One of the most prestigious awards in sports, the Heisman trophy is given to the “Most outstanding player in college football” every year. Over the years we’ve seen the trophy shift towards more of a quarterback dominated award, with the 8 of the last 10 winners being quarterbacks, and most of them being on one of the best teams in the country. This year we have one of the closer Heisman races in recent memory, with numerous players all being in strong contention for the esteemed award. One of the more interesting parts of the culture that goes along with the trophy is a players ‘Heisman moment’ where there’s one big game or play that sets them apart from the rest of the pack, and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels may have just had his Heisman moment in LSU’s win over Florida this past weekend. 

In a matchup between two historical SEC powerhouses, LSU trounced the Gators 52-35; and whether you watched the game live or just looked at the box score, there is no denying that Jayden Daniels was largely responsible for this high-scoring win. Daniels threw for 372 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions, and while this is already a remarkable game for a quarterback, he really outdid himself as a rusher, running the ball 12 times for 234 yards and another 2 touchdowns. Any time your quarterback accounts for 600 yards of total offense and 5 touchdowns, it’s safe to say that you’ve got a pretty good chance of winning. This game from Daniels will go down in college football history as one of the greatest quarterback performances of all time, and his versatility as both an excellent passer and rusher show how much he can affect the game in multiple ways.

Beyond just his exceptional performance this past weekend, Daniels has been consistently productive over the season. He currently sits at 3rd in the country with 3,164 passing yards, 1st in the country with 30 passing touchdowns, and 1st in the country in quarterback rushing yards with 918. These stats show that Daniels is no one game wonder, but rather has truly played up to the level of being one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. He has also been extremely efficient with the ball, with only 4 interceptions on the season despite his high amount of attempts. His LSU team has been good this season as a whole, sitting at a 7-2 record with their two losses being to Florida State and Alabama. Even in their two losses it was largely the defense that let them down, allowing 87 points in the two games combined. The team is currently ranked 15th in the country in the most recent AP poll, and are likely out of college football playoff contention; but as to why they’ve been able to come this far with a subpar defense, Daniels deserves a lot of the credit.

Daniels started his collegiate career off at Arizona State from 2019-21, and while he had his moments for the Sun Devils, he’s certainly come a long way. After a stellar freshman year where he threw 17 touchdowns to only 2 interceptions, he dealt with injuries and a lack of playmakers around him in his sophomore and junior years. Since his move to LSU in 2022 however, Daniels has been as solid as they come at the quarterback position with 67 total touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. We’ve seen him progress gradually over the past few seasons into one of the best quarterbacks and overall players in the nation, who has taken this LSU team on his back with the help of some talented receivers, and turned them into a major contender once again. While there is a lot of talented options for the winner of the Heisman trophy this season, Jayden Daniels certainly has a strong case and a memorable ‘Heisman moment’ this past weekend.