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Washington Commanders: Quinn names Jayden Daniels QB1 for season opener

Chris Graham
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Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels was named the starting QB for the Washington Commanders on Monday, in a move that was more of a formality than a surprise.

“We knew we would get here, but we were just excited to see how we would. Seeing him hit all the spots, this is a rare competitor. He’s just had a remarkable start to things,” first-year Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said.

Quinn had Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner at LSU, working exclusively with the first team in training camp for the past three weeks.

Daniels beat out another Heisman winner, Marcus Mariota, who won the award at Oregon in 2014, for the QB1 spot.

Daniels passed for 3,812 yards and 40 TDs, with just four INTs and a 72.2 percent completion rate, as a fifth-year senior at LSU in 2023.

He also gained 1,134 yards and scored 10 TDs on the ground.

Daniels was 10-for-12 for 78 yards in Washington’s 13-6 preseason loss at Miami on Saturday.

“The command of it, the accuracy, the details of it, that was one of the best practices I’d seen him have,” Quinn told reporters on Monday. “That was more in line with who he is, what he does, the checks, the calls, the communication, the delivery of the ball. He was just really on point. It was just cool to see all of that come to life.”

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," a zero-time Virginia Sportswriter of the Year, and a member of zero Halls of Fame, is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].