The most prestigious individual award in college football will be handed out Saturday night during the 2023 Heisman Trophy ceremony. Four finalists all turned in spectacular seasons to earn invitations to this year's event. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels stands as the consensus favorite, riding the wave of a monster season as a runner and passer. If he wins, it would be the fourth time since 2007 a Heisman winner came from a team with three regular-season losses.
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. are also in contention with the foursome taking center stage at the Lincoln Center in New York City Saturday night.
Penix captured the Maxwell Award Friday night, given annually to the best player in college football. He is the lone finalist participating in the College Football Playoff. Penix led the No. 2 Huskies to a 13-0 record and a Pac-12 title win over Oregon.
Six of the last seven Heisman winners have been quarterbacks, including USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who took home the award in 2022. The 2023 Heisman Trophy ceremony will begin at 8 p.m. ET and air on ESPN. It can also be streamed live on fuboTV (Try for free).
You can see results from our Heisman straw poll here.
Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU: Daniels is the first player to throw for at least 12,000 yards and rush for at least 3,000 yards in a career that started at Arizona State and ended in the SEC at LSU. He is looking to join Joe Burrow and 1959 winner Billy Cannon as the third Tigers player to take home the Heisman. Daniels actually has more total yards, touchdowns and a better passer rating than Burrow did through 12 games of his blistering 2019 campaign. Daniels is is just the fifth quarterback in college football history to score 50 or more touchdowns, the four who preceded him all won the Heisman.
Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington: Penix's season hit a bit of a statistical lull-- he threw for 300 or more yards in just three of the Huskies' final seven games -- but he still threw for 4,218 yards (most in FBS) and 33 touchdowns. Penix started the year as one of the favorites to win the award and even had a Heisman moment when he led Washington to a comeback victory over Oregon -- first of two wins over the Ducks. He is trying to become the first Heisman winner in program history.
Bo Nix, QB, Oregon: Nix certainly has the stats to backup his Heisman case. The former Auburn quarterback enjoyed the best season of his career in 2023 by passing for 4,145 yards and 40 touchdowns while only throwing three interceptions. The most impressive of his video game-like numbers is his completion percentage (77.2%) which ranked No. 1 amongst all FBS quarterbacks. These numbers came despite the fact that Nix routinely sat out games late in the second half due as Oregon compiled insurmountable leads against most of its opponents. He is the fourth Heisman finalist in school history. Marcus Mariota is the only Duck to win the award.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State: The lone non-quarterback on the list has been touted as one of the greatest wide receiver prospects in a generation. Harrison is the second Ohio State player to win the Biletnikoff Award, which honors the nation's most outstanding receiver. Despite opposing defenses building entire game plans around stopping Harrison, he finished the season with 67 catches for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns. He first Buckeye to record two separate 1,000 yard receiving seasons in his career. Ohio State has produced seven previous Heisman winners, tied for first in FBS.
