The Rise of Jayden Daniels: A Look at LSU's Latest Heisman Winner

On Saturday night, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy over Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

Jayden Daniels had 503 first-place votes, Michael Penix Jr. had 292 first-place votes, Bo Nix had 51 first-place votes, and Marvin Harrison Jr. had 20 first-place votes. The top ten of the Heisman was rounded out with Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II, Missouri running back Cody Schrader, and the Michigan duo of Blake Corum and J.J. McCarthy.

Photo from Todd Van Emst (Associated Press)

Daniels threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns while only throwing four interceptions this season. He rushed for 1,134 yards and ten touchdowns during the 2023 season.

Jayden Daniels had his best games in the big games. His best game was against Florida, where he threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Outside of the Florida State game to start the season, Daniels had three or more touchdowns (passing and rushing) in the remaining 11 games.

Let's take a look at Jayden Daniels's past:

Jayden Daniels was a four-star recruit in the class of 2019. Daniels decided to go to Arizona State over schools like California, UCLA, Utah, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, and many other schools. He was a popular recruit coming out of high school.

Jayden Daniels started his Arizona State career with a bang, as he threw for 2,943 yards, 17 touchdowns, and only two interceptions. He also rushed for 355 yards and three touchdowns. Arizona State played only four games during the 2020 season because, of the reason we all know.

Moving fast past that, Jayden ended his Arizona State career with a bang, just like he started it. During the 2021 season, Daniels had a shaky year; he threw for 2,380 yards and ten touchdowns, but he also had ten interceptions. He did have his best rushing season up to this point; he had 710 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

After the 2021 season, Daniels made a decision that changed his life. He entered the transfer portal after a solid three years with Arizona State. He entered the transfer on February 17, 2022, and then he committed to LSU on March 6, 2022.

Jayden Daniels started his first season at LSU with a 5-1 start, and he ended up beating #7 Ole Miss and #6 Alabama in back-to-back weeks. LSU ended up playing in the SEC championship and ended up losing it. The Tigers beat Purdue 63-7 in the Citrus Bowl to end the 2022 season. And now we are in the 2023 season, and you have watched what happened.

Britt's Opinion:

In my opinion, the voters got the Heisman in the right hands. Jayden Daniels was the best player during the college football season. I did not particularly agree with Marvin Harrison Jr. being in the final four, but he would have been last out of these four. It could have been any combination of Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix for second and third places.