Jalon Daniels for Heisman?
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Jalon Daniels has been great so far this season. There are a lot of reasons why KU is undefeated going into October, but Jalon Daniels is at the top of that list. He has been a revelation at QB. So how good has he been this year?
On Saturday against Duke, Daniels was 19-23 for 324 yards and 4 touchdowns, and added 83 yards and a TD on 11 carries. He was great. Which got me thinking, is Jalon Daniels a Heisman candidate?
So I went back and looked at the last three years of Heisman trophy finalists that were QBs to see their stats and where Daniels stacks up through 4 games.
First, Daniels’ numbers through 4 games
66-93, 890 yards, 11 TDs, 1 INT passing, 38 carries, 320 yards, 4 TD rushing
Team is 4-0
So the first step is obviously staying healthy. Daniels will need to play in all 12 of KU’s scheduled games to merit a surprise Heisman bid. The second is that Daniels will need to keep winning. No matter how well he plays, he won’t be a Heisman finalist if KU is 5-7. KU needs at least 8 or 9 wins to get Daniels invited to NY.
So now the numbers. Through 4 games, the accuracy is comparable to all of the finalists. Mac Jones was obviously super efficient in 2020, but Daniels is above 70%, which is where he needs to be.
He’s also throwing for enough scores without turning the ball over. Setting aside Joe Burrow’s tour de force in 2019, passing for 40+ TDs with under 10 picks is a good measuring stick. Daniels will need to bump up the yards, though. He won’t be considered for the Heisman as a QB with only about 2500 yards passing. He needs to average closer to 250 yards per game the rest of the regular season.
Where he may set himself apart is his running. There was no way that Jalen Hurts was beating Joe Burrow in 2019. There was no way anyone was with Burrow’s numbers. But throwing for over 3800 yards and running for almost 1300 more was plenty to get invited to New York. No other recent Heisman QB has run as much. Daniels is on pace to run the ball over 200 times and, if he does that, should crack the 1000 yard mark.
So what does Jalon Daniels need to do to get invited to the Heisman ceremony.
- Stay healthy
- Win 8 or more regular season games
- Pass for over 2800 yards in the regular season
- Rush for over 1000 yards in the regular season
- Throw 35 or more TD passes
- Throw 10 or fewer interceptions
- Run for 12 or more TDs
- Complete 70% of his passes
If he can do that and KU ranks in the top 25 at the end of the regular season, he will be considered for the Heisman. The good news is that he is doing a great job of all of those things right now, with a chance for some showcase games against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Baylor in time for Heisman voters to see him play. If he tosses up a the type of game he had Saturday against one of those teams in a win or a narrow loss, that may propel him into the conversation.
Games to circle are the final two games - Texas and KState. If Daniels is to make it to NY for the ceremony, it will require a “Heisman moment.” A 300 yard passing, 150 yard rushing, 5 total TD performance against Texas (because its Texas) or in a rivalry game could be the final thing Heisman voters need to see, especially if it comes in a win.
So am I crazy, or not crazy?
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He is unironically a candidate right now. Whether or not he can maintain this against good conference competition remains to be seen of course.
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I just read in an article that Jalen is like 6th the list is # 1 - -Stroud - -Ohio St - - - -# 2 - -Young - -Alabama - - # 3 - - ( USC ) dude - - - -# 4 - - Hooker Tennessee - - -# 5 - -Bennett - - Georgia - -# 6 - -Daniels KU - - # 7 - - Martinez - - K/State - - - # 8 - - Coron - -Michigan - - # 9 - Gabriel - - Oklahoma - - # 10 - - -( WF ) Dude lol
Hey we can say Jalen was giving them hell for awhile -hope it keeps it up
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I put $10 on him at +10,000. All the way down to +3,500 now.
If this team somehow starts 7-0 I think he becomes the Heisman favorite.
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I do think he is going to need to score 45+ TDs between his arm and his leg to win. CJ Stroud is off to a SCORCHING start and is going to throw like 50 TDs this season.
The season he needs to be trying to emulate is the RGIII 2011 Heisman season. If that isn’t enough to get it done, considering the insane turnaround that would be KU football in this scenario, I don’t know what would.
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@Kcmatt7 said in Jalon Daniels for Heisman?:
I do think he is going to need to score 45+ TDs between his arm and his leg to win. CJ Stroud is off to a SCORCHING start and is going to throw like 50 TDs this season.
The season he needs to be trying to emulate is the RGIII 2011 Heisman season. If that isn’t enough to get it done, considering the insane turnaround that would be KU football in this scenario, I don’t know what would.
I agree. KU would need to go 10-2 or 11-1, plus have JD6 throw for 38+ TD and run for 14+ TD for him to actually win the Heisman. But if we are just talking about being a finalist, 8-4 KU with 30 something passing TD and double digit rush TD is enough.
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I misread the title. My initial read was “Jack Daniels”. And I’d certainly get behind that!
I’ll show myself out…
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hey, KU had Remy Martin… No reason we should shy away from J Daniels.
(a little NIL theme going here)
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The list of names there is boring. These haves and have nots in college football means players build up ridiculous stats against inferior opponents and these days the entire BIG is inferior to the OSU machine. OSU has more 5 stars than the rest of the league combined. I don’t get too impressed by it all to be honest. It’s way more compelling when someone like Jalon comes along and is a part of an outmanned team and leads them to great win after great win. I don’t know what Stroud would do playing for KU. If the Heismann is an MVP type award Jalon is the front runner by miles.
One slight rant against the award. Why are the best players in football always QB’s, RB’s or WR’s? There’s never been a year where a DB or Center is the best player? No offensive lineman is ever the best college football player? Rant over. Jalon for MVP.
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https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2022-09-30/jalon-daniels-college-football-kansas
Nice article about the rise of Jalon.
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@tundrahok I love this story! Made me cry. What a strong mom! Thanks for sharing. I’ve noticed he’s won a few fans from his interviews on espn and fox. Can’t help but root for him.
