The Walter Camp Player of the Year
LSU Quarterback Jayden Daniels is the 2023 Walter Camp Player of Year, presented by David McDermott Lexus of New Haven
LSU senior quarterback Jayden Daniels (San Bernardino, CA) has been selected as the 2023 Walter Camp Player of Year, presented by David McDermott Lexus of New Haven. The award was announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards show on ESPN.
The Walter Camp Player of Year is voted on by the nation’s 131 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors.
Jayden Daniels | Photo by: Gus StarkThe 57th recipient of the Walter Camp Player of Year award, Daniels is the second LSU player to win the prestigious honor, joining former Tiger signal-caller Joe Burrow (2019). Daniels is also the 11th player from the Southeastern Conference to earn the honor. He is also the 23rd quarterback to earn the award.
The 2023 SEC Offensive Player of Year, Daniels has led 13th-ranked LSU to a 9-3 season and a berth in the ReliaQuest Bowl on January 1 against Wisconsin.
Daniels, in his second year at LSU after transferring from Arizona State, has thrown for 3,812 yards on 236-of-327 passing (72.2%). He was a five-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week honoree, and recently was named the 2023 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award recipient.
He is tied for the nation’s lead with 40 touchdown passes against just four interceptions. His 3,812 passing yards are third-most nationally, and his quarterback rating (208.01) currently ranks the best among all FBS quarterbacks. Daniels’ 317.7 passing yards per game rank third in the nation.
Daniels also ranks first nationally in total offense with 4,946 yards (412.2 yards per game) and his school single season record 1,134 rushing yards lead all FBS quarterbacks. He has rushed for 10 touchdowns on the season.
Daniels’ best game came on Nov. 2 when he accounted for 606 yards (234 rushing, 372 passing) and became the first player in FBS history to throw for at least 350 yards and rush for at least 200 yards as the Tigers defeated SEC-rival Florida, 52-35. He scored five touchdowns in all and was named Walter Camp National FBS Offensive Player of the Week.
Through 55 career games at both LSU and Arizona State, Daniels is the only player in FBS history to pass for 12,000 (12,749) yards and rush for 3,000 (3,307). He has accounted for 124 touchdowns during his collegiate career (89 passing, 34 rushing, 1 receiving).
Daniels will receive his award at the Foundation’s annual Awards Weekend on March 15-16, 2024, in New Haven.
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 to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
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.
David McDermott Lexus of New Haven and David McDermott Chevrolet, which are located side by side at 655 Main Street in East Haven, CT, convenient from anywhere in the North East directly off of I-95. The 20-acre campus includes a combined new and pre-owned inventory of over 500 cars, along with the largest American Flag in the North East at over 50 ft long! Visit them at https://www.mcdermottlexusofnewhaven.com/
Walter Camp Players of the Year, presented by McDermott Lexus of New Haven
2023 – Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
2022 – Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2021 – Kenneth Walker III, RB, Michigan State
2020 – DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama
2019 – Joe Burrow, QB, LSU
2018 – Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama
2017 – Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
2016 – Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
2015 – Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama
2014 – Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
2013 – Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2012 – Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame
2011 – Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2010 – Cam Newton, QB, Auburn
2009 – Colt McCoy, QB, Texas
2008 – Colt McCoy, QB, Texas
2007 – Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
2006 – Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State
2005 – Reggie Bush, RB, USC
2004 – Matt Leinart, QB, USC
2003 – Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Pittsburgh
2002 – Larry Johnson, RB, Penn State
2001 – Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska
2000 – Josh Heupel, QB, Oklahoma
1999 – Ron Dayne, RB, Wisconsin
1998 – Ricky Williams, RB, Texas
1997 – Charles Woodson, DB, Michigan
1996 – Danny Wuerffel, QB, Florida
1995 – Eddie George, RB, Ohio State
1994 – Rashaan Salaam, RB, Colorado
1993 – Charlie Ward, QB, Florida State
1992 – Gino Torretta, QB, Miami
1991 – Desmond Howard, WR, Michigan
1990 – Raghib Ismail, WR, Notre Dame
1989 – Anthony Thompson, RB, Indiana
1988 – Barry Sanders, RB, Oklahoma State
1987 – Tim Brown, WR, Notre Dame
1986 – Vinny Testaverde, QB, Miami
1985 – Bo Jackson, RB, Auburn
1984 – Doug Flutie, QB, Boston College
1983 – Mike Rozier, RB, Nebraska
1982 – Herschel Walker, RB, Georgia
1981 – Marcus Allen, RB, USC
1980 – Hugh Green, DE, Pittsburgh
1979 – Charles White, RB, USC
1978 – Billy Sims, RB, Oklahoma
1977 – Ken MacAfee, TE, Notre Dame
1976 – Tony Dorsett, RB, Pittsburgh
1975 – Archie Griffin, RB, Ohio State
1974 – Archie Griffin, RB, Ohio State
1973 – John Cappelletti, RB, Penn State
1972 – Johnny Rodgers, RB, Nebraska
1971 – Pat Sullivan, QB, Auburn
1970 – Jim Plunkett, QB, Stanford
1969 – Steve Owens, RB, Oklahoma
1968 – O.J. Simpson, RB, USC
1967 – O.J. Simpson, RB, USC
