Jayden Daniels could end up receiving the green light to play in LSU’s 2023 Citrus Bowl matchup against Purdue.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly held a press conference after practice on Saturday, and he provided injury updates on multiple players, including Daniels. Kelly believes that Daniels is ready to return to in-game action.

“Yeah, he looked really good today,” Kelly said. “He's been limited, but today was kind of his last test. One of the things we like to do is put the quarterback in direct snap, so he's pushing off and driving back. When you're in shotgun, you shuffle your feet, and you throw, and that's how you can get him back quickly when you're in shotgun. You put him in direct snap, and he's got to drive and use his weight and transfer and a seven-step drop and then step up and move, you know you're ready.

“Today he went through that progression. I would say, well today is Saturday, if we were playing tomorrow, he'd be ready to play.”

Daniels came away from the Tigers’ 2022 SEC Championship Game defeat to Georgia with a nagging ankle injury. Kelly noted after the contest that Daniels suffered the ailment in the second quarter when “he got rolled up on,” and it was also a “reinjury,” as the versatile quarterback sustained an ankle injury in LSU’s regular season loss to Texas A&M.

“It was second quarter, when he stepped up in the pocket, he got rolled up on,” Kelly said after the SEC title game. “It was a reinjury, reinjured the ankle that had been injured.

“But, no, I think he felt good, looked good. Our assessment was that he was moving the team in the manner that we wanted him to. It was just a matter of getting rolled up again.”

Kelly has maintained a conservative stance on Daniels’ ailment, as he held him out of multiple practices earlier this month. But now, the dual-threat quarterback is on his way to being officially cleared to play against Purdue.

In the big picture, LSU is looking to cap off its first year under Kelly with a 10-win season.