Commanders fans should be thankful for two men you don’t often hear about.

No, Ryan Porter is not on the Commanders’ coaching staff. No, Porter was not on the LSU coaching staff when Jayden Daniels was an LSU Tiger quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner.

Yet, it is Porter who has coached the young Commanders’ quarterback the longest, and the relationship has been so successful that Daniels continues to reach out to Porter.

Who is Porter? He never had a huge college career, though he was a quarterback for the University of Washington Huskies. He never made it to the NFL, though he did play several seasons in the Arena Football League. While preparing for his final season (his ninth) in the AFL with the Philadelphia Soul, he was working out and doing some footwork drills on a grass field outside a YMCA when he was approached by a gentleman.

The man inquired, asking Porter if he trained quarterbacks. Porter replied that he could (meaning he was certainly capable), but he wasn’t currently training players, as he was still busy working out for his own upcoming AFL season. The man was Javon “Jay” Daniels. He proceeded to tell Porter that his son was 12 years old and had begun playing quarterback. Daniels told Porter he would have his son there the next day, “That’s literally how all of this started,” Porter told Al Galdi on the “Al Galdi Podcast,” episode 1,112.

“I took it as divine intervention. I thought it was a calling, and the rest is history,” explained Porter. Some 12 years later, Porter is now a nationally recognized quarterback coach and the owner and founder of QB Cavalry. He is known for developing and producing quality high school quarterbacks able to play in college. The website for California Power Athletes states Porter “has 11 Division I commits for 2023, the most for any QB coach in the country.”

To think, it all started with a father who, himself a good enough athlete, had played college football and providentially also at the University of Washington. He knew enough about the sport that when his eyes spotted Porter working out, he instantly thought that Porter could help his son. Loving his son, Daniels knew the importance of providing him with quality coaching, which could help Jayden have a better opportunity to succeed in high school.

Porter spoke about how he worked with young Jayden and how he accepted his instruction in footwork and timing well. “He has DB feet, his footwork is the best I have ever seen,” extolled Porter. “From an early age, I taught him everything from under center. We were teaching him to throw three-step drops from under center, so he understands the timing of it. I think that has been instilled in him from a very young age. The foundational training was put in place at a very early age.”

“I think something about him (Jayden) that is not talked about enough in his development is his dad, what a father instilled in Jayden at a very young age. That element is not talked about enough. His dad was a defensive back at the University of Washington and Iowa State, so when Jayden wanted to play quarterback, his dad went out and found him what he thought was the best opportunity to prepare him for the next level (high school).”

“Jay”, Jayden’s dad, became such a friend to Porter as well that Porter chose Jay to be his best man in Porter’s wedding. Porter expressed that Jay mentally prepared Jayden for competing in chaos. “I’ve never met a better quarterback parent than his father, Jay Daniels. What you are seeing now is what was instilled in him by his father.”

“You can try to give credit to the trainers, but if you want me to give flowers to anybody, it’s his father. What his dad did, how he brought him up, how he raised him, and what he instilled in him at a very, very young age on how to play the position, and how to prepare, was from his dad.”

So, there you have it, Commanders fans. The old saying is still true: “No man is an island.” Ryan Porter and Jay Daniels had huge roles in the development of the skills and character traits of Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.

*Tomorrow: what Ryan Porter has to say about Jayden Daniels’ NFL development and what he sees for Daniels’ future

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Two men met 12 years ago and unknowingly shaped the Commanders’ future