By Michael Bonnette, LSU Associate Athletic Director/Communications
BATON ROUGE – It took 60 years for LSU Football to win its second Heisman. Only four years later, Jayden Daniels took home the school’s third, as the senior quarterback was named the winner of the 89th Heisman Memorial Trophy, which was presented on Saturday night in New York City at Jazz in the Lincoln Center.
Daniels joins the late Billy Cannon and Joe Burrow as LSU’s winners of the most prestigious award in college sports – the Heisman Trophy. Cannon won the award in 1959 with Burrow winning in 2019.
The Heisman Trophy caps a week that has seen Daniels win the Davey O’Brien Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Daniels claimed 2,029 points including 501 of 870 first-place votes to win the Heisman, finishing ahead of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Daniels, from San Bernadino, Calif., won the award is much of the same fashion as Burrow as he put together a record-setting season with the Tigers in his second year with the program. Daniels joined the Tigers in 2022 after three years as the starting quarterback at Arizona State. Burrow spent two years with the Tigers after transferring from Ohio State.
In 12 games in 2023, Daniels was magnificent with both his arm and his legs as he accumulated 4,946 total yards, averaging a nation’s best 412.2 total yards of offense per game. He accounted for at least four touchdowns in nine games and he topped the 400-yard mark on nine occasions. Daniels also led the nation in passing TDs (40), total TDs (50) and his 208.01 passer rating is the highest in FBS history.
His 412.2 total yards per game were 74 yards per game more than the nearest competitor – Drake Maye of North Carolina, who averaged 338.1 yards a contest. His 412.2 total yards per game ranked higher than 75 FBS teams.