I’m telling you; the Inland Empire has a lot going on.
Snowboarding and golf and freestyle motocrossing routes – hitting receivers in stride.
Citrus fields and wineries and NFL talent worth the squeeze; real juice.
Film festivals and Coachella sets, ready … hike: a regular presence these days at Heisman Trophy ceremonies.
Some bright sports stars have been discovered out that way; i.e. Bobby and Barry Bonds; Cheryl Miller and her little brother, Reggie; Kawhi Leonard; Bob Lemon; Anthony Muñoz.
C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels.
Forget what you know about Texas and Florida, L.A. and Orange County, and consider: Could the I.E. be the new quarterback capital of the world?
There’s definitely something in the orange juice out there, because a year after buddies Bryce Young and Stroud went No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the 2023 NFL draft, Daniels is widely expected to go No. 2 to the Washington Commanders.
He’s the heavy favorite to be selected immediately after USC’s Caleb Williams, who’ll assuredly be Chicago Bears-bound in this year’s selection proceedings Thursday.
Daniels – last season’s Heisman winner – rewrote the state history books as a four-year starter at San Bernardino Cajon High School. He then headed off for an illustrious college career that started at Arizona State and finished at Louisiana State, with outlandish totals of 12,749 yards passing and 3,307 rushing, a combination eclipsing anything by any previous FBS quarterback.
Stroud – a Heisman finalist in 2021 and ’22, and last season’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year – emerged a star from Rancho Cucamonga High after getting his first starts as junior.
Even Young, the former Santa Ana Mater Dei standout who won the Heisman in 2021 and was the Carolina Panthers’ top overall pick a year ago, has ties to the Inland Empire. He and Stroud have memories of Young’s Inland Empire Ducks beating Stroud’s Pomona Steelers when they were eighth-graders.
#LSU QB Jayden Daniels (@JayD__5) getting workout in with Bryce Young & CJ Stroud. #AYS pic.twitter.com/lB5GXqFhyR
— AYS Sports (@AYSSPORTS) March 17, 2023
Daniels – who, at 23, is older than Stroud and Young, both 22 – said he kept tabs on how his Southern California counterparts fared in their first season as pros, as he always has.
“I seen what they were doing,” Daniels said on the Pivot podcast in December, in a conversation with former NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder.
“Even for high school, Bryce has always been highly ranked, always had all eyes on him, but he lived up to expectations. C.J., he was fighting for scholarship at the end of the year, so he always had that chip on his shoulder to go out and prove people wrong (ahem: 4,557 total passing yards wrong, that tally the second most ever by an NFL rookie).
“For Bryce to win the Heisman and for C.J. to be a finalist back to back years, and to follow them right after that … and to see what they’re doing at the next level?” Daniels said. “C.J. over there ballin’, and Bryce is going through what he’s going through (the Panthers won just two of his 16 starts as he threw 10 interceptions to 11 touchdowns). But he’s always been positive with everything, so I’m most definitely confident he’ll get through that.”
Lately, Daniels has been receiving lots of favorable comparisons to Stroud – who was, in 2018, a second-teamer on the Sun/Bulletin’s All-Area Football list that featured Daniels as its Player of the Year.
NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah said recently there were “C.J. Stroud elements” to Daniels. The buzz on the ground in Baton Rouge during Daniels’ pro day was that it was “eerily similar” to Stroud’s. And ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky put it out there too: “Watching Jayden Daniels was like watching C.J. Stroud” – i.e. he looked like a great QB from the I.E.
“Watching Jayden Daniels was like watching CJ Stroud..
CJ had a little bit more control of the line of scrimmage and I think CJ throws people open more consistently” ~ @danorlovsky7 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/qsuiZrM2rE
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 15, 2024
And maybe Stroud’s first NFL season is an example of what Daniels could do? A blueprint like the one these inspiring Inland Empire signal-callers have laid for young people coming up in the area now.
That if they put as much into their craft as Daniels and Stroud have, they too could make their dreams reality.
That loyalty is something that can be rewarded. That talent can be recognized – even when it’s displayed at a neighborhood public school 40 or 60 miles east of L.A.
That quiet, hard-working kids – as was both Stroud’s and Daniels’ reputations – can take the reins and effectively prove a leader on the grandest of stages.
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That’s all incredibly meaningful for young people like Evan Powell, Cajon’s current quarterback, who told me in December how proud he was of Daniels’ success.
“One of my people, from my city, was able to achieve that!” Powell said. “It means a lot because a lot of people don’t want to respect Cajon or San Bernardino in general, but it’s not like it’s a bad place. So it’s good that he puts on for his city and shows love and support because those are the people who’ve supported him.”
And Daniels, like Stroud, is just getting started. And maybe so too is the football factory that is the Inland Empire.
