The fallout from Jayden Daniels‘ legal spat with LSU has forced everyone across college football to pick a side. Paul Finebaum made his pick, and he didn’t hold back, going scorched-earth on the former Heisman winner for orchestrating what he called one of the most senseless moves in recent memory.
“I got to know Jayden Daniels when he was at LSU,” Finebaum said during an Aug. 14 appearance on The Team 980. “I really liked him and talked to him a lot. Even when he went to the Commanders, there was a great sense of pride in what he did the first year.”
The moment he burned down the bridges with LSU, though, is the moment the Tigers fans started turning sour towards him, at least that’s what Finebaum believes.
“I said all that to say this: He’s lost all of that from everywhere and everyone in LSU Nation after what happened this week [and] I know it’s been said here before, but I rarely have ever seen a dumber, more senseless move. They are done with him,” Finebaum asserted.
Jayden Daniels Tries Damage ControlGettyFormer LSU QB Jayden Daniels tries on No. 5 jersey rift.
The former LSU standout’s cease-and-desist instantly became a viral PR disaster, one that Daniels didn’t see coming a mile away before going cold with his alma mater.
He tried some damage control on Thursday via a social media post. Breaking his silence for the first time on the situation through his Instagram story, Daniels downplayed it as a business matter for the legal team to solve behind closed doors.
“I have a lot of gratitude for my time at LSU and I’m proud of what my teammates and I accomplished there. Obviously there are issues to be worked out between my team and LSU and my hope is that it will get done privately. My sole personal focus is on Commanders’ football. I realize the business of football is unique and I trust this can all be resolved,” his statement read.
Trying to play the passive bystander after launching a legal missile at his former school only poured more gasoline on the fire.
The cleanup won’t be that easy for Daniels.
“I don’t know who pulled the strings, but all the cleanup on aisle three from Jayden Daniels from this moment on will not be enough,” Finebaum said.
“He has made a terrible mistake. He can be successful in Washington. I hope he is. But I would advise him to never waste another second in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, because they are done with him.”
It’s On Since the Brian Kelly EraGettyLSU quarterback Jayden Daniels on No. 5 jersey dispute.
Joe Burrow won the Heisman in 2019 and won a National Championship ring the same season in the No. 9 jersey. No LSU player has touched it since. It was the same with LSU’s first-ever Heisman winner, halfback Billy Cannon‘s No. 20, which is the only football number formally retired by the school that remains out of circulation.
Daniels wanted something similar, and that’s why he flat-out refused to give his blessing to Brian Kelly when he reached out regarding giving DJ Pickett the No. 5 jersey last season, per ESPN.
“Jayden made it clear that he did not want his number given to another player, and he believed his wishes would be respected,” Daniels’ spokesperson told ESPN. “To see his number given to another player is incredibly disappointing and feels like a failure to honor the significance of what Jayden accomplished at LSU.”
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