The four most outstanding college football players of the 2023 season all have hopes of hearing their name called Saturday night in New York as the Heisman Trophy winner is announced.
Daniels is favored to win the Heisman after throwing for 40 touchdowns and 3,812 yards while rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns in his second year as LSU's starting quarterback.
A four-year starter at
Cajon (San Bernardino, Calif.), Daniels threw for 14,007 yards with 170 touchdowns. He added an additional 41 rushing touchdowns and was named to the MaxPreps California All-Decade squad.
Daniels made history as a junior in 2017 when he threw for 62 touchdowns and more than 5,000 yards as Cajon advanced to the state championship game. He was rated as the No. 2 dual-threat in the class of 2019 right behind fellow Heisman candidate Nix. LSU will play in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 1 against Wisconsin.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels of Cajon (Calif.) is the Heisman Trophy favorite after throwing for more than 4,000 yards this season at LSU. In high school he had more than 14,000 career yards and threw for more than 5,000 as a junior. (Photo: Louis Lopez)
The lone wide receiver in attendance will be Ohio State's Harrison,
who was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2021. The son of Pro
Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr. finished off his career at
St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) by winning three straight state championships. Harrison Jr. had 144 career catches for 2,625 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Harrison
Jr. caught 67 passes for
1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. Ohio State will play Missouri
in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29.
Nix went to
Pinson Valley (Pinson, Ala.) and was the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2019 and a five-star prospect. He finished his prep career by winning consecutive Alabama 6A state titles with his dad, former Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix, as his head coach.
A MaxPreps All-American as a senior, Nix amassed 10,393 passing yards, 2,112 rushing yards and 161 total touchdowns in his career. As a senior he threw for 50 touchdowns.
Nix started his college career at Auburn where as a freshman the Tigers narrowly fell 23-20 to eventual national champion LSU and quarterback Joe Burrow in 2019. He transferred to Oregon in 2022 and passed for 4,145 yards and 40 touchdowns this season. Oregon will take on Liberty on Jan. 1 in the Fiesta Bowl.
Penix has Washington preparing for the College Football Playoff and the Sugar Bowl against Texas on Jan. 1 after throwing for 4,218 yards and 33 touchdowns this season.
His coach at
Tampa Bay Tech (Tampa, Fla.) Jayson Roberts saw this coming when Penix Jr. was a three-star prospect.
"He was the best high school quarterback I've ever seen in my life," Roberts told
Sports Illustrated in 2019. "I expect him to be great, be a Heisman (Trophy) finalist and be a first-round pick."
Penix Jr. started for two seasons in high school and threw 61 touchdowns against six interceptions. He went 20-4 in his career and his squad fell in the 7A Regional finals as a senior.
