LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels wins the 2023 Heisman Trophy
Quarterback Jayden Daniels is the third LSU player to win the Heisman Trophy.
NEW YORK – LSU senior quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Memorial Trophy as college football's most outstanding player on Saturday night, capping a sensational season in which he led the nation's best offense.
It is the 20th time this century that a quarterback has won the Heisman, and Daniels is LSU's third Heisman winner, following quarterback Joe Burrow in 2019 and 1959 winner halfback Billy Cannon. Alabama running backs Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015) and Crimson Tide wide receiver DeVonta Smith (2020) are the only non-quarterback winners since 2000.
Daniels received 503 first-place votes and 2,029 total points. Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. finished second in voting (292, 1,701), Oregon quarterback Bo Nix was third (51,885) and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was fourth (20, 352). Daniels received 90.46% of the total vote and won four of the six electoral districts.
He is the fifth quarterback in the last seven seasons to win the Heisman after changing schools and the first since 2016 not to play in his conference's championship game.
Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis finished fifth in the voting, followed by Alabama State quarterback Jalen Milroe, Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II and Missouri running back Cody Schrader. Michigan's Blake Corum and JJ McCarthy rounded out the top 10.
The Heisman Trophy added to Daniels' accolades this season after he was named the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year and the Walter Camp Player of the Year. He also won the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback.
Daniels, who turns 23 on Dec. 18, led the nation in total offense, pass efficiency, scoring responsibility and rushing yards per carry and tied for the lead in touchdown passes (40) with Nix. He completed 72.2% of his passes for 3,812 yards and had 1,134 rushing yards and 10 more scores on the ground.
The game that perhaps earned him the award came against Florida on November 11th, when he became the first player in FBS history to throw for 350 yards and rush for over 200 yards in a single game. He finished with 606 of LSU's 701 total yards in a 52-35 win.
At the heart of LSU's offense was Daniels' steady hand and calm demeanor under pressure, which guided the Tigers as they led the FBS in scoring (46.4 points per game), total offense (547.8 yards per game). game) and led in third-down conversions with an average of an absurd 8.53 yards per play.
“Being a college athlete and winning this award was a dream come true. I would like to dedicate this award to every boy and girl who has a dream or belief. When you work hard, you never know what’s possible,” Daniels said in his acceptance speech . “They said I was too skinny so I had to wait. Then they said I relied on my legs a little too much, so I went to work, completed all those passes and had the season I had. They said I was too.” I was quiet, so I got louder. I left my comfort zone and am here today.
“So what have I learned from all this? I learned to tune out the noise, that you can overcome any obstacle, and just be humble, be legendary, and most importantly, enjoy what you do. And when you get knocked down, get back up, keep smiling and never give up on your dreams.
Daniels, a decorated four-star recruit from Cajon High School in San Bernardino, California, began his college career at Arizona State in 2019 after throwing 170 touchdowns with 41 rushing scores.
He came to Tempe after enrolling early in the school under head coach Herman Edwards. The 6-foot-2 Daniels weighed just 175 pounds, raising questions about whether he could physically handle college football. But he became the first freshman quarterback to be named Arizona State University's starter for a season opener.
He showed the player he would become as a freshman, throwing for 2,943 yards with 17 touchdowns and two interceptions as the Sun Devils finished 8-5. Arizona State played just four games in the shortened 2020 season.
His time with the Sun Devils was anything but smooth. Still, Daniels started 29 games in three seasons, playing his final year in 2021 amid a backdrop of the NCAA investigating the school for its recruiting practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daniels said he would stay at Arizona State at the end of the season, but jumped into the transfer portal months later after five coaches on the team either left or were fired amid the NCAA investigation.
His teammates were clearly upset by this decision and posted a video of players cleaning out his locker while someone in the background commented that Daniels “sucks anyway.”
Upon arriving at LSU, he beat out two other quarterbacks who were top recruits and finished 2022 with 2,913 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, along with another 885 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.
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Acceptance speech for the Jayden Daniels Heisman Trophy
Contributor: Sahil Kurup, USA TODAY Network