Jayden Daniels was the best college football player in the United States in 2023, at least according to the voters of the Heisman Trophy, the top individual honor in NCAA football. Daniels, a senior at Louisiana State University (LSU), received the most votes among the four finalists from the 928 electors, including 870 media members, 57 former Heisman winners, and one consensus fan vote. He's the third LSU player to win the award and second in the last five seasons - Joe Burrow won the Heisman in 2019.
Daniels, who also won 2023 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Offensive Player of the Year, spent his first three seasons of college football with Arizona State before transferring to LSU in 2022. He had an impressive first season at LSU, throwing for 17 touchdowns and rushing for 11 touchdowns while accumulating 2,913 passing yards and 885 rushing yards. Daniels was even better in 2023, leading all players in total offense with 4,946 yards, including 3,812 passing yards, and scoring a combined 50 passing and rushing touchdowns.
The 22-year-old quarterback also put his name into LSU and college football record books in 2023. He became just the fifth player in SEC history to record 50 touchdowns, along with four other Heisman winners - Burrow, Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, and Bryce Young. He also became the first player in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history to register in excess of 350 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in a single game. Daniels recorded 606 total yards in LSU's victory over Florida in November. The following week, he tied the LSU record for most touchdowns in a game with eight in a win against Georgia State.
Daniels won several other awards in 2023, including the AP College Football Player of the Year, the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. His LSU Tigers finished the season as the No. 13 team in the nation with a 9-3 record. He announced on December 18 that he was skipping the ReliaQuest Bowl on January 1 and declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft. He's expected to be a first-round pick, possibly selected within the first 10 or 15 picks.
The three other finalists that Daniels beat out are Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Penix Jr. led the Washington Huskies to a perfect 13-0 season and one of the four spots in the 2023 College Football Playoff. He led all quarterbacks in passing yards (4,218) and registered 33 passing touchdowns in 2023. He is only the second Heisman Trophy finalist in the Washington Huskies' history.
Nix, a fifth-year eligible quarterback, had a career season with Oregon, leading the team to an 11-2 record and No. 8 ranking. He led all quarterbacks in completion percentage (77.2) and was second in several other passing categories, including passing yards, passer rating, and passing yards per game.
Harrison Jr., who won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the top wide receiver in college football, would have been the eighth Ohio State Buckeye to win the Heisman. He had a school-record eight consecutive games with at least a touchdown and 100 receiving yards this season.
