Quarterback talents like Jayden Daniels are rare, but his success in his first year in the league isn’t just about his on-field ability. It’s the extra work he put in off the field when he didn’t have to—along with the mentality he brings to every practice and game—that makes him stand out. His quarterback coach elaborated on this during a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show.
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Daniels’ quarterback coach, John Beck, isn’t just an average Joe. He also works with Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott on the side — two of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league right now.
Beck even trains NFL draft prospect Jaxson Dart. So, when he praised Jayden on Rich Eisen’s show, it definitely caught attention. He highlighted Daniels’ incredible work ethic, which he says is second to none.
But while Jayden puts in the work on the field, it’s the off-the-field preparation that Beck couldn’t stop raving about. Specifically, the countless hours Daniels has logged in virtual reality, keeping his mind sharp and focused on football, even when he’s not at the team facility.
“The off-the-field stuff he does to prepare himself to be a great player… I mean, right now, it’s virtual reality. All of the hours he logged in virtual reality,” said the QB guru.
“If you go talk to his coach at LSU, the growth that he had, that just doesn’t happen because you go throw footballs. It happens because of the intent, the purposeful things that you do in the meeting room, walkthroughs. What’s your brain doing when you’re not in the building?” he added.
So, what is this virtual reality (VR) that Jayden has been using to hone his QB skills? It’s something he started doing back at LSU. Jayden wakes up early every morning to log onto a highly advanced football VR simulator developed by German game developers. The VR helps simulate real-life game situations. Additionally, Jayden likes to play at 1.75x speed to train himself to process information faster.
It’s this type of mindset that his quarterback coach loves. He thinks that it’s what has made Daniels great.
“The reality is that most quarterbacks are wired super, super competitively. And so, when they’re at a restaurant, you think that they’re just living it up? I promise there are many times that plays run through their head… And that’s Jayden. He had a drive to him that for 2 years we got to watch at LSU.”
It was high praise coming from Jayden’s quarterback coach. Clearly, he’s proud of the way his student has progressed and is impressed with how much he’s already accomplished. He went on to mention Jayden’s Heisman Trophy, his Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and his playoff run. All the things that he’s immensely proud of Jayden for accomplishing.
But as Beck also pointed out, none of this would have been possible without the people around Jayden. The Washington Commanders’ ownership and front office indeed deserve credit for their turnaround, as do Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury.
At the end of the day, though, it’s the player who has to go out and perform. And that’s exactly what Jayden did. Now we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in year two.
