A three-star quarterback whose recruiting stock has soared since this past season recently picked up an Iowa State offer and is considering taking an unofficial visit in the coming months.
San Bernardino (Calif.) Cajon junior Jayden Daniels said the Cyclones’ interest increased during after an in-school visit from assistant coach Jim Hofher.
“It really started when the quarterback coach came by my school and saw me throw,” said Daniels. “I kept in touch with him and one day he said to call him. I called and talked to he and Coach (Matt) Campbell and they offered.
“They said they don’t really offer quarterbacks until they are sure about it. They like my skill set and what I could bring to the offense. They like that I’m a pass-first quarterback that can hurt defenses in the run game, too.”
I-State is one of several Power-5 programs to pick up on the trail of Daniels, who passed for 5,139 yards with 62 touchdowns and five interceptions, while rushing for 1,292 yards and 15 scores as a junior.
In addition to the Cyclones, he has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Florida, Florida State, Oregon, Syracuse and Utah.
“Coming off my sophomore season, I didn’t have all that big of a year and didn’t stand out,” Daniels said. “Coming into my junior season, I had a pretty big year. The offense was running through me this year because I was a three-year starter. I could change the play when I saw something. The head coach gave me all the privileges. I could just go out there, make plays and win games.”
The 6-foot-2, 165-pound Daniels, a three-star dual-threat quarterback with a 5.6 Rivals rating, said he is taking everything in stride.
“Right now, I’m just enjoying the recruiting process,” he said. “I won’t think about narrowing it down until I start taking visits. I’m pretty open.”
While racking up big numbers in 2017, Daniels also found some time to follow ISU’s breakout campaign in Campbell’s second year.
“I’m kind of familiar with Iowa State and watched a couple of games last season,” he said. “I saw when they beat Oklahoma and TCU. It’s very good to see them compete with Oklahoma, which went to the college football playoffs. TCU was a top team, as well. Iowa State is a program on the rise.
“The quarterbacks made some big-time throws and I like the way the offense is set up. I like how they get people open and the quarterback makes all the throws.”
Daniels said he would like to make it to Ames in the near future.
“I know they’re going to come out sometime this month to see me throw again,” Daniels said. “They’re also talking about getting me on campus soon to check out the place and see if I can like it. I most definitely want to take a visit and see how it is.”
