For the third time in school history and for the second time in a matter of five years, a LSU football player will take home the biggest and most prestigious individual award in college football, and that is the Heisman Trophy. That famous hardware will now belong to quarterback Jayden Daniels as he has been recognized as the best player in college football and has has already engraved his name in LSU lore as he joins Billy Cannon and Joe Burrow as the only other Heisman winners in program history. Daniels wins the award over the likes of Washington QB Michael Penix Jr., Oregon QB Bo Nix, and Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
In terms of on the field performance, nothing tops what JD5 did for his team this year. Despite the Tigers’ defense’s immense struggles in 2023, Brian Kelly, Mike Denbrock, and Joe Sloan could always count on JD5 to help carry the load. The numbers speak for themselves as Daniels consistently was the best and most dynamic offensive player in college football.
The former Arizona State quarterback has taken his game to another level over in his last year as the All-American quarterback led the country in every big offensive category that you can think of. This season, Daniels was first in total offense (412 yards per game), which is 75 more yards than the next closest player, passing touchdowns (40), touchdowns responsible for (50), yards per attempt (11.7), yards per play (10.71), and rushing yards by a quarterback (1,134). While being an electrifying runner, Daniels was just as efficient as a passer leading the FBS in passer rating (208.1).
The one man wrecking crew has completed 236 of 327 passes for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. While putting up lofty numbers, he has provided numerous amount of “Heisman Moments” including the Missouri game which he battled his way back from a rib injury and scored two touchdowns to help win the game.
That was certainly a Heisman moment, but the Florida game was certainly the game that got him back firmly in the Heisman conversation when he became the first player in FBS history to run for over 200 yards and throw for 350 yards in a single game. The next week after that against Georgia State, he tied Joe Burrow’s school record with eight touchdowns in one game.
The five time SEC Player of the Week also posted similar numbers to the Tigers’ other Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow as Daniels joined Burrow and three other SEC quarterbacks (Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, and Bryce Young) as the only players ever in the conference to account for at least 50 touchdowns in a season.
Daniels made even more history this season by becoming the first player in FBS history to have 12,000 career passing yards and 3,000 career rushing yards.
His instant impact in helping Brian Kelly establish the LSU program has been crucial as he has a chance to quarterback his team to back to back 10 win seasons. This has been a kind award season for Daniels as he has won numerous honors all below.
When it comes to most prestigious and incredible individual efforts, you can only marvel and just really appreciate how great of a player JD5 was for the Purple and Gold. Now, he gets forever recognized for his accomplishments.
Jayden Daniels Award Tracker:
Check out all of the photos we took of Jayden Daniels throughout the season taken by Billy Metcalf and Jason Saucier!
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