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Heisman Trophy winner revealed for 2023 college football season
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Heisman Trophy voters have awarded Jayden Daniels the 2023 award as college football’s most outstanding player.
The star LSU quarterback was named the 2023 Heisman recipient at a ceremony in New York City Saturday evening. Daniels becomes the third player in LSU history to win the award, joining Joe Burrow in 2019 and Billy Cannon in 1959. He’s the fourth SEC player to claim the Heisman in the last five seasons.
Daniels beat out Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix, and Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. for the honor.
Penix led his team to a 13-0 record and a spot in the College Football Playoff, but his numbers just didn’t match up with Daniels’ outstanding campaign. Nix entered the Pac-12 title game as the betting favorite, but when his Ducks fell to Washington for a second time this season, the attention shifted squarely onto Daniels.
The star LSU quarterback threw for 3,812 yards, ran for 1,134 yards, and scored 50 total touchdowns this season for the Tigers. He enters bowl season as the FBS leader in Total QBR (95.7) and EPA (132.3).
A transfer from Arizona State, Daniels came to LSU ahead of the 2022 season with plenty of doubters. He has silenced all of them. Daniels has been named the AP Player of the Year and the SEC Offensive Player of the Year. He won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Davey O’Brien Award.
This season, he became the only player in FBS history to pass for 12,000 yards and run for 3,000 yards in a career. Against Florida on Nov. 11, Daniels became the first quarterback in FBS history to throw for at least 350 yards and run for at least 200 yards in a single game.
“He’s been the best player and it hasn’t even been close,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said during the season. “He has taken over games in a manner that I have not seen in my 30-plus years.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.