Home Sports College football: LSU’s Daniels, Jones earn SEC Player of the Week honors

College football: LSU’s Daniels, Jones earn SEC Player of the Week honors

by Russell Hedges

LSU Athletic Communications

BATON ROUGE – For the third time this year, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has been tabbed as the SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the win over Missouri on Saturday.

Daniels is joined this week by sophomore Emery Jones, who earned SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week recognition. 

Daniels, who was also named SEC Player of the Week following wins over Mississippi State and Arkansas, turned in a gritty performance against Missouri, shaking off badly bruised ribs to lead the Tigers to the 49-39 victory.

Daniels became the first player in LSU history to account for four TDs in a five straight games, throwing for three and rushing for one, as he guided a Tiger offense that racked up 533 total yards, including 274 on the ground. Daniels connected on 15-of-21 passes, including 10-of-12 in the second half, for 259 yards and three scores. He also set a career-best with 130 rushing yards as he accumulated 389 yards of total offense.

After leaving game for three plays early in fourth quarter, Daniels returned on LSU’s next series, throwing a 35-yard pass to Malik Nabers and then scoring on a 35-yard run to give LSU a 35-32 advantage with 7:54 to play. He then connected with Nabers on a 28-yard TD pass on LSU’s next possession, putting the Tigers up for good, 42-39, with 2:58 remaining. 

Daniels rallied LSU from a 22-7 first half deficit marking the fifth time in his two years with the Tigers he led his team to victory despite trailing by double-digits in first half.

Jones, a sophomore from Baton Rouge, played a dominant game, helping the Tigers to 274 rushing yards against a Missouri defense that led the SEC and ranked No. 8 nationally in rush defense at 74.8 yards per game

LSU averaged 6.5 yards per carry and didn’t have a negative play on designed runs as the Tigers produced two 100-yard rushers – the first time in 2023 Missouri allowed an opponent to top the 100-yard mark. 

Jones played all 73 snaps in the win as the Tigers ran their record to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play. It’s the first conference player of the week honor for Jones.

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