Jayden Daniels Named a Semifinalist for Davey O'Brien Award

Daniels continues to be one of the most improved quarterbacks in the country, catapults Tigers to top 10 status

LSU’s Jayden Daniels has been selected as one of 21 semifinalists for the 2022 Davey O’Brien Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s best quarterback, the O’Brien Selection Committee announced on Tuesday.

Daniels, in his first year at LSU after transferring from Arizona State, has guided the Tigers to a No. 6 national ranking and a berth in the SEC Championship Game. LSU is 8-2 overall and clinched the SEC Western Divisions with its win over Arkansas on Saturday.

Daniels is the only player in the SEC to rank among the top 10 in the league in both rushing and passing yards. He’s also one of only three quarterbacks nationally to have rushed for 600 yards and pass for 2,000 yards. Daniels goes into the UAB game with 629 rushing yards and 2,080 yards. His 10 rushing TD's ties for the most among all quarterbacks in the FBS.

QB @JayD__5 is a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, which goes to the top quarterback in the country. pic.twitter.com/C6Iub6nY7B

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) November 15, 2022

Through 10 games, Daniels has completed 195-of-283 passes with 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. His 24 TDs accounted for (10 rushing, 14 passing) rank No. 7 in LSU’s single-season history.

Earlier this year, Daniels became the first LSU quarterback to rush for 100 yards and pass for 200 yards in a game decided in regulation and he’s done it twice this season (vs. Florida State and Ole Miss). He also became the first player in LSU history to rush for three touchdowns and pass for three TDs in a game decided in regulation.

Daniels earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks following wins over Ole Miss and Alabama.

Jayden Daniels is trying to hijack the Heisman Race.

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) November 6, 2022

In alphabetical order, the semifinalists are: Stetson Bennett of Georgia, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Max Duggan of TCU, UTSA’s Frank Harris, Sam Hartman of Wake Forest, Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, Drake Maye of North Carolina, Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall, J.J. McCarthy of Michigan, SMU’s Tanner Mordecai, Bo Nix of Oregon, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Austin Reed of WKU, Utah’s Cameron Rising, Will Rogers of Mississippi State, Ohio’s Kurtis Rourke, C.J. Stroud of Ohio State, UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jordan Travis of Florida State, USC’s Caleb Williams and Bryce Young of Alabama.

Nine players­–Bennett, Harris, Hartman, Hooker, McCall, Rogers, Stroud, Williams and Young–are repeat semifinalists. Young won the 2021 Davey O’Brien Award, while Stroud was one of three finalists last year.

The list is comprised of eight seniors, nine juniors, three sophomores and one freshman, and consists of players from nine FBS conferences. The Pac-12 Conference and Southeastern Conference are tied for the most honorees with five apiece.

The next step in the process will be to select the award’s three finalists based on voting from the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee as well as the second round of the Davey O’Brien Fan Vote, which will take place on the award’s three social media accounts—Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The top five vote getters on each platform will receive bonus committee member ballots which will be added to the votes cast by the National Selection Committee.

To participate in the Fan Vote, fans must like the original Davey O’Brien Award post highlighting the respective quarterback. The three finalists will be tabbed on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The winner will be announced live on Thursday, Dec. 8 on The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.

The Davey O’Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award, the oldest and most prestigious college quarterback award, was first issued in 1981. Over its time, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has given away more than $1.2 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life.

In 1938, O’Brien, who was a star quarterback for TCU, became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award in the same year. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.

(LSU Football Press Release)