Three Surprise Players Earn Exactly One Heisman Trophy First-Place Vote

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was among three players to earn an unexpected first-place vote for the coveted award.

The full Heisman Trophy voting has been released in the wake of LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels capturing the award on Saturday night in New York City.

The top five featured familiar names, with Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis rounding out the top vote-getters after Daniels.

What was more surprising was further down the list, where Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II, Missouri quarterback Cody Schrader and Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy all finished well out of contention for the award, but each received exactly one first-place vote. Gordon finished seventh in the voting, while Schrader took eighth and McCarthy took 10th.

Heisman results pic.twitter.com/3oRaKHGN7E

— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) December 10, 2023

As for Daniels, he became the third LSU player to capture the Heisman Trophy, and the first since Joe Burrow in 2019. 

Daniels completed 72.2% of his passes for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns to four interceptions. He also added 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns for the 9–3 Tigers.