The Heisman Trophy is a quarterback award, through and through. Eight of the last ten winners happened to be quarterbacks. By that logic, it wouldn’t surprise if this again rang true in 2023. Lucky for LSU football, quarterback Jayden Daniels is one of the best quarterbacks in the country and is already looking like one of the top SEC Heisman Trophy contenders for this coming season.
ON3 picks LSU football quarterback Jayden Daniels as one of the top SEC Heisman Trophy contenders
It’s officially college football projection season! One of the top discussion points every year is the Heisman Trophy and who will win it. This year, for the first time since Joe Burrow, the LSU football team again has a name in that discussion.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels had a stellar year for the Tigers in 2022. He racked up 3,798 total yards and 28 touchdowns, and he’s almost certainly looking to improve those numbers in 2023.
That alone is reason enough for Tigers fans to be excited about his potential, and now it appears the national media is sharing the sentiment. On Monday morning, Jesse Simonton of ON3 released his list of top SEC Heisman Trophy contenders. Who was at the top? Well, that was none other than LSU football quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Almost every year, the SEC boasts some of the best quarterback play in the country. However, in 2023, that might not be the case, as aside from Jayden Daniels, there is a ton of unproven talent at the position.
Are there any other SEC quarterbacks who could win the award in 2023?
Despite the uncertainty of their future as a conference, the PAC-12 largely dominates the Heisman Trophy candidates for now. Names like Caleb Williams, Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr are some of the top quarterbacks in the country and will likely be in the Heisman race all year. It makes sense, considering the fact that Caleb Williams won the trophy last season.
Still, don’t count out the SEC yet. Plenty of quarterbacks in the conference could come out and win the trophy. The reasoning behind the lack of representation has more to do with proven experience than talent.
According to DraftKings, the top SEC quarterbacks who could win the trophy are LSU’s Jayden Daniels (+1800), Georgia’s Carson Beck (+2000), Tennessee’s Joe Milton (+2500), Georgia’s Brock Vandagriff (+3500), Alabama’s Ty Simpson (+6000) and Alabama’s Tyler Buchner (+6000).
Jayden Daniels is the only one with significant starting experience out of those six players. Not to mention, both Georgia and Alabama have two players each on the list, thanks to their current quarterback competition.
If a quarterback from the SEC is to win the Heisman Trophy this season, it’s safe to say Jayden Daniels has the upper hand. It’s just a matter of putting all the pieces together.
The best of the rest
When looking at Heisman Trophy candidates, it’s easy to be drawn to quarterbacks like Jayden Daniels. Still, it’s not impossible to imagine a non-quarterback winning the award. This especially rings true in a year like 2023 when there aren’t many dominant players at the position.
So, if a non-quarterback in the SEC were to win the trophy, who would it be?
Again looking at the DraftKings odds, the top candidates are Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins (+5000), Alabama running back Jase McClellan (+8000), Georgia tight end Brock Bowers (+10000) and Arkansas running back Raheim Sanders (+15000).
Right away, many of the top non-quarterback Heisman Trophy candidates are running backs. That’s relatively unsurprising, but the name to remember is Georgia tight end, Brock Bowers. As the only tight end in the group, it would be a massive win for tight ends around the country if he found a way to win.
Ultimately, the Heisman Trophy is among the most difficult trophies to win in college football. If LSU football quarterback Jayden Daniels wins in 2023, it would be a major win for the program. He has the talent to make it happen; now he needs the stats and wins to back it up.
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