BATON ROUGE – On the eve of the Heisman Trophy ceremony, LSU’s Jayden Daniels added another national award to his list as he was named winner of the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. The award was announced on ESPN as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
Daniels, one of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy, was presented with the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award on Thursday in Baltimore. The LSU senior has also been named the AP National Player of the Year. The winner of the Heisman Trophy will be announced on ESPN at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Daniels joins Joe Burrow as LSU’s winners of the Davey O’Brien Award. Burrow won the award in 2019. The Davey O’Brien Award has been presented annually since 1977 to the top quarterback in college football.
Daniels has put together one of the best all-around seasons for a quarterback in college football history as he leads the nation in total offense (412.2), passing touchdowns (40), total TDs (50) and rushing yards for a player at his position (1,134).
His 412.2 total yards per game are more than 85 FBS teams and his 50 total TDs are more than 91 teams scored this year. He’s averaging an FBS-best 10.71 yards per play and he’s also first in the country in yards per pass attempt at 11.7.
His passer efficiency rating of 208.01 is the highest in FBS history. Daniels has completed 236-of-327 passes for 3,812 yards, 40 TDs and only four interceptions.
Daniels is only the second player in SEC history, joining Heisman winner Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M in 2012, to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 3,500 yards in a single-season.
In the win over Florida when he set the SEC record for total offense with 606 yards, Daniels became the first player in FBS history to rush for 200 yards and pass for 350 yards in a game. Daniels had 234 rushing yards and passed for 372 yards in leading LSU to 701 total yards in the win over the Gators.
A week after breaking the SEC mark for total offense, Daniels tied the LSU record for most TDs in a game with eight (6 passing, 2 rushing) in the win over Georgia State.
Daniels reached the 50-TD mark in his Tiger Stadium finale when he threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter leading the Tigers to a 42-30 win over Texas A&M. By reaching the 50-touchdown mark, Daniels became one of only five players in SEC history to reach that milestone, joining Joe Burrow (63), Tim Tebow (55), Cam Newton (51) and Bryce Young – all Heisman Trophy winners.
Easily the most exciting player in college football in 2023, Daniels accounted for at least four TDs in nine games and joined Burrow as the only players in LSU history to reach the 500-yard mark three times in a season. Daniels had 513 yards against Ole Miss and 509 yards against Georgia State. In all Daniels topped the 400-yard mark six times in 2023.