2023 college football award winners: Davey O’Brien and Walter Camp honors go to LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels.
In advance of Saturday’s Heisman Trophy ceremony, more than 20 separate awards were awarded on Friday to honor the best linemen, specialists, skill positions, quarterbacks, other coaches in college football.
The two biggest winners of the night and the only ones to win multiple honors were NC State linebacker Payton Wilson and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Daniels began the evening by winning the Davey O’Brien Award, that recognizes the best quarterback in the nation, ahead of Bo Nix & Michael Penix Jr., two other Heisman Trophy candidates.
Penix won the other accolade awarded to the best player in the sport, the Maxwell Award.
It was a memorable evening for Washington since Kalen DeBoer received the Coach of the Year award.
Together, they led Washington to a 13-0 record and its second consecutive College Football Playoff participation.
Prodigious wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State was the second player in program history to win the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best wide receiver. Terry Glenn, the 1995 winner, is joined by him.
The other two contenders for the award were quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. of Washington and Bo Nix of Oregon.
Additionally, Daniels, Nix, and Penix are finalists for the Maxwell Player of the Year Award and the Walter Camp National Player for the Year Award, respectively.
The Heisman Trophy winner will be revealed on Saturday, and those three individuals, along with Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., are also finalists.
He would go on to earn one of the two medals given to the college football player of the year, the Walter Camp Award.
By the end of the regular season, Daniels had the highest passer rating, overall yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards by a quarterback, and plays of 20 yards or more in the nation. He led LSU to a 9-3 record for the year and the top spot in the country.
Before Friday, Daniels had already earned the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, the AP SEC Offensive Player of the Year, and the AP Player of the Year Award.
When it pertains to college football awards season, of course, the Heisman Trophy takes center stage, but players at all levels on the field can also win a plethora of other distinctions.
Here is a look at the most elite players from the previous campaign who won their respective titles for the NCAA football season in 2023.
Third in the country in passing yards (3,812), he also tied Oregon quarterback Bo Nix for top place with 40 touchdown passes—despite Daniels playing in one fewer game than Nix.
Daniels won the Davey O’Brien Award for best college football quarterback and the Walter Camp National Player of the Year award in addition to being named The Associated Press Player in the Year on Thursday.
The nation’s greatest all-around athlete, Michael Penix Jr., at quarterback for Washington, took home the Maxwell Award, while North Carolina State’s Payton Wilson took home the Chuck Bednarik Award for best defensive player and the Dick Butkus Award for best linebacker.
Daniels, a product of San Bernardino, California, transferred from Arizona State to LSU in 2022. This season, with 4,946 yards in 12 games (412.2 yards per game), he topped the country in total offense.
Moreover, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Daniels ran for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns. With a 2-point convert on a throwing play and 50 touchdowns both passing and rushing combined, he scored a nation-high 302 points.
Along with Nix, Penix, and Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr.—who took home the Biletnikoff Award as the team’s best receiver—Daniels is a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
Penix passed for 4,218 yards, 33 touchdowns, and nine interceptions to lead the Huskies into the College Football Playoff.
Wilson contributed to the Wolfpack with 138 tackles, 6 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble, and 3 interceptions.