LSU football players continue to get named to another watchlist with quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receiver Malik Nabers being put on the Maxwell Award watchlist. The announcement was made earlier in the week by the Maxwell Football Club.
This will be the 86th year the Maxwell Award has been given out to the most outstanding college football player. Former signal caller Joe Burrow won the award in 2019 on LSU’s run to a National Championship.
Daniels comes into this season with a year under his belt in Brian Kelly’s system. Last year, he led the Tigers to a 10-4 record and an SEC West Division title where he led the team in multiple categories, including, passing yards with 2,913 and 17 touchdowns compared to two interceptions as well as being the leading rusher with 885 yards and 11 scores.
The 3,798 total scrimmage yards from Daniels last season ranks second in school history to Burrow’s 6,039 in 2019. The senior from California became the first LSU quarterback to throw and rush for three touchdowns in a game that was decided in regulation in the Tigers’ 45-35 win over the Florida Gators.
Both Daniels and Nabers are preseason All-SEC selections with the Tigers’ quarterback entering his fifth college season where he’s thrown for 8,938 yards and 49 touchdowns. Three of those seasons were with Arizona State.
Daniels’ number-one target for 2023 is coming off a season where he led the SEC conference with 72 receptions and was second with 1,017 and added three touchdowns.
The Lafayette product in three of the last four games had 100-yard performances, including the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl where he caught nine passes for 163 yards and a touchdown.
LSU will start its 2023 campaign on Sunday, September 3rd when they travel to Orlando to host the Florida State Seminoles. The kickoff is set for 6:30.