ASHBURN, Va. – Kliff Kingsbury is embracing the virtual reality simulation that Jayden Daniels credits with improving his quarterback skills, even though the technology initially steered him the wrong way.

“The first time I put it on, I backed into the wall,” said Kingsbury, the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator and former Texas Tech quarterback. “It felt like the (pass) rush was coming.”

The former Arizona Cardinals head coach spent his year-long absence from the pros determined to find new approaches when he returned. Playing in Mike Leach’s “air raid” system with the Red Raiders from 2000 to 2002, Kingsbury was a quarterback of one of football’s recent offensive developments.

He has no intention of stunting the latter.

“I’m completely involved,” Kingsbury said of the VR platform. “I mean, it’s an incredible technology.”

Six weeks into his rookie season, Daniels is the talk of the town and part of emerging MVP conversations. The Commanders, led by a highly efficient offense and tied for second at 29.7 points per game, have a sparkling 4-2 record entering Sunday’s home game against the Carolina Panthers.

Perhaps the only thing faster than Daniels’ accelerated growth is the speed at which he sets up the VR simulation. That would be the highest possible setting.

“It moves faster within VR than real people,” Daniels said before Washington opened the 2024 season. “Once you get there, everything slows down. I know this is coming. I’ve seen this before, (and) it moved over twenty times faster in VR.”

Jayden Daniels works with virtual reality every morning as a “flight simulator for QBs”@tracywolfson has more 🎤 pic.twitter.com/LmScO2SBt4

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 13, 2024

The simulation from German company Cognilize arrived on the LSU campus ahead of Daniels’ senior season. The dual-threat quarterback immediately became a disciple of the immersive technology originally designed for elite football players to get extra reps without the extra wear and tear. Fast forward: The quarterback with mid- to late-round draft projections for 2023 became a star.

Daniels dazzled with 50 touchdowns – 40 passing, 10 rushing – 3,812 passing yards and 4,946 total yards from scrimmage with just four interceptions en route to winning the Heisman Trophy. He had not topped 3,000 yards or more than 17 touchdowns in any of his previous four seasons at LSU or Arizona State.

When LSU staffers slowed the VR’s pace to game speed, “it felt like slow motion,” Daniels said.

That hasn’t changed, as evidenced by his pinpoint accuracy — Daniels’ 75.3 completion percentage leads the NFL — and Matrix-like movement around defenders. He ranks fourth among quarterbacks in total yards (1,726) and has been responsible for 10 touchdowns, six of which came through the air.

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Regardless of the results, not every coach grows with his or her sport or accepts new and different approaches. Some, stuck in their ways, are willing to rise and fall with their methods. The Commanders staff under coach Dan Quinn is open to innovations, how to apply for multiple positions and whatever comes next.

“It’s one of the fun parts of coaching,” Quinn said. “Nothing really stays the same, and there are things that evolve and move forward.”

Washington targeted Daniels early in the pre-draft cycle, meaning Kingsbury had time to formulate a plan for the Commanders’ next quarterback hope. Early post-draft meetings, in which Washington made Daniels the No. 2 overall pick, led the coordinator to make the VR simulation a “big part” of his weekly process.

“It’s a unique technology, especially for the quarterbacks,” Kingsbury said. “I think it’s more effective than just watching the film. They read their books, they go through their progress, they see it.

Daniels also hears Kingsbury at the same time. The coordinator adjusted his daily schedule and spent 45 to 60 minutes narrating the weekly plays on a recorder. Kingsbury’s voice is the soundtrack for those VR sessions.

“(Pilots) are not going to be trained in real airplanes. They do their flight simulators. … (Jayden) has that thing on all the time. He can see our reads and routes and hear my voice in them. It’s as real as you can (get) to get game replays, and your mind doesn’t know the difference,” Kingsbury said. “Your mind thinks you’re doing it.”

Shortly after the draft, the organization purchased the VR simulation for its quarterbacks. Marcus Mariota, the Commanders’ backup and former NFL starter, says the modern application is “great” for helping quarterbacks develop comfort within an offense and recognize patterns.

“I believe defenses are patterns,” Mariota said. “It’s important to recognize them quickly, and (the VR) seems to help Jayden with that.”

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Confidence in the coverage and “having a sense of space” is part of Daniels’ adjustment from college to NFL and another way the simulation helps improve.

“You’ve got to open some guys up,” Daniels said. “There are (defenders) who have been in this league for a long time and who are very smart and know what’s coming, all the patterns and things like that. You need to make some tight window throws. So that’s what you have to do in this league.”

The experience doesn’t just go away after the snap. Simulations allow the quarterback to move in the pocket and use the entire field. Road stadium details, including the location of game clocks, allow the user to experience the entire scene before stepping inside.

Less advanced versions of the VR product existed in the past. Mariota got a taste of a Stanford simulator years ago. The 2014 Heisman winner recalled the process using snippets of game tape that didn’t come close to reproducing game-like situations.

Nine-year veteran Jeff Driskel ‘played’ with VR technology as a rookie. As a “visual learner,” Washington’s emergency quarterback recognizes the vast improvements from then to now. Each game is personalized “based on what we think they will do on defense and what we will do on offense.”

Quinn, 54, focuses on the teaching aspect of his job and has built his staff accordingly. Seeing these technological advances illuminates the “lifelong learner.” Now backup quarterbacks like rookie Sam Hartman, who rarely gets much practice time within the team’s offense, have a tool to help them learn.

“There are always few repetitions for everyone, especially at the level and pace we use,” says Hartman. “The goal for quarterbacks is to get reps and see every play a million times. (VR) really helps.”

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Hartman, a member of Washington’s practice squad, has been playing video games with the Oculus headset on, but all the actual movement gives him motion sickness. Running around is not necessary for the football simulation.

“If I had Jayden’s speed, I’d run around a little more,” said Hartman, an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame.

Mariota and Driskel said it’s not clear how much help Daniels gets from the simulation or how he would perform under center without VR. They know that more repetitions lead to the sharpening of instincts. When instincts take over in real games, success often follows.

Daniels suffered a concussion during practice last year, the week before LSU faced SEC rival Florida. The injury kept him from the physical, but not the mental, parts of training. He then delivered the signature performance of his college career with 372 passing yards, 234 rushing and five combined touchdowns in the 52-35 win.

“That’s where the VR has helped a lot,” Daniels said.

For now, only Washington’s quarterbacks have access to the groundbreaking technology. If simulations are available to trick others into thinking, the Commanders’ coaches won’t be afraid to embrace any scenarios. The one with Daniels has created a very beautiful reality.

(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletics; photos: Patrick Smith, Michael Reaves, Michael Zagaris / Getty Images)