Marriott Marquis—This is the fifth year in a row there have been four Heisman Trophy finalists. The Heisman Trust announced it will officially invite four finalists annually to New York City for the Heisman Trophy weekend. The Trust began officially inviting finalists to New York City in 1982.
Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, making him LSU’s second winner of college football’s highest individual honor in just five years.
Daniels, Nix, and Penix Jr. are all also finalists for the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year, and the Davey O’Brien Awards while Marvin Harrison Jr. is a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award.
Daniels received 503 first-place votes and 2,029 total points. Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was second in the voting (292, 1,701), Oregon Bo Nix was third (51, 885), and Ohio State wide-out Marvin Harrison Jr. came in fourth in the fourth (20, 352). Daniels was on 90.46% of the total ballots and won four of the six voting regions.
The 2023 Heisman Trophy ballots went out to 928 electors, which includes 870 members of the media, 57 living Heisman winners and one overall fan vote presented by Nissan, the premier partner of the Heisman Trophy. All ballots were submitted electronically to the independent accountants at Deloitte.
It was the 20th time that a quarterback has won the Heisman and Daniels is LSU’s third Heisman winner, following quarterback Joe Burrow in 2019 and the 1959 winner, running back Billy Cannon. Alabama half backs Mark Ingram (2009), Derrick Henry (2015) and Crimson Tide wide receiver DeVonta Smith (2020) are the only non-quarterback winners since 2000.
Daniels, a senior from San Bernardino, Calif., has completed 236-of-327 passes for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns with just four interceptions while also rushing for 1,134 yards and another 10 scores. He is a five-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week this season, he also led the nation in total offense (4,946), TDs responsible for (50), passer rating (208.0), currently above the NCAA record), yards per pass attempt (11.7) and rushing yards by a quarterback (1,134) while his 40 TD passes are tied for first. He became the first player in FBS history to rush for 200 yards and pass for 350 yards in a game when he did it against Florida on Nov. 11, collecting 372 yards through the air and 234 on the ground.
Daniels is LSU’s third Heisman finalist and first since winner Joe Burrow in 2019. Marvin Harrison Jr. is Ohio State’s 10th finalist — the third most ever — and the Buckeyes’ first since C.J. Stroud in 2022. Bo Nix is Oregon’s fourth finalist and its first since winner Marcus Mariota in 2014. Michael Penix Jr. is Washington’s second finalist and first since Steve Emtman in 1991.
There have now been 175 players invited to New York as Heisman finalists since the practice was first incorporated in 1982.
Daniels, who turns 23 on Dec. 18, led the nation in total offense, passing efficiency, points responsible for, and rushing yards per carry, and tied the lead in touchdown passes (40) with Nix. He completed 72.2% of his passes for 3,812 yards and had 1,134 rushing yards and 10 more scores on the ground.
“So, what did I learn from all this? I learned how to block out the noise, that you can overcome any obstacle, and just be humble, be legendary, and most importantly, you know be joyful about what you do. And when you get knocked down, get back up, keep smiling and never give up on your dreams.” Daniels said.
