Saturday night in New York City, the 88th annual Heisman Trophy will be awarded to college football’s top player.
The finalists, LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr, Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr, and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix each spent the season making a strong case to bring home the trophy, but only one will win.
Former college football coach and current FOX Sports analyst Urban Meyer discussed the race on his Urban’s Take podcast this week and also gave his pick for the winner.
Meyer first praised Nix and the Ducks, but feels that their two losses to Washington, the second of which knocked Oregon out of the College Football Playoff, hurts his chances.
“I love Bo Nix. He plays the position the way I love to see it played. He’s a runner, thrower, tough guy. A great leader. And I’m so shocked they lost. I think Washington’s really good, I don’t wanna devalue Washington. I like the coach at Oregon, spent some time with him on the phone a couple times, I just like the aggressiveness of him,” Meyer said.
He went on to say that he sees himself in Ducks coach Dan Lanning, noting, “A lot of people took shots at him for going for it on fourth down. I tried that all the time and I just want our players to feel the aggressiveness and locker rooms appreciate that. So, Bo Nix, to me, would’ve won it.”
So, with Nix out of the equation, who is Meyer going with?
“I think it’s going to be Jayden Daniels. He’s put up Star Wars numbers,” Meyer said. It’s hard to argue with that description, as Daniels’ 3,812 passing yards is third in the nation behind Nix and Penix and his 40 touchdown passes is tied for most in the country with Nix, but what sets Daniels apart from the other two quarterbacks is he also rushed for 1,100 yards and picked up an additional ten touchdowns on the ground.
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