BATON ROUGE (WGNO) – Jayden Daniels is going to need a bigger trophy room as the senior LSU quarterback has been named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year by the league coaches, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
The honor is the latest accolade for the San Bernadino, Calif., native as this week alone, he’s been named as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy as well as being selected as the SEC’s Offensive Player by the Associated Press. Daniels will be in Baltimore on Thursday to accept the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the top quarterback in college football.
College football’s most exciting player has also been named first-team All-SEC from the AP and the SEC Coaches as well as being a finalist for three other national awards – Walter Camp National Player of the Year, the Davey O’Brien and the Maxwell Award.
Daniels joins Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow as LSU’s SEC Offensive Player of the Year Award recipients. The SEC divided its SEC Player of the Year Awards into offensive and defensive categories beginning in 2003. Past SEC Player of the Year Award winners include Ken Kavanaugh (1939), Billy Cannon (1958-59), Jerry Stovall (1962), Charles Alexander (1977) and Wendell Davis (1987).
Daniels put together the most outstanding season in college football in 2023, leading the nation in total offense with 412.2 yards per game, as well as passing TDs (40), total TDs (50) and rushing yards by a quarterback (1,134). His pass efficiency rating of 208.01 is the highest in FBS history.
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.
Daniels also joined Heisman winner Johnny Manziel as the only 3,500-yard passers-1,000-yard rushers in SEC history. Daniels completed 236-of-327 passes for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Daniels rushed and passed for a TD in seven games this year and he reached the 100-yard mark four times, including 163 against Alabama, 130 against Missouri and 120 against Texas A&M.
In consecutive weeks in November, Daniels set the SEC record for total yards with 606 against Florida when he passed for 372 yards and rushed for 234 yards becoming the first player in FBS history to pass for 350 yards and rush for 200 yards in a game. The following week he tied the LSU record for TDs in a game with eight (6 passing, 2 rushing) in the win over Georgia State.
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.
2023 SEC Honors Individual Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year: Jayden Daniels, LSU
Defensive Player of the Year: Dallas Turner, Alabama
Special Teams Player of the Year: Will Reichard, Alabama
Freshman of the Year: Caleb Downs, Alabama
Jacobs Blocking Trophy: Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Brady Cook, Missouri (previously announced)
Coach of the Year: Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri
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