Winter is setting in the DMV area, and Dan Quinn was asked about it Friday.
One of the media members asked about quarterback Jayden Daniels’s reaction to the cold weather. Here is the video of this portion of Quinn’s press conference.
Indeed, the prediction for Sunday is the high temperature will be 44, with a morning low of 24. This means when the players are warming up on the field around 11:30, it will be about 40 degrees, with the high temperature coming around halftime.
“We’ve been out in practice all week and so, looking at similar practice, so that’s for him and for all his teammates. We’re an outdoor team, and this is where we play, man,” replied Quinn.
Quinn wasn’t upset, but he certainly didn’t like the question. This was revealed when he elaborated a bit further.
“So, we practice outside for a reason. We only had one practice inside since training camp. And so, it didn’t have to go in there at all, didn’t have to go outside. We had one last Friday that we had to, but by and large we’re going to practice outside as often as we can and he’s done a good job with that.”
Quinn was then asked a surprising question if Daniels playing in warm weather had come up during the draft process. His response? A simple, single word, “No.”
The follow-up came immediately, asking, “Is that something you think about with a team in general? You practice outside, was there anything else you can do to prepare?”
Shaking his head side to side, Quinn replied, “No.”
To me, the most telling element of the exchange is how Quinn immediately turned his head to the other side of the room, his body language suggesting, ‘Next question, and about something else.’
Wouldn’t you know it? The next question asked what winter element gives quarterbacks trouble when playing in the cold.
“Wind for sure, yeah. Because that, the gusts and that can go because there’s different kinds. Like if it’s snowing, it’s not as cold as some other days that you can get really cold, like the minuses and those things. But yeah, definitely wind’s the biggest one.”
For those wondering why weather was a focus during the Friday press conference, Jayden Daniels was born and raised in California. He played high school football at Cajon H.S. in San Bernardino, CA.
Daniels then played his first three college years at Arizona State before playing his last two seasons at Louisiana State University (LSU).
In Quinn’s defense, perhaps the subject of Daniels in warmer weather never came up prior to the draft because to he and Peters, if Daniels was available, they were hands down going to select Daniels.