Jayden Daniels wins 2023 Walter Camp Player of the Year

Jayden Daniels continues to stack up the hardware while in New York, this time with the 2023 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, given to the nations most outstanding player.

Former Tiger and Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow won the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award in 2019. Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams of Southern Cal won the 2022 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.

Daniels was joined by Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. as the three finalists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.

Daniels, the five-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week honor in 2023, leads the nation in nearly every category for a quarterback including total offense (412.2), passing TDs (40), TDs responsible for (50) and rushing yards for a player at his position (1,134).

He’s completed 236-of-327 passes for 3,812 yards, 40 TDs and only four interceptions and leads the nation in pass efficiency with a 208.0 rating. He ranks No. 3 nationally in passing yards and passing yards per game (317.7).

Daniels joins 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M as the only players in SEC history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 3,500 yards in a single-season.

Daniels also joined Heisman Trophy winners Burrow (63), Tim Tebow (55), Cam Newton (51) and Bryce Young (50) as the only players in SEC history to account for 50 touchdowns in a season.

In 12 games, Daniels accounted for at least four touchdowns in nine games, including an LSU record tying eight (6 passing, 2 rushing) in the win over Georgia State. He tied the mark set by Burrow during his Heisman Trophy season in 2019.

Daniels also topped the 400-yard mark for total offense six times in 2023, which includes an SEC record 606 yards in the win over Florida. In that game, Daniels became the first player in FBS history to rush for 200 yards (234) and pass for 350 yards (372) in a game.

Daniels has been the catalyst behind an LSU offense that leads the nation in total offense (547.8) and scoring (46.4). The Tigers are the only team in college football to average 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards a contest. LSU ranks No. 4 nationally in passing yards per game (334.3) and No. 7 in rushing with a 213.5 average.

The LSU offense also features the nation’s leader in receiving yards in Malik Nabers and the top two touchdown producers at wide receiver in Brian Thomas (15) along with Nabers (14).

*LSU release

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation (www.waltercamp.org) – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. 

The Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s website, www.ncfaa.org

Walter Camp Player of Year Semifinalists

Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

Blake Corum, RB, Michigan

Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU

Ollie Gordon II, RB, Oklahoma State

Marvin Harrison, Jr., WR, Ohio State

Laiatu Latu, DL, UCLA

Bo Nix, QB, Oregon

Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington

T’Vondre Sweat, DL, Texas

Jordan Travis, QB, Florida State