Former Arizona State and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is preparing for the biggest day of his life. The reigning Heisman winner will find himself as a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday.
In fact, there is a good chance that Daniels will be the No. 2 selection of the Washington Commanders. NFL head coaches simply can’t stop praising him and have compared the stud signal caller to a certain league MVP.
However, there could be an unfortunate backdrop to Daniels hearing his name called Thursday in Detroit.
As part of a wide-ranging report detailing recruiting violations of Arizona State under then-head coach Herm Edwards back in 2020, Daniels’ mother has been involved. It’s not great.
“The school also agreed to disassociate for five years with Regina Jackson, the mother of former ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who won the Heisman Trophy at LSU and is widely expected to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday. Jackson was alleged to have paid for flights and lodging for ASU recruits who impermissibly visited during the period in which it was not allowed.”
Report on Jayden Daniels mother, via Chris Karpman of 247 Sports
The report details a timeline in the summer of 2020 when Arizona State took part in impermissible recruiting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former Sun Devils head coach Herm Edwards was handed a five-year show-cause penalty. Six other former staffers were also disciplined by the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions. As for former Arizona State assistant head coach and current Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, he will have his case heard separately.
Related: Jayden Daniels and the top quarterback prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft
Daniels played at Arizona State from 2019-21 before making his way to Baton Rouge ahead of the 2022 season. All he did this past year for the Tigers was complete 72% of his passes for 3,812 yards with 40 touchdown passes and four interceptions. Daniels added 1,134 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
We fully expect this to be a topic of conversation once draft day comes on Thursday. It’s unfortunate that this dropped immediately ahead of the biggest day of the young man’s life.