LSU Star Jayden Daniels Wins Heisman Trophy, Becomes Third Tiger to Do So

BATON ROUGE, La. (KPEL News) - LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels was named the best college athlete in the nation Saturday night, becoming the third LSU Tiger in the school's history to win the Heisman Trophy.

Daniels, who had previously won numerous other awards this season, including AP Player of the Year, was one of four finalists for the award.

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Daniels finished off the regular season with a total of 3,812 passing yards in ten games, averaging 11.7 yards per throw and 40 touchdowns. Along the way, the quarterback has broken some key records, including an FBS record when he picked up 606 total yards and five touchdowns.

He also won the AP SEC Offensive Player of the Year Award, winning the award unanimously, according to Koki Riley of the USA Today Network. Last week, Daniels was named a finalist for the Manning, Davey O’Brien, Maxwell, and Walter Camp Awards, as well.

He is LSU's second Heisman Trophy winner in the last five years after Joe Burrow led the Tigers to a National Championship in 2018. The only other LSU athlete to win the Heisman was Billy Cannon, who won it in 1959.

More via The Advocate:

Daniels beat out Washington quarterback Michael Penix, Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Despite LSU not playing in a conference championship game with its 9-3 record, Daniels posted some of the most impressive numbers in the sport.

Cannon always wished someone else would join him in that highest echelon of LSU lore, saying “yet” whenever people mentioned he was the school’s only winner. Burrow finally broke through in 2019. A quarterback like him had never come through Baton Rouge.

Daniels was a favorite going into the night after winning the AP award and also after Bo Nix and Oregon lost a conference title game to Penix and the Washington Huskies.