day. It says a lot about him. Joey Yellen right now is No. 2. So that’s how we’re going to roll. And Dillon (Sterling-Cole)’s shoulder is hurting him a little bit, so we’ll see where that’s at. But both those young kids have done a great job, and obviously, Ethan (Long) is a dual guy who will play some quarterback. But he’s kind of the H-back, he’s kind of doing everything. "It’s one of those deals when you start a freshman quarterback, you anticipate what’s going to happen.
"He’s not the savior. He’s not the savior, I don’t want to anyone to think that. He’s a freshman quarterback like all freshmen are, and he’s going to do a lot of good things, and sometimes he’s going to make some errors. That’s part of it. I told you folks up there, there’s going to be about 15 to 20 freshmen that play this year for us. We’ve got a young football tea, and these guys are very talented, and the only way to get experience is to play. And the team is going to have to play that way knowing that they got a young guy that’s playing quarterback. That doesn’t bother me one bit, to be quite honest.”
On the effect Daniels' spring arrival had on his ability to win the QB battle:
“That helps. That helps all these kids. And I think any quarterback coming out of high school now, they all try to get there in the spring and have a chance to compete and see where they’re at. He’s just one of those guys. He’s got some mannerisms and some things that he does, as well as Joey (Yellen). “Joey has come a long way from the spring now. He has really really come a long way. And he was really quiet in the spring, his personality has kind of come out. They go funny guys in the room...Ethan (Long) has a dual role. Dillon (Sterling-Cole) is a guy that has a lot of talent and he can still help us. We feel good about what we are going to do (at quarterback)
On the aspects that aided Daniels in winning the QB battle:
“I think he manages the game really well. He doesn’t make a lot of bad throws, to be quite honest. He doesn’t turn the ball over. He’s got a lot of poise. Him and Joey both, I mean Joey has a lot of poise. He’s just, I’ve been around a lot of quarterbacks, and you just have that feel of kind of, they just kind of got it. It’s not too big for them, and I think a lot of that has to do even more with these high school guys playing in 7-on-7 leagues, throwing the ball at a very young age. They’re very competitive early. He’s that kind of guy. He was coached very well as a high school player, so all those things factor in.”
On how the team has responded overall to Daniels:
“You know it's kind of funny. You sit there and think 'should I make an announcement to the team?' Make an announcement for what? I treat those guys like any other player. If you have a safety that’s starting as a freshman, you don’t announce it to the team. When I was the starter no one announced that. You just go play. So I think the quarterback is no different. For you folks (media) I understand it's a comepition and al that. To announce it to the team? I’m not going to waste my time on that.”
On when he feels like he knew Daniels was going to be the starter:
“It’s like anything else, you have to let it play out. I think it’s only fair because there are so many guys that were competing for it. Started off with four guys in the spring, then it narrowed down to three going into summer camp because Ethan was a guy that’s a dual-role guy for us now, and he’s a tremendous football player. I can’t say enough about him. So you just let it play out, and then you gather the data the best you can, it’s always hard because there are reps involved in quarterbacks. You try to get everybody involved with the first team and all of that. bUT There comes a point to where when the season starts, we’ve got 12 practices left. We’ve got to name a guy. Let’s go! It’s your ball and go play.”
On Daniels' leadership:
“That's big. The one thing about these young quarterbacks now, they’ve got a lot of pressure on them when they’re young. Because 20 years ago, the ball wasn’t in the air as much. There was no 7-on-7 leagues and all that stuff. Now, they keep their stats, they throw the ball so much at a young age and I think their ability to lead is critical because the quarterback always has to be the leader, whether he likes it or not. You’re tied to the head coach and the head coach is tied to you, and that’s just the way it works. When we recruited all these kids, I told them that. I said, ‘Look, we’re going to be tied to the hip now.’ That’s how it works. And if one of you guys become the starter, good for you. But we’ve got to understand that we got to speak the same language. Quarterback and head coach always have to be on the same page.”