Two days is all that's left before LSU takes the field against USC on Sunday to kick off the 2024 season. So far, we have identified eight of the best LSU players of this century, meaning there are only two guys left, and I think you have a pretty good idea who those two guys are.

Our No. 2 player left LSU just this past year after posting one of the best offensive seasons in the programs history. He became the third Tiger to ever win the Heisman Trophy and will have his named etched in LSU lore forever.

Our No. 2 player is none other than Jayden Daniels.

Jayden Daniels wasn't recruited to LSU out of high school, but after three strong years at Arizona State, Brian Kelly brought him in through the transfer portal in his first season as LSU's head coach.

When Daniels arrived on campus, he found himself in a battle with Garrett Nussmeier for the starting job. This battle went throughout the entire offseason, and it wasn't until just a few days before their season opener against FSU that Kelly announced Daniels as the starting QB.

Daniels kicked off his LSU career with a bang, completing 73.5% of his passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 114 on 16 carries. Unfortunately, he couldn't guide the Tigers to a win, but he already showed Tiger fans what they could expect from him.

Throughout the 2022 season, Daniels played safe, efficient football, but there was a certain explosiveness that lacked in his game. He was an electric runner, but at times he was hesitant to push the ball downfield.

Daniels finished the 2022 season with 2,774 passing yards, 16 passing touchdowns and three interceptions while tacking on another 818 yards and 11 scores on the ground. After that year, Daniels could've turned pro and likely would've been a mid to late round pick, but instead, he announced he was returning for one more season.

Heading into 2023, there was a big emphasis on pushing the ball downfield more. He spent the offseason waking up at 5am and coming to the facility to work on his game. Whether it was early morning workouts or training with the virtual reality headset, Daniels was slowly and quietly perfecting his craft.

The Tigers hit the road and travelled to Orlando for their season opener against FSU. After losing in week one last season, they were desperate to start the year off 1-0, and it looked like they had a pretty good shot after Daniels connected with Tre Bradford on a 55-yard drag route on the first play of the game, but the offense failed to convert on fourth down later that drive and it all went downhill from there.

LSU started 0-1, but would win six of their next seven games to sit at 6-2 heading into a huge matchup against Alabama. Daniels had put himself in the Heisman conversation with some massive performances against Mississippi State, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Auburn, but it felt like he needed a landmark win to solidify himself as one of the favorites.

The Tigers were hanging around with Bama for the first three quarters, but with 12:54 left in the game, Dallas Turner took a cheap shot at Daniels, which knocked him out of the game with a concussion and the Tigers would go on to lose, 42-28.

Daniels somehow cleared concussion protocol within a few days and was ready to let out some anger against Florida the next week. All he did in response was break the single-game SEC record for most yards by one player, totaling 606 yards (372 passing, 234 rushing) and scoring five touchdowns.

The next week, Daniels came back out against Georgia State and once again went ballistic, throwing for 413 yards and six touchdowns while adding 96 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Finally, Daniels capped an impressive 2023 with a 355-total-yard, four-touchdown performance against A&M.

Throughout the weeks following the Tigers regular season finale, LSU started a campaign called "That Kid Jayden," which was used to bring attention to his historic season and hopefully help him win the Heisman. I would say it worked because Daniels became the third player in program history to win the Heisman Trophy after posting 3,812 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns and four interceptions while rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was just over 50 yards away from a 5,000-yard, 50-touchdown regular season.

Daniels put his name all over LSU's record book in 2023, finishing top-three in program history in completions, yards, completion percentage and touchdowns in a single season.

Daniels went on to be selected by the Washington Commanders with the second overall pick in this year's draft, and he was just recently named the Commanders starting QB for the 2024 season. He will be back in the boot when the Commanders travel to face the Saints on December 15th.

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