Three quarterbacks comprise the list of finalists for the Walter Camp Football Foundation 2023 Player of the Year award.  Senior signal-callers Jayden Daniels (LSU), Bo Nix (Oregon) and Michael Penix, Jr. (Washington) are finalists for the nation’s fourth-oldest college football award.

The 2023 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, who is voted on by the 131 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced on Thursday, December 7 during ESPN’s The Home Depot College Football Awards Show.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams was the 2022 Walter Camp Player of the Year.

Daniels has led the 13^th-ranked Tigers to a 9-3 record this season.  He has thrown for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns, while adding 1,134 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.  Daniels has completed 72.2 percent (236-of-327) of his passes and has thrown for 300 or more yards seven times.

Nix has passed for 3,906 yards and 37 touchdowns for the fifth-ranked Ducks (11-1), who will play Washington in the Pac-12 Championship Game on December 1.  Nix, who has completed 78.6 percent (315-of-401) of his passes this season, has added 159 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

Penix, Jr. has passed for 3,899 yards and 32 touchdowns for the third-ranked Huskies (12-0), who earned a berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game on December 1.  Penix, Jr. has thrown for 300 or more yards eight times this season and has added three rushing touchdowns.

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side.  The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and continue the tradition of selecting an annual All-America team. Visit www.waltercamp.org.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. Visit www.ncfaa.org.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced the Football Bowl Subdivision National Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for games ending November 18, presented by The Heights Group at Morgan Stanley.    

About the Award: This is the 20^th year that the Walter Camp Football Foundation will honor one offensive and one defensive player as its national Football Bowl Subdivision player of the week during the regular season.  Recipients are selected by a panel of national media members and administered by the Foundation.   It is the nation’s longest running Player of Week award.                                        

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

BO NIX, OREGON

Senior, Quarterback, Pinson, AL

Bo Nix completed 24-of-29 passes for 404 yards and a career-high six touchdowns – all in the first half – in 6^th-ranked Oregon’s 49-13 victory over Pac-12 rival Arizona State.  With the win, Oregon improved to 10-1.  Nix, who had scoring passes of 23, 49, 16, 45, 71 and 16 yards, now has thrown for 35 touchdowns on the season.

Notes: It is the second time that Bo Nix has earned Walter Camp National Player of the Week honors (Oct. 23, 2022).  Nix is also the 12^th Oregon player to earn the honor since 2004.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

NATHANIEL WATSON, MISSISSIPPI STATE

Grad Student, Linebacker, Maplesville, Ala.

Nathaniel Watson recorded a career-best 21 tackles (3 solo) as Mississippi State defeated Southern Miss, 41-20.  The 21 tackles were the most by a SEC defensive player since 2017.   Watson also recorded 1.5 tackles for loss, one quarterback sack and forced on fumble.

Notes: Nathaniel Watson is the fifth Mississippi State player to earn Walter Camp National FBS Player of Week honors since 2004, and the first since Will Rogers (November 3, 2021).  

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation (www.waltercamp.org) – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.  The Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.  For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the redesigned NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.

Global Sports & Entertainment is a dedicated division of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management that focuses exclusively on the complex financial needs of professional athletes and entertainers. Our division grew out of an understanding that every sports and entertainment profession has its own unique characteristics, earnings profile and career span. Our clients need the support of advisors who understand how their money flows from their work to their wallet and can help them craft innovative financial strategies that match their lifestyle and career trajectory.

The Heights Group is led by brothers Ryan Heald and Brooke Heald, both of whom are former collegiate student-athletes and have earned the rare distinction of Morgan Stanley Global Sports and Entertainment Director, a designation earned by fewer than 1% of Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors. Ryan is a NFLPA Registered Institutional Player Financial Advisor with more than 20 years of experience working with top performers in sports and entertainment. The Heights Group started working with many talented clients and their families before they signed their first pro contracts, helping them understand, and prepare for, the complex financial challenges they would face as their careers progressed. The Heights Group at Morgan Stanley serves as their go-to advisors, always ready to help them sort through any financial issue and make informed decisions while pursuing their most important life goals.

Visit The Heights Group at Morgan Stanley at https://advisor.morganstanley.com/the-heights-group