The Case For Marvin Harrison Jr.
Most analysts have either Harrison or Washington’s Rome Odunze as the top wide receiver in the nation. FOX’s Gus Johnson “immortalized” Harrison as “Maserati Marv” in many telecasts.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1715776194514391477
Harrison led the Big Ten in receiving yards, yards per catch, and touchdown receptions and finished with 67 receptions for 1,211 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns (14 receiving, 1 rushing).
The Case For Bo Nix
Oregon’s Heisman marketing team might be the best in the nation. How could anyone miss either the giant billboards or digital ads that said “Bo-Dacious.” Nix made a serious run at former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones’ single-season completion percentage record (Jones 77.4% to Nix 77.2%). Nix is second in the nation in QBR (91.0) and passing yards while either tied or leading the nation in completions and touchdown passes.
https://twitter.com/EmmanuelAcho/status/1728248082499076576
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The Case For Jayden Daniels
Daniels is the 11th player in major college football history to pass for more than 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. There have been some notable Heisman winners in Johnny Manziel and Lamar Jackson, to have achieved this, and there have been some notable Heisman misses in Jalen Hurts and Vince Young. On the season, Daniels is tied with Oregon’s Nix for touchdown passes, has 3,812 yards passing, 1,134 yards rushing, and 50 touchdowns responsible for (40 passing, 10 rushing). There is also the legendary Florida performance where Daniels had 372 yards passing, 234 yards rushing, and six total touchdowns (3 passing, 3 rushing) that included a highlight 85-yard score.
The Case For Michael Penix Jr.
Among the four, Penix has seemingly gone wire-to-wire near or at the top of the weekly Heisman polls. I did write following the Southern California game that the Heisman should go to Penix. Penix leads the nation in passing yards at 4,218 yards. He has guided Washington to their first undefeated season since 1991 and their first playoff appearance since 2016. Penix has many highlight throws, whether it was to wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk to set up the deciding score against Oregon in their classic first encounter or against Southern California, Penix rolled to the left and threaded the needle, locating tight end Devin Culp for the touchdown.
https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1720964260539384232
Who would I vote for? Penix
Who will hoist the Heisman? Daniels
Not trying to be a politician in my answer, but it is a gut feeling here.
I eliminated Harrison because when wide receivers have won the award, they put up gaudy numbers in the cases of Desmond Howard and DeVonta Smith, or had signature performances in the case of Tim Brown. Harrison did neither.
Oregon’s Nix would have leapfrogged both Daniels and Penix had he guided Oregon to a Pac-12 Championship. He had a great game from a statistics point of view, and getting the major revenge win and getting in the playoffs would have made that happen. But the Ducks came up short that day, and so will Nix.
I think Nix will be a major factor in why Penix won’t win the award. Heisman voters on the West Coast, in my opinion, will be split three ways. You will have Penix supporters, Nix supporters, and even Caleb Williams will have votes that could have helped Penix.
While I feel Penix embodies everything the Heisman Trophy is about, he did not have the eye-popping numbers in the Pac-12 Championship Game; 319 yards is fantastic, nearly 70% completion is great, but only a single touchdown and he threw a pick. Some people will feel that was not Heisman caliber. I disagree with that notion, but we all know how fickle voters can be.
I would vote for Penix because he did everything you expect a quarterback to do to win games. Penix sacrificed when Washington needed to. He took command when called upon. Penix performed at the highest level all season, and the eye test watching him make amazing throws was amazing to watch as Penix and fellow wide receiver Rome Odunze did not miss a beat as Jalen McMillan missed time and Ja’Lynn Polk became a great target.
Daniels benefits with no split votes. He put up crazy numbers – which I feel shouldn’t be weighed as heavily as voters do, but that is the default measuring stick. And he had his Heisman moment against Florida, which carries a lot of cache and is most likely your 2023 Heisman Trophy winner.
