Washington-Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels is thrilling the NFL with a spectacular playoff run. Part of the reason for his success is a pair of virtual reality glasses that two entrepreneurs from Germany have brought to market.
Jayden Daniels is having an outstanding season, one that he has already crowned with two strong playoff performances, regardless of the outcome of this season. A few years ago, no one could have foreseen that Daniels would get off to such a successful start in the NFL.
A look back at 2023 is enough: Daniels had repeatedly shown flashes of his talent by then, but consistency was a big problem. A year before he would have had to register for the draft, scouts saw him as an average quarterback talent who would be drafted in the middle rounds.
But in week 3 of the 2023 season, everything suddenly changed. Jack Marucci, Director of Performance Innovation at LSU, and his assistant Mario Macaluso received an email from the German company Cognilize.
In it, the two Germans Verina Kau and Christian Hartmann offered Daniels College a specially created pair of virtual reality glasses. With these, Daniels should be able to simulate game situations at 1.75 times the speed – the almost doubled speed would force Daniels to make decisions faster. At the same time, real speed should feel slower for Daniels during the game.
No sooner said than done! After he started training with the VR glasses, Daniels became more confident, his brilliant performances became the norm and the quarterback demolished opposing defenses week after week – he even went on to win the Heisman Trophy as the best college player in the country.
Jayden Daniels: Super Bowl with German support?
The big advantage of glasses? Daniels was able to put in extra shifts that didn’t tax his physique. This helped him continue training even during a two-week concussion. “It totally helped me. It was just an extra training opportunity that helped me mentally,” Daniels told “The Athletic.”
@LSUfootball Jayden Daniels started working with an AI program called Cognilize the week of Mississippi State game. Daniels went 30-34-0 for 361 yards + 2 touchdowns, with a pair of drops vs Bulldogs. Jack Marucci & Mario Macaluso give us a look at the technology. LSU @wafb pic.twitter.com/F9onsJxvKw
— . (@PromotesPrimesX) December 9, 2023
The glasses became so important to Daniels’ training that he even made them a condition for NFL teams that wanted to draft him. This was obviously not a problem for the Commanders. “I’m all for it. It’s incredible technology,” Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said enthusiastically. “The first time I put them on, I almost fell backwards. I saw the pass rush coming straight at me.”
The glasses not only simulate classic game situations, they can also be individually programmed. Daniels can access the Commanders’ entire playbook with the glasses and practice his moves against various defensive formations.
The rookie quarterback has been training with the VR glasses for almost 18 months now. Thanks to them, Daniels has not only become the second pick of the NFL draft, he is actually on the verge of making it to the Super Bowl. Who would have thought that a big thank you goes to Germany for this.
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