College football award winners: Who earned top honors for 2023 season?
The college football regular season is over. Bowl season awaits, including the highly-anticipated (if controversial) College Football Playoff.
Now, though, it’s award season.
The big one was handed out Saturday night, with LSU’s Jayden Daniels taking home the Heisman Trophy. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. came in second, Oregon’s Bo Nix came in third and Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. finished fourth. But plenty of other hardware was awarded Friday night during the College Football Awards on ESPN.
Here’s a look at who took home the major individual awards for the 2023 college football season:
Heisman Trophy
Winner: Jayden Daniels, quarterback, LSU
Daniels led the nation in total offense, passing efficiency, points responsible for, and rushing yards per carry, and tied the lead in touchdown passes (40) with Nix. He completed 72.2% of his passes for 3,812 yards and had 1,134 rushing yards and 10 more scores on the ground.
The focal point of LSU’s offense, Daniels’ steady hand and calm demeanor under pressure guided the Tigers as they led the FBS in scoring offense (46.4 points per game), total offense (547.8 yards per game), and third down conversions, averaging an absurd 8.53 yards per play.
Against Florida on Nov. 11, Daniels became the first player in FBS history to throw for 350 yards and rush for over 200 yards in a single game. He finished with 606 of LSU’s 701 total yards in a 52-35 victory. — Scooby Axson
Walter Camp Player of the Year
Winner: Jayden Daniels, quarterback, LSU
Davey O’Brien Award (best quarterback)
Winner: Jayden Daniels, LSU
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (best upperclassmen QB)
Winner: Jayden Daniels, LSU
Maxwell Award (best player)
Winner: Michael Penix Jr., quarterback, Washington
Penix powered the Pac-12 champions to a 13-0 record and spot in the College Football Playoff with his pin-point passing. He threw for a nation-leading 4,218 yards and added 33 touchdowns to nine interceptions. He completed 65.9% of his passes.
Biletnikoff Award (best receiver)
Winner: Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
The son of the Pro Football Hall of Famer is pegged to be one of the top picks in next year’s NFL draft, and it’s easy to see why. Harrison earned top receiver honors after pulling down 67 catches for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Doak Walker Award (best running back)
Winner: Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State
Gordon led the nation with 1,614 rushing yards, and his 20 rushing touchdowns was second behind Michigan’s Blake Corum.
John Mackey Award (best tight end)
Winner: Brock Bowers, Georgia
Another player who will likely hear his name called high in the 2024 NFL draft, Bowers takes home the Mackey Award for the second consecutive season. Bowers battled through injury this season, which cost him a few games, but he still finished with 56 catches for 714 yards and six touchdowns.
Outland Trophy (best interior lineman)
Winner: T’Vondre Sweat, Texas
The 6-foot-4, 362-pound Sweat was a standout on the Longhorns’ defensive line. Texas allowed just 80 rushing yards per game, third-best in the nation.
Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player)
Winner: Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish safety led the nation with seven interceptions.
Chuck Bednarik Award (best defensive player)
Winner: Payton Wilson, North Carolina State
Wilson stuffed the stat sheet for the Wolfpack this season. He finished fifth in total tackles (138) and tied for sixth in tackles for loss. He added six sacks and hauled in three interceptions.
Butkus Award (best linebacker)
Winner: Payton Wilson, North Carolina State
Lombardi Award (best lineman)
Winner: Laiatu Latu, UCLA
Latu had a nation-leading 21.5 tackles for loss and tied for fourth with 13 sacks. The Bruins allowed the fewest rushing yards in the nation this season.
Ted Hendricks Award (best defensive end)
Winner: Laiatu Latu, UCLA
Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back)
Winner: Trey Taylor, Air Force
Taylor picked off three passes, taking one to the house, and made 71 tackles.
Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player)
Winner: Travis Hunter, Colorado
The former top recruit followed coach Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Boulder, and he really did it all for the Buffaloes. Hunter played both ways, finishing with 57 catches for 721 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver and three interceptions as a defensive back in nine games.
Rimington Trophy (best center)
Winner: Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
Powers-Johnson was the man in the middle for the nation’s No. 2 offense.
Lou Groza Award (best kicker)
Winner: Graham Nicholson, Miami (Ohio)
Nicholson was nearly perfect this season, connecting on 26 of his 27 field goals (and 35 of his 36 extra-point tries).
Ray Guy Award (best punter)
Winner: Tory Taylor, Iowa
Taylor excelled this season, which was good for Iowa since the Hawkeyes’ awful offense gave him plenty of opportunities. He punted 11 more times than the next-closest punter and is on the verge of an NCAA record with 4,119 punting yards. His average of 47.9 yards per punt was third-best in the nation.
Burlsworth Trophy (best player who began career as walk-on)
Winner: Cody Schrader, Missouri
The Tigers’ running back rushed for 1,499 yards, third-best in the nation, and 13 touchdowns. He walked on at Mizzou in 2022 after playing at the Division II level.
William V. Campbell Trophy (top scholar athlete)
Winner: Bo Nix, Oregon
The Ducks quarterback shined on and off the field, finishing with 4,145 yards and 40 touchdowns to just three interceptions. He completed 77.2% of his passes.
Wuerffel Trophy (community service)
Winner: Ladd McConkey, Georgia
McConkey, an underrated piece of Georgia’s back-to-back title teams, had 29 catches this season in eight games. He finished with 456 yards and two touchdowns.
Home Depot Coach of the Year
Winner: Kalen DeBoer, Washington
The second-year Huskies coach guided his team to a perfect regular season and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Broyles Award (top assistant coach)
Winner: Phil Parker, Iowa
The Hawkeyes’ defensive coordinator did yeoman’s work guiding his top-five unit, which helped Iowa win 10 games despite fielding the worst offense in the country.