This is something you don’t see very often. At all.
Heading into summer camp, Jayden Daniels was seemingly the favorite to land Arizona State’s starting quarterback job. Overnight, head coach Herm Edwards confirmed that Daniels has won the competition over a handful of (mostly) youthful contenders and earned the starting job.
If Daniels is under center when ASU kicks off 2019 against Kent State Aug. 29, it will mark the first time in school history that a true freshman has begun a season as the starting quarterback.
But wait, there’s more.
In addition to naming Daniels, Edwards also confirmed that Joey Yellen will be Daniels’ primary backup. Like Daniels, Yellen is a true freshman. It’s believed that this is the second time an FBS school has gone into a season with true freshman Nos. 1 and 2 on the depth chart, the first* being Texas Tech in 2013 with future Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield and Davis Webb.
Yet another true freshman, Ethan Long, was in the mix as well, as was redshirt junior Dillon Sterling-Cole. With a mere 57 -- 55 of which came in 2017, incidentally -- Sterling-Cole is the only quarterback on ASU’s roster to attempt a pass at the collegiate level.
The only other quarterback listed on the roster is Trenton Bourguet... who is also a true freshman.
Daniels, ASU’s top recruit this past cycle, and Yellen were four-star 2019 signees, with the former rated as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the country and the latter the No. 2 pro-style quarterback. Long was a three-star prospect in this year’s class, with all three of the freshmen enrolling in January to get a head start on the competition.
(*Thanks to our Twitter follower @HughesCas for reminding the reminder!)