Daniels was born on December 18, 2000, in San Bernardino, California. He began playing football at age five and also grew up playing basketball, soccer, and running track. He attended Cajon High School from 2015 to 2019 and started all four seasons at quarterback, throwing for 14,007 yards and 170 touchdowns, both CIF Southern Section records, while rushing for 3,635 yards and 41 touchdowns. As a senior, Daniels was named the men's recipient of the Ken Hubbs Award, given annually the top high school athletes in the greater San Bernardino area, following a Citrus Belt League championship and state finals appearance in 2018. A four-star recruit in the 2019 class, he was ranked second nationally as a dual-threat quarterback and was invited to play in the 2019 Under Armour All-America Game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, where he passed for two touchdowns. Daniels graduated early in January 2019 and enrolled at Arizona State University to play college football for the Sun Devils.
Jayden Daniels (born December 18, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils for three seasons before transferring to the LSU Tigers in 2022. He won the Heisman Trophy and several other awards in 2023 after passing for 40 touchdowns and 3,800+ yards while rushing for 10 touchdowns and 1,100+ yards. Daniels was selected second overall by the Commanders in the 2024 NFL draft.
Arizona State only played four games in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Daniels leading the team to a 8–5 record in 2021 while throwing 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In June 2021, the NCAA announced that Arizona State was under investigation for violating recruiting guidelines set during the pandemic, with them later finding Daniels' mother had booked more than $1,100 in flights for staff to visit recruits.
In March 2022, Daniels transferred to Louisiana State University to play for the LSU Tigers. He was the recipient of the team's Charles McClendon MVP Award in 2022 after recording 3,592 yards of total offense, the third-highest in school history. In 2023, Daniels became the first player in FBS history to record at least 350 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in the same game, doing so against the Florida Gators. He recorded eight total touchdowns against the Georgia State Panthers a few weeks later. Daniels would win the Heisman Trophy for the season, becoming the third LSU player to win it behind Billy Cannon (1959) and Joe Burrow (2019). Additional awards and honors won included the Walter Camp Award, AP College Football Player of the Year, SN Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien Award, Manning Award, and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He used custom virtual reality headset software as part of his training during the season and attributed it to help him make quicker decisions. Daniels opted out of the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl and declared for the 2024 NFL draft. He was the first player in college football history to have career totals of 12,000 yards passing and 3,000 yards rushing.