Jayden Daniels smiling in LSU uniform. (Photo by Getty Images)
Regina Jackson, the mother of LSU Tigers quarterback and likely top-three 2024 NFL Draft pick Jayden Daniels, was reportedly involved in a college football scandal involving the latter’s former school.

The 2024 NFL Draft will run from Thursday to Saturday. While USC quarterback Caleb Williams is a virtual guarantee to go first overall to the Chicago Bears, Jayden Daniels is the consensus favorite to go second overall to the Washington Commanders. Ultimately, it would be a giant surprise if Daniels was not one of the first three picks.

According to a report from Chris Karpman of 247Sports, former Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Hem Edwards accepted a five-year “show-cause” punishment for violating the NCAA’s recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period.

On top of that, Karpman reports that Jackson allegedly “paid for flights and lodging for ASU recruits.” As such, Arizona State will “disassociate” themselves from Jackson for the next half-decade:

“The school also agreed to disassociate for five years with Regina Jackson, the mother of former ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who won the Heisman Trophy at LSU and is widely expected to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday. Jackson was alleged to have paid for flights and lodging for ASU recruits who impermissibly visited during the period in which it was not allowed. “

Jayden Daniels played at Arizona State from 2019 to 2021 before transferring to LSU ahead of the 2022 season. Daniels won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 after completing 72.2 percent of pass attempts for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and four interceptions with 1,134 rushing yards and 10 rushing scores.

Barring any surprises, he’ll be the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft behind Williams.

Jayden Daniels Should Be No. 2 Pick In 2024 NFL Draft

The Commanders will choose between Jayden Daniels, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, and Michigan’s JJ McCarthy with the No. 2 pick in the 204 NFL Draft.

But at this point, it feels like Daniels is the safest pick for a Washington team that hasn’t had a superstar-level QB in over 30 years. Daniels is an explosive dual-threat QB who should make a nice transition to the NFL. If he goes to Washington, Daniels will join an offense led by Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and newcomer Austin Ekeler.

New Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has worked well in the past with dual-threat QBs like Patrick Mahomes (Texas Tech) and Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals). So Daniels simply feels like the ideal fit for Kingsbury’s rush-heavy offense that uses plenty of play-action.