NEW ORLEANS (September 21, 2023)  – Jayden Daniels of LSU has been voted as the week three Manning Award Quarterback of the Week. He earned the honor over seven other Manning Award Stars of the Week in the Allstate Sugar Bowl's social media voting contest.
 
Daniels and the LSU offense put up 530 yards as the Tigers opened SEC play with an impressive 41-14 victory on the road at Mississippi State. Completing his first 13 passes in the game and marking his ninth 300-yard passing game, Daniels finished 30-of-34 for 361 yards and four total touchdowns, two through the air and two on the ground. His completion percentage for the game (88.2) set the LSU record for quarterbacks with 25 or more attempts.
 
Daniels and his teammate, wide receiver Malik Nabers, became just the fifth duo from the same team to share SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors after their performance against Mississippi State. Nabers caught 13 passes for 239 yards and two TDs in the win.
 
A senior from San Bernardino, Calif., Daniels' 46 career starts rank No. 3 among active FBS quarterbacks. He has started 17 straight games at LSU (12-5) after starting 29 at Arizona State from 2019-21. 
 
This weekend, LSU returns to Death Valley on Saturday night to host Arkansas for a 6 p.m. Central kick on ESPN.
 
Daniels' closest competitors in this week's social media voting were Brett Gabbert of Miami of Ohio and Liberty's Kaidon Salter. Gabbert, who also ran for 75 yards, compled 12-of-20 passes for 237 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown pass in overtime to lift the Redhawks to a 31-24 victory over their oldest rival Cincinnati – snapping a 16-game losing streak in the series. Salter, who also ran for 66 yards and a touchdown, was 16-of-26 for a career-best 344 yards and five touchdowns as he led the Flames to 24 straight points to open the game in a 55-27 road win over Buffalo.
 
While the Manning Award selected 30 quarterbacks for its preseason Watch List, additional quarterbacks are expected to be added to the Watch List later in the season. Ten finalists will be selected and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.

In its first 19 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 14 different schools and from four different conferences. The Southeastern Conference (Stetson Bennett, Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Mac Jones, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) leads the way with eight Manning Award honorees, while the Big 12 Conference (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III) has had five winners. The Atlantic Coast Conference (Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) has had four Manning Award winners. Alabama (Bryce Young and Jones), LSU (Burrow and Russell), Oklahoma (Murray and Mayfield), and Texas (McCoy and Vince Young) have each produced a pair of Manning Award winners.

All the Manning Award winners follow in the footsteps of the Mannings themselves. In college, Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning combined for over 25,000 passing yards and 201 touchdowns while playing in 10 bowl games and earning four bowl MVP awards. Archie was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, while both Peyton and Eli were selected No. 1 overall.