Why Jayden Daniels winning the Heisman Trophy matters

According to Heisman.com, the Heisman Trophy is stated to be awarded to “the most outstanding player in college football.” What this should mean point blank is what it used to mean; the player with the best stats, considering all positions both on offense and defense.

If that held true, LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels should unquestionably be the winner this year. The three that have separated themselves are all quarterbacks; Daniels, Bo Nix of Oregon and Michael Penix Jr. of Washington. The only major category Penix leads in amongst the three is passing yards with 4,218, while Daniels leads the pack in passing and rushing yards combined with 4,946. Nix and Daniels are tied with passing touchdowns, while Daniels holds the edge in combined touchdowns passing and rushing with 50 on the year.

Not only in these categories does Daniels have the edge, but he also has the highest quarterback rating which combines most major statistics. His quarterback rating is 208. Nix is 186 and Penix is 161.

So based merely on statistics, it’s obvious that Daniels should be the winner.

Why Jayden Daniels winning the Heisman Trophy matters

Lately, based on the winner of the award, if you were to look blindly at the stats and teams each played for, it’s hard to argue against how one could interpret the criteria for the award as a player with impressive stats on a team that “hasn’t lost many games.”

The definition by voters has obviously transcended, and the results from when the Heisman Trophy was first awarded back in 1935 to now show it.

From 1950 through 2012, there were 27 Heisman Trophy winners on teams with at least two losses. That is an average of one being awarded with more than two losses every 2.2 years. Since then, there has been four for an average of 2.5.

While this is slightly up, the last winner on a three-loss team before Caleb Williams this past year was in 2016 with Lamar Jackson. This eight-year gap of a three-loss winner receiving the award is the longest since 1998 when Ricky Williams won the award. Before that, you must go back to 1980 when South Carolina running back George Rogers won it off a 10-year drought with a three-loss winner. This shows that it is becoming more and more about a player needing to be on a team that is at least in the hunt for the national championship, and less about the player’s actual performance.

Jayden Daniels can help to change this trend coming from a three-loss team. And that is needed amongst college football fans and players. If Daniels wins, hopefully we will start seeing the Heisman presented to the right person more often than not to the true best player in college football, and not just the one on a team with the best record compared to other deserving competitors based on their stat lines.