Arizona State coach Herm Edwards sees Heisman potential in Jaylen Daniels

With his freshman season as a launching point, Arizona State coach Herm Edwards sees Heisman potential in Jaylen Daniels.

In two seasons, Herm Edwards has come in and changed things for the Arizona State football program. A highlight of Last year’s 8-5 campaign was freshman quarterback Jaylen Daniels, who posted nearly 3,300 total yards in 12 games while throwing just two interceptions in 338 pass attempts.

Daniels came to Tempe as a well-regarded recruit out San Bernardino, California. He was ranked the No. 35 prospect in the 2019 class by 247Sports, and the No. 2 dual threat quarterback. So he was a good get for Edwards and his staff, and delivered immediately as a freshman.

The Sun Devils have made a change at offensive coordinator, as Zak Hill has come in from Boise State to replace the departed Rob Likens. During a Monday appearance on ESPN’s College Football Podcast with Kirk Herbstreit and David Pollack, Edwards spoke about the change in coordinator and the effort to push Daniels to another level this year.

Why does Herm Edwards think Jaylen Daniels can win the Heisman?

"We had some spring practices and when I hired Zak, I told him, ‘We’ve got to challenge this guy (Daniels),'” “And to be quite honest, I told Zak this story. When we got Jayden, I talked to Jayden before the (2019) season started. As a freshman starting, I said, ‘Look, I’m going to protect you as much as I can.’ I said, ‘Now, you’ve got to prove to me that we want to build this thing around you.’ And so, with that being said, he went out and did what he needed to do. He only threw two interceptions. So this offense is built around a quarterback."

Daniels completed over 60 percent percent of his passes as a freshman, for 2,943 yards with 17 touchdowns and the aforementioned two picks. He added 355 rushing yards on 125 attempts with three touchdowns.

Daniels had three touchdown passes four times in a five-game stretch, with over 300 yards in three of those. A win over Oregon on Nov. 23, with 2020 first-round pick Justin Herbert on the other sideline, was a national arrival for the Arizona State signal caller as he threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns.

In the conversation with Edwards, Pollack pointed to Daniels as a Heisman Trophy contender in 2020 and beyond. The start of Edwards’ response when asked if he saw the same said it all.

“Absolutely.”

Team success will go a long way to advancing Daniels in the Heisman conversation this year. Wins over Oregon, Arizona to end the regular season and a bowl win over Florida State was the right way to end 2019, If the Sun Devils win 10 games with an offense centered around Daniels, he will naturally get the attention his coach sees him in line to get.