LSU's Jayden Daniels trending to win the Heisman Trophy

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is now the frontrunner to win the 2023 Heisman Trophy, per multiple sports books.

The Tigers had just one Heisman Trophy winner before Joe Burrow’s memorable 2019 season brought LSU not just a National Championship, but a second Heisman.

Cannon became LSU’s first Heisman winner in 1959. 60 years later, Burrow hoisted the hardware in New York City.

In one week, Daniels – just four years removed from Burrow winning the coveted trophy – is in line to bring a third Heisman Trophy back to Baton Rouge.

Heisman odds shift following Bo Nix’s second loss to Washington

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels wasn’t the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy entering Friday’s Pac-12 Championship Game.

Instead, Oregon quarterback Bo Nix – looking to avenge a loss to Washington earlier in the season – carried the best odds (-190) on DraftKings. Daniels carried the second-best odds (+150).

Following a 34-31 loss to the Huskies, the odds shifted in a major way.

By night’s end, Daniels had surged into the top spot carrying odds of -1400 – by far the best odds any player has held this season.

Nix dropped to +1200, while Washington quarterback Michael Penix jumped ahead of him in the race (+1000).

As of Saturday afternoon, DraftKings had settled in on odds of Daniels (-1400), Penix (+900) and Nix (+1500).

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe (+10000) and Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (+15000) were the next quarterbacks on the list ahead of Saturday’s SEC Championship Game between the two programs.

Daniels is the best player in CFB – and the numbers tell the tale

While LSU won’t play on Saturday for the SEC Championship, the work Daniels has done on the field during 12 regular season games is enough.

Daniels leads the NCAA in total yards (4,946), total yards per game (412), total touchdowns (50), yards per play (10.7) and plays of 20-plus yards (90).

Perhaps one of the most impressive marks: Daniels has a passer efficiency rating of 208, which ranks No. 1 in college football history. The data dates back to 1956 with a minimum of 14 pass attempts per school game.

During Burrow’s remarkable 2019 season, the future No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft finished with the highest passer efficiency rating of all time (202). Since then, Alabama’s Mac Jones set the record at 203.1 in 2021 before Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall took over the top spot in in 2021 with an efficiency rating of 207.6.

Daniels finished with 3,812 passing yards on the year, and his 90 plays of 20 yards or more were 23 more than Penix and 38 more than Nix.

Daniels also led the nation in rushing yards by a quarterback, finishing out the season with 1,134 yards on the ground and double-digit touchdowns.

He became the seventh quarterback in college football history to pass for 3,000-plus yards and rush for 1,000-plus yards.

How rare is the 3K-1K Club? Only six quarterbacks have ever pulled it off: Vince Young (2005), Johnny Manziel (2012), Deshaun Watson (2015), Lamar Jackson (2016, 2017), Kyler Murray (2018) and Jalen Hurts (2019).

Even more impressive, Daniels joins a smaller list of quarterbacks who have passed for more than 3,500 yards and rushed for 1,000-plus yards in the same season.

Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson (twice), Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts were the lone quarterbacks to eclipse 3,500 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a season.

Now, Daniels is the sixth name to join the group.

Manziel and Jackson both have Heisman Trophy wins, while Watson lost out to Alabama running back Derrick Henry and Hurts was the runner-up to LSU’s Joe Burrow. Jackson bid to repeat as the first ever back-to-back winner fell short when Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield won the award in 2017.

With the best numbers in college football this season – and the highest quarterback passer efficiency rating in history – Daniels has stated his case by taking the top spot vs. Nix and Penix in 28 of 35 key statistical categories, per LSU Associate AD and Chief Brand Officer Cody Worsham.

In one week’s time, a third Heisman Trophy will be returning to Baton Rouge.