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2022 NFL Draft: JT Daniels a potential Heisman finalist

By Andrew Fischer

0ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 01: JT Daniels #18 of the Georgia Bulldogs passes during the first half of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 1, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
0ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 01: JT Daniels #18 of the Georgia Bulldogs passes during the first half of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 1, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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November 24, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback JT Daniels (18) runs the ball against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
November 24, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback JT Daniels (18) runs the ball against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s been a long road for JT Daniels, from his first college start as a true freshman at USC to the 2022 NFL Draft. And the most pivotal leg of the journey lies immediately ahead of him.

JT Daniels was a 5-star prospect out of storied Mater Dei High School located in Santa Ana, CA. Other Division I quarterbacks that came out of the illustrious Mater Dei football program include Matt Leinart, Matt Barkley, the late Colt Brennan, Todd Marinovich, and current Alabama starter Bryce Young. Three of the QBs on that list committed to the University of Southern California and JT Daniels did too in the summer of 2017.

Daniels had immense success at Mater Dei, starting all four years there, winning the Gatorade High School Player of the Year Award as a junior, and leading his team to a perfect 15-0 season that saw his school never trail at any point and win every game by double digits on their way to a national championship. Daniels put up over 4,000 passing yards and threw for over 50 TDs in the process.

Originally a 2019 recruit, JT Daniels reclassified and graduated high school early to enroll at USC as a member of the same 2018 recruiting class that featured quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields. In 2018, JT Daniels enrolled at USC in June, and shortly thereafter became the team’s second true freshman quarterback ever to start the season opener.

Although he threw for 2,672 yards as the starter in 2018, Daniels completed less than 60% of his passes and had a mediocre touchdown-interception ratio of 14-10. He looked overwhelmed at times, and the Trojans went 5-7.

2019 was a disaster for JT Daniels as he tore his right ACL and meniscus in the season opener against Fresno State and missed the rest of the season. Backup QB Kedon Slovis emerged and played so well that Daniels elected to transfer to Georgia.

In 2020 Daniels only started four games for Georgia, but he flashed the considerable upside everyone knew he had. The redshirt sophomore threw for 1,231 yards while completing 67.2% of his passes on a healthy 10.3 yards per pass attempt. He also improved his touchdown to interception ratio to 10-2 in those games. The Bulldogs finished their season 4-0 with Daniels as the starter and took home the 2021 Peach Bowl trophy with a close win over Cincinnati. He was eligible to declare for the NFL Draft last year, but will likely declare for the 2022 NFL Draft after this season.

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