Jayden Daniels on his journey to become an NFL quarterback: “When I was 12, I had the vision of myself playing in the NFL. I could really see myself doing that. I could visualize it in my mind. Deep down, I still feel like that 12-year-old kid. Like, Dang, this is really real. One thing I can tell you is, it takes a village to get in this position. It also takes a lot of love. I just want to thank all of the people who helped me get to this point. I want to thank my family above all. Shoutout to my mom and my dad, my sister, my grandparents, and all of my extended family as well.

I also want to say a big thank you to the city of San Bernardino, from the bottom of my heart. They blessed me enough to name my high school stadium after me and show gratitude in that way. So I’m going to keep praising them until it’s backwards because I’m proud of where I’m from. Shoutout to everybody back home. Shoutout to my dogs Nick and Jerome. I’m grateful for the people who loved and believed in me enough to invest their time and energy, just so I could have a shot at reaching my dreams.

I feel like everything God has put me through has prepared me for a moment like this. Now, when I think back on my dad’s wisdom from when I was young, his words hold even more weight. On my journey, I did my best to make the right decisions. I made the choices that I hoped would lead me here before I knew it was written. That’s called faith.

I know that the platform I’m stepping into will open even more doors and come with a greater responsibility. I’m already looking ahead and preparing for greater challenges. But thanks for letting me look back, one more time, at That Kid.

He stayed the course.

And for that, I’m grateful.”