BATON ROUGE (WGNO) — LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has been selected as a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Walter Camp Foundation announced on Tuesday.
Daniels is one of 10 players named to the list of semifinalists. The three finalists will be announced on Nov. 28 with the winner of the award named on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show on Dec. 8.
Daniels currently leads the nation in nearly every statistical category dedicated to a quarterback. He’s first in the nation in total yards per game (417.4), passing TDs (36), TDs responsible for (46), passer rating (208.3) and rushing yards by a quarterback (1,014). He’s second in nationally in passing yards with 325.2 a contest. His 46 total touchdowns and 36 passing TDs rank No. 2 in school history behind only Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow.
Daniels, the 5-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week in 2023, is also one of the most explosive players in college football as he’s accounted for a nation’s best 81 plays of 20-plus yards. He’s had 64 passing plays of 20-plus yards, 25 of which have gone for touchdowns, and he’s added 17 runs of at least 20-yards, including an 85-yard scoring run against Florida.
Through 11 games, Daniels has accounted for at least four TDs eight times, including his school-record tying eight total TDs (6 passing, 2 rushing) in the 56-14 win over Georgia State last week. In the win over Georgia State, Daniels had more passing TDs (6) than incompletions (5) as he went 25-of-30 for 413 yards. He added 96 rushing yards and a pair of TDs becoming the first quarterback in LSU history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season.
A week earlier, Daniels set the SEC record for total offense when he racked up 606 total yards in the 52-35 victory over Florida. Daniels became the first player in FBS history to rush for 200-plus yards and pass for 350-plus yards in a single game.
Daniels has topped the 500-yard mark for total offense three times in 2023, tying the mark set by Burrow in 2019. He’s also equaled Burrow’s record for number of 400-yard games in a season with six.
As a unit, Daniels has been the catalyst for an LSU offense that leads the nation in total yards (562.2) and scoring (46.8). The Tigers are one of only two teams in the FBS to rank in the Top 10 in both rushing yards per game (218.9) and passing yards per game (343.). This year’s team is also on pace to become the first team in school history to average 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards per game for entire season.
This year, Daniels has passed for 3,577 yards and rushed for 1,014 yards becoming only the second player in SEC history to top the 3,500-yard passing mark and 1,000-yard rushing mark in a season. Only eight players in FBS history have reached those numbers in a single-season with the most recent being Jalen Hurts in 2019.
Other semifinalists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award include: Brock Bowers (Georgia, TE), Blake Corum (Michigan, RB), Ollie Gordon III (Oklahoma State, RB), Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State, WR), Laiatu Latu (UCLA, DL), Bo Nix (Oregon, QB), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington, QB), T’Vondre Sweat (Texas, DL), and Jordan Travis (Florida State, QB).
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