Latest / The Heisman Hopefuls Podcast / 2023 Heisman Trophy Winner Jayden Daniels

Transcript

2023 Heisman Trophy Winner Jayden Daniels · The Heisman Hopefuls Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_05: This is the moment you've been waiting for.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_05: So let's make some history.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_05: It is my great pleasure to announce that the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner is Welcome to the official Heisman Trophy podcast.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_06: And the winner is Jaden Daniels, Louisiana State University.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_05: There you heard it, the 2023 Heisman Trophy journey has come to an end, and the winner is Jaden Daniels of Louisiana State University.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_05: The senior from Cajon, California, beat out Michael Pennix Jr.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_05: of Washington, Bo Nicks of Oregon, and Marvin Harrison Jr.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_05: of Ohio State.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_05: He collected 2,029 total points, with Penix getting 1,701.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_05: Daniels won four of the six Heisman voting regions.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_05: The only two he didn't win were the Far West and the Midwest, which were won by Penix, a pretty strong showing by Pennix as well.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_05: But it is Daniels who joins fellow LSU Tiger Heisman winners, Joe Burrow in 2019, and the late Billy Cannon from 1959.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_05: And the morning after the ceremony, after a night of celebration with family and friends, we sat down with the new Heisman winner for whom everything was still sinking in.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_05: Jaden Daniels, 2023 Heisman Trophy winner.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_05: This is the first morning that you've woken up, your first day as a fully fledged member of the Heisman fraternity.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_05: What's what's it feel like?
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's exciting.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, it finally hit me last night when I was laying down next to the trophy that um, you know, I'm a part of a procedure uh fraternity like this.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_05: Did you get a sense of like the power of the Heisman in a sense, like it's it's kind of like you've now become you've now become a celebrity.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_05: Because you were already a famous football player, right?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_05: But now you've got this extra layer on top and it's affecting people.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's it was probably it was pretty wild.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: It finally it kind of hit me.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, it was walking through Times Square and see my uh see my face on the billboard and you know, everybody around me and trying to take pictures and stuff like that.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: So um from that moment I was like, dang, my life is not the same anymore.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you know, that was a great speech you gave.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_05: Uh tell me a little bit about your thought process going in, and uh you know, you delivered it great, and and and and I really liked how you you know thanked a lot of the people who who you know who don't usually get recognition.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_05: What what was your thoughts behind that?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um for me it's just like um I have a platform, so a lot of people uh that help me get to there, they don't usually get the the recognition, the credit because you know they do the the dirty work behind the scenes and you know people kind of take that for granted.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I have the light to go out there and really just thank them for everything they've done for me.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, not just me, but everybody, you know.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, the janitors getting there early and uh you know I I'm up there with them so that you know they're cleaning and you may making sure that the facility is spotless for us so we could have a clean day, we don't have to worry about anything.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's gonna be exciting going going home and and seeing all those people and uh giving them high fives, I bet.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_05: Um your high school coach, Nick Rogers, was here uh at the ceremony.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_05: Uh is he still at Cahon High?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he's still there, still head still the head coach there.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_05: So, how important was he in in your development?
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I mean I I thank him for everything.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he he gave me the keys to his program at 14 and you know I never looked back.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, it was everybody was looking at him kind of weird um, you know, when he did that.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: But he knew he I had something within me, and um, you know, later on, uh, you know, I probably had a you know a a decent career there.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_05: Oh my god, these numbers.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_05: I was looking at I was looking at some some stats and some highlights last night.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_05: Your last two years alone, I mean the whole the whole four years is ridiculous.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_05: Your junior year, 5,139 yards passing, 62 touchdowns, five interceptions, 1,200 yards rushing, your last two years combined, 9,600 pass yards, 122 touchdowns, 2,800 rushing yards.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_05: It almost seems like what you did this year was just like, I mean, you're kind of used to doing those kind of numbers in a way, right?
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_05: You just kind of got back to what you were used to.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh like people would ask me, like, is it like the first time you've done something like this?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, nah, actually, I mean, I did it in high school.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I'll just say my proudest moment there was, you know, bringing back a championship and the first time in 30 years.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, just I love my city so much and they they you know they have my back with everything.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I'd be able to see them have this type of joy.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh everybody back home texting me and stuff like that.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: So um I can't wait to go back home.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, that big number one receiver who caught everything too.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_05: That's amazing plays.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_05: Um, let's talk about uh you know, once you got to college, uh, you know, Taylor Kelly and Brian Kelly, the two big influences.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_05: Tell me about like how they both influenced your your development as a quarterback.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so um Brian Kelly, uh obviously, you know, just being able to have the opportunity to come to LSU and uh the platform that he gave me and he entrusted me in his program uh to just be the face and be the leader of it.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, he he's been doing this for a very long time.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: He's been successful everywhere he went.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um and for me to kind of be, I mean, not kind of, but be the first Heisman trophy winner that he has, I know it means a lot to him and it means a lot to me, you know.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Taylor, um, you know, I I got introduced to Taylor while I was at Arizona State.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Marvin Lewis was like, you know, uh Tom House, you know, 3D QP and all those guys.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh he he recommended to go out there and work out.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I went out there and uh little did I know, I mean, I knew Taylor Kelly because of ASU, you know, the quarterback.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he he broke a lot of records there.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um he was out there, and we just hit it off from there.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: So uh he just always believed in me.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um he's seen the growth and you know, we just kept working.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, he elevated my game to to new heights.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_05: I remember I asked you the last time, or the first time you came on the show, I asked you if you had done anything like you know, Mardi Gras and all that.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_05: And you're like, no, I you were going over with your with your quarterback coach uh when everyone else is probably out having a good time.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_05: You were putting in the work there, and and this is how it paid off for you.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_05: Um I want to ask you about the how LSU promoted you, that that that kid.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_05: Where did that whole campaign come about?
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's just between them, honestly.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, they just I mean you signed off on it, right?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_05: You're like, oh yeah.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean they asked me, it's like kind of like you know, that kid, um, you know, that's my that's my Instagram name.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: So uh uh that's something I just thought of when I was 13.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like 1213 is like, you know, that kid Jaden.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: It kind of just had a little ring to it.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then I never changed it, so you know they use it, and you know, uh from there everybody just starts saying that kid.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_05: Um tonight, the Heisman Gala, you're officially inducted into the Heisman fraternity, the home stretch of the weekend.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_05: You're almost done.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_05: Uh you're gonna have to give another speech.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_05: What do you what are you gonna talk about tonight?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: I gotta think about it.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_05: Uh we'll see.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_05: All right.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and now that you have the Heisman, and I asked you about this uh the first time again, you know, uh about your goals for the future when you're done with football, and and I now that you have the Heisman, I'm sure like this influences what you can do now.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, I mean it's just like you like people tell me immortalizing, you know, that's what they said, uh being a part of the fraternity, and you know, a lot of legends and greats, you know, won the Heisman trophy.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just excited to be a part of it.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm just excited to see what the future holds for me.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_05: Do you look forward to you know, 20, 30 years from now coming back and being up on the on the Dais and watching the new Heisman winner?
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_05: Are you gonna be one of those guys?
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: I might be.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna see down the road.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm excited to be a part of the fraternity for sure.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_05: Jaden Daniels, the third Heisman Trophy winner from LSU.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_05: Congratulations on, you know, a great win, great season, and uh have fun the rest of the day.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_05: Get back home and enjoy uh being with your teammates and you know the rest of the year.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_05: I will thank you.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you, Jaden.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_05: There he is, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, that kid, Jaden Daniels, also incidentally, a three-time guest on the official Heisman Trophy podcast.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_05: Before we continue with the rest of the show, let's run down the rest of the Heisman Top 10 boat getters.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_05: Number five was Jordan Travis of Florida State, number six was Jalen Milro of Alabama, number seven was Ole Gordon II of Oklahoma State, number eight was Cody Schrader of Missouri, number nine, Blake Coram of Michigan, and number ten, also of Michigan, JJ McCarthy.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_05: Interestingly enough, six of the top ten were guests on the official Heisman Trophy podcast this year, which just goes to show you we do try our best to get you the best players in the country on this show.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_05: Who are the front runners for 2024?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_05: Well, I think we'll talk about that next week.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_03: This is Gino Torretta, 1992 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Miami, and you're listening to the official podcast of the Heisman Trophy.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_05: One of the things I love about Heisman Weekend is the familiar faces you see year after year, people who've been coming for years, who are very integral parts of the weekend.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_05: One of those faces is someone you've most likely read if you are a college football fan.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_05: It is the Associated Press college football writer Ralph Russo.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_05: I caught him on Saturday night and took him aside in a little hallway in the Marriott Marquee to talk about his past history with the Heisman Trophy.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_05: Ralph, how long have you been coming uh to the Heisman Trophy to cover uh uh the ceremony and the things surrounding it?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, 2004 was my first one.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm trying to think that was Matt Leinert.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: Uh an interesting one with uh Adrian Peterson as a freshman uh was a candidate back then and Reggie Bush.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, uh since the USC dynasty, and I haven't missed one since.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_02: So basically this is your 20th anniversary.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I I guess I didn't really think of it that way, but yeah, when you put that hard number on it, yeah, I I just maybe I was trying to avoid thinking of it that from that perspective.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, it's been it's been 20 years of Heisman trophies for me.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_05: Sorry about that.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_02: Uh what um you know since in those 20 years have you noticed any changes or uh has anything kind of stuck out to you as as being unique about the Heisman that makes it uh just an interesting award to cover or so I think during my time covering it, and I'm sure you've talked about it because you understand this award as well as anyone, uh the idea that there's been so much more focus on the teams that win the national championship, or at least the teams that are contending for the national championship, contending for a playoff spot.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_02: It used to be BCS and now contending for a playoff spot um and how much emphasis is put on late in the season, uh where you can almost you know, I feel like the the Heisman race has become somewhat predictable and that we'll have a scattering of players early in the season, and then it sort of s sort of starts to narrow, but really if you if you if you have a little keen insight, you can sort of look ahead to the last few weeks and have an idea of where this is gonna land.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um I don't know if that's necessarily great for the Heisman, you know, good, bad, I'll let other people determine that.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: But I think the biggest thing I've noticed is just again the emphasis on the best players on the best teams, the very best teams.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_05: I I've always thought that, or I shouldn't say I've always thought that, but lately I've been thinking that the Heisman kind of is a reflection of the values or not the values, but what what the people who cover the sport value.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_05: So like in the 70s uh the you know running backs were uh the vogue, running offenses were valued, and now it's the spread quarterbacks.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_05: You think that's pretty about right?
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's also a great point, too.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_02: We we we are now in the era of it basically being a quarterback's award, and that makes a lot of sense.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the you know, offenses have come a long way since uh Charles White and George Rogers and Billy Sims when I, you know, first was watching Heisman winners growing up.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, these are the players with the ball in their hands.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_02: And as you said, the the idea of the these spread quarterbacks like the guy we're you know gonna see possibly win the Heisman tonight in Jaden Daniels, the ability to put up passing numbers and running numbers.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: They they are so overwhelming.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: You think of the Marcus Mariotas and the Johnny Manzell's, and it's almost like having a great quarterback and a great running back.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: These offenses are conditioned to put these quarterbacks into really big star roles.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_05: You said something earlier that I thought was really interesting.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_05: Um so first the VCS and then the four-team playoff, and then you know, this 12-team playoff coming up.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_05: It's almost like it's like gravity, and and it kind of sucks everything about college football is is being kind of sucked into this vortex of pointing towards the playoff.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_05: And so far the Heisman has has kind of, you know, Stipped Firm been a you know uh lighthouse uh in a stormy sea.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_05: Um do you think it's something that can you know maintain itself or do you think it's something that's gonna change and eventually adjust to how we pick a champion?
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_02: So I I I think about that in a couple of different ways.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: There's the idea of does an expanded playoff expand the Heisman field?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_02: And again, you know, I I I say this knowing Jaden Daniels is very much has become something of an outlier candidate and could be the winner this year, um, as you know, playing on a nine and three team that was out of its conference championship race in November.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um but again, he's become something of a little bit of an outlier.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_02: But if that player is now fighting for a playoff spot, and we have uh, you know, not just 12 teams getting in, but think of it as um 15, you know, 16, 17, 18, 20 teams come rivalry weekend who are fighting for playoff spots and now people are paying attention to those games a little more.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe that does, and and I think that's a good thing.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: Put a few more players in the spotlight uh and open things up.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_02: Then there's the idea of of sort of the Heisman as an event and as a 10-pole for the college football season.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: Where does it fit?
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I I assume it's still gonna be handed out before the playoff.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh that calendar in December is getting a little different, a little tighter.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it still looks like it have it will have that spot the weekend before.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's still possible.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um but you know, again, this was this is sort of like the the Army Navy game and Heisman weekend is a is a be has become a tradition in college football.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: Hasn't always been that way.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: You know, Barry Sanders won it when he was in Japan and Andre Ware won it while he was playing a game, so it doesn't necessarily have to be that way.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: But so I do wonder in the new era of college football, if it creates a different Heisman event.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_05: Um finally, what do you think about just sort of the way the the event is held?
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_05: I mean you obviously you don't you don't go to the ceremony, but you're able to watch it, you're kind of around it.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_05: You you know you've you've been seeing a lot of the same people for years and years.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_05: What do you think about just the way it's held and the kind of the reputation of the Heisman at this point?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: So I I'm gonna be very fair with you, Chris.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's it's I don't know it's not necessarily the best media access event.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: But but the I you know, you have to understand this event the Heisman is throwing this event for the players and their families, and i there's a lot of focus on taking care of them and a little less on taking care of the media.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: You know, as someone who's been around for 20 years, I I can live with that.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I live in New York City, so I will always cover it.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I do think because of the nature of the event, it's sort of a television event now, a television spectacle.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um just from an you know old school journalism perspective, I think there are a few less people who now come to the event.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: It's a little pricey to come to New York and I can watch it on TV.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so you know, I don't know if that necessarily takes away I again, like from my perspective, as I sort of grown as a journalist here and understood that, you know, again, the Heisman is for the Heisman winner and it's for the players, and that's where the emphasis is going to be as an event for me.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_02: Again, it's just a few subway stops away from where I live, so I'll always be here.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um just an aside, you know, sort of a down in the weeds thing.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_02: You know, as the AP writer, it's one of the most used stories that my I I will do during the year.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_02: You are you are, in a sense, really the Heisman uh reporter.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: So really we should just be taking care of you and making sure that you have the best access.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: If if nothing else, yeah, I I would consider doing that.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that would be a possibility.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, you know, again, I I I don't I certainly don't want to, you know, lay any yeah, don't want to criticize the Heisman folks.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: Again, they seem to do a very good job of taking care of the players and it's their day, it's their night.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_02: So uh, you know, kudos to the Heisman folks.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: We'll be fine.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: We'll be fine.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_05: Aaron Powell So 20 years, any um any ceremonies that stick out or memories or anything that's happened either during around some you know in the media room or anything that that has just been sort of a story that that sticks in your head?
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_02: Aaron Powell So I don't know if I've got necessarily one particular well, I I do I my one of my favorite parts about the Heisman is actually the Friday before the Heisman when the Heisman uh finalists come in.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_02: And again, we get some access with them, get a chance to, you know, interact with some of the kids.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe not.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_02: I call them kids because at this point I I'm old enough to be their all of their fathers.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um so that's that's kind of neat because you know that there's not a ton of access in college football these days.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_02: And and again, for me as a national writer, I don't necessarily get a chance to interact with every Heisman winner without the uh throughout the season.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_02: So that's always fun.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_02: And one of the guys who stands out will always stand out to me was in Dominican II.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_02: He ended up finishing third or fourth in the year, in the finishing fourth, and and you probably remember better than I what year that was.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_02: I think it was it was right, 2009, uh, which was you know he the the great defensive tackle from Nebraska.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: But uh he always stood out to me as because he was just this sort of ferocious uh player.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: Just and you know, he had such an amazing season.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: He had a reputation for being a a real can I use the word badass?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: He was a badass.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: He was such a wonderful guy.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_02: He was such a sweetheart kid at the time.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: Now he's gonna be an NFL Hall of Famer.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um but I just really enjoyed my interactions with him because again, he was such a terrorizing player and was such a nice guy.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_05: Well that was a great year because that was the closest vote.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_05: And that was a year where you could have had uh the number three guy, Colt McCoy, could have won it very easily, Toby Gerhardt could have won it, Mark Ingram did win it, and and Sue was sort of the spoiler who sort of determined he was the he was the guy who made it happen.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, he ended up being a disruptor, right?
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: Because he just because he played so great down the stretch, and especially in the national in the in the Big 12 championship game, I think he pulled a bunch of votes from people, and all of a sudden you ended up with uh right, uh uh uh Mark Ingram winning by, you know, again, you probably remember 20, 25 points, something along those lines.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I also, um that was one of those years, you know, again, a little inside baseball.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: I have to write a little bit of something preparing for almost all of these guys to win.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_02: Some guys, you know, you get a pretty good idea that there's gonna be a landslide for Joe Burrow, so maybe you don't prep as much.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_02: Uh but that was definitely a year I I I I seem to remember writing like three or four full stories.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I know I was gonna say that uh do do you just as a from a selfish standpoint, are you like, oh, I I like that this is a landslide this year because I I can have my story written and get home in time for, you know, uh Saturday Night Live or whatever.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_02: A little bit.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_02: There is a little bit of that.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_02: Uh again, uh a lot of the the work when the when the when the winner isn't obvious, a lot more work goes in ahead of time.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_02: But even tonight, you know, we're talking before the award is handed out.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_02: I've got a lot of words written about Jaden Daniels, a few less about Michael Penix, and a few less than that about Bo Nix, but you just in case, I don't want to be caught off guard.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_05: Well, Ralph Russo, uh, here's to 20 more years covering the Heisman.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_05: Uh I'm sure uh I'm sure everybody's read you.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_05: I don't think enough people uh uh know about you and your association with college football and the Heisman, but uh hopefully that will uh keep uh improving in that end.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_05: So thanks for coming on.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, appreciate it, Chris.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_05: How about ten?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_05: How about ten more?
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, we'll give you ten.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: Hey guys, this is Barry Sanders, the nineteen eighty-eight Heisman Trophy winner, and you are listening to the official Heisman Trophy podcast.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_05: Take an even deeper dive into Heisman lore by going to Heisman.com, home to all things Heisman, including news, bios, and the latest on all the winners, plus updates on the Heisman Trophy Trust and its charitable mission.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_05: It's the A to Z for Everything Heisman, from Alan Amici to Danny Werfel.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_05: We really need a Heisman winner whose name begins with Z.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_05: Everyone knows about the Nissan Heisman House, and of course, Nissan is the Heisman's main sponsor.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_05: We thought it'd be great to catch up with one of the representatives of Nissan, and it just so happens that on this weekend there was one available.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_05: So we talked again to the lobby of the Marriott, and we had a great little chat.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_05: We are here with Mike Colleran, uh Senior Vice President of Nissan North America, and we are on uh Heisman's Saturday, and I thought it'd be a good time to catch up with uh the main sponsor of Of the Heisman Trophy and uh learn a little bit about it.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_05: Mike, thanks for coming on the show.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, Chris, thanks for having me.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, it's really great to be here on Heisman Weekend.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_04: This is not my first Heisman weekend.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_04: I've done this uh probably three or four times in the past, and we really love this.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_04: We really love the relationship, and it's so exciting to be here in New York.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, last night on our our Friday night opening evening of Heisman, we saw uh the four candidates, and they're so excited.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_04: And I made a point of uh stopping with each of them and their families and talking about Heisman House and the possibilities.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, if you win, we're gonna come talk to you about that key.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_05: Well, that's definitely one of the cool parts about the relationship.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_05: Tell me about the overall history of Nissan with the Heisman, how that got started, and and what that relationship has been like uh with you guys.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's a great question, Chris.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_04: Um, it really dates back to uh when we started to get into college football and and we saw great returns.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_04: Uh it's a perfect audience for Nissan.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_04: And so Heisman was kind of the the natural outgrowth of of that uh that desire to be uh with college football.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_04: And so 13 years ago, uh we struck the original uh dealer deal with uh Heisman Trust, and uh it's been a great partnership.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_04: I think we started in uh I think it was 2006, and uh it was just it was a very natural um fit for us because we're very involved in what Heisman Trust is really all about, and that's giving back to the local community.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_04: We do that through our Nissan Foundation, and so partnering with Heisman Trust was really at the start a little bit more about our college football, but also about philanthropy in the community.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_04: And last night had the opportunity to talk about that a little bit with each of the candidates about not only their on-the-field leadership, but their off-the-field leadership, which they'll have great opportunities to be involved with their local communities.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_04: And so I think it's very important for the Heisman Trust to be kind of the first place where they experience that and understand there is a larger responsibility that they're gonna see very quickly.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_05: That's a great point.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_05: Um what is it about the Heisman brand and image that it's just so attractive to be associated with?
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think it's um mostly it's it's about philanthropy, but also if you look back at the history of a Heisman Trophy winners uh and candidates, all disciplined, um, all leaders in their field, um, and all if you look at uh last night, all all of the old uh I shouldn't say old previous Heisman winners, um uh you would uh you you can see that they've had a long history of being involved in their communities.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_04: We love that in Nissan.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_04: That's you know, when when we look at our dealers, they're very involved in their local communities.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_04: It's one of the reasons we're so committed to our dealers is because of that, the you know, that that tie to the communities.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_04: And so, you know, for us, very easy to make that jump.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_04: And and frankly, over the years, Heisman Trust and and Nissan, that partnership's just it's growing and it's getting bigger and and deeper every year.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_05: It must be one of the sweet parts of the job to be able to come over here on Heisman Weekend.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_05: Tell me a little bit about some of your favorite moments, some of your your best memories uh from coming up on the weekend.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I've had some classics.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_04: Um I took my son, who's now 30, to uh uh Oakland Raiders game.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_04: Um he was five years old.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_04: So this is 20, 25 years ago.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_04: And um, we were walking behind the goalposts, and uh the Raiders kicker was out there and kicking field goals, uh, you know, warming up.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_04: And one came right to me and I caught it.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_04: Red red basket catch.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_04: You know, anything else I would have missed it.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_04: But but my son, JP, uh I took the ball and I handed it to him right away.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_04: Well, about just 30 seconds later, NFL official showed up and said, Hey, we need to get the ball back.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_04: Anything before the game has to be given back.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_04: And he goes, I really don't want to take the ball from a five-year-old because the fans are gonna kill me.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_04: And uh I said, no, I I completely understand.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_04: So I took the ball from my son, I gave it back to the official, and then he says, Hey, I think one of the Raiders players wants to talk to you.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_04: And so he was waving us down.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_04: It was Tim Brown, Notre Dame, uh great great Heisman Trophy winner and great NFL Hall of Famer.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_04: And so we go down there and he goes, Hey, I saw what happened, and I want to give you the wristbands.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_04: So it's great.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_04: My son to this day still has the wristbands.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_04: But what's even funnier is I go to Heisman six years ago.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_04: It was uh Derek Henry's year, Tim Brown is there, one of the alumni.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_04: And uh so I go up, I say hello to him, and I told him this story.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_04: And he goes, Oh my goodness, I actually remember that.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_04: And he goes, he says, the funny thing was is I actually wasn't necessarily giving the the wristbands to your son, even though he goes, I felt bad for him.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_04: He goes, but I really felt bad for the guy that was gonna get killed by the fans if we didn't do something.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_04: And uh, because he said I saw it all play out on the iMag screen, which I didn't even know was on the iMag screen.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_04: So that was one of my funnier moments.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_04: One more, have we got time for one more?
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_04: So um uh again, Derek Henry's here.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_04: Um uh Derek and I are sitting and uh and at a table, and and you know it's very intimidating for a 22-year-old to be in this group, right?
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_04: And and this is he's won now, this is the Sunday night event.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_05: And um And he was kind of shy winner.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_04: And he was a shy winner.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_04: He and and you know, raised in a great family, and uh, but you know, very uh respectful and and a little bit shy.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_04: And uh so we were talking about philanthropy, which the Sunday night event is is more about that than football.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_04: And um, so about halfway through the uh the event, there's a break, you know, I guess a commercial break, as I recall, and and Derek leans over to me, and somebody I've been talking to kept calling me Mark instead of Mike.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_04: And I I tried like four or five times to say, uh, uh my name's Mike, but I gave up eventually.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_04: He leans over, he goes, Hey, your name is Mike.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_04: That is so funny, Derek.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_04: And who knew?
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_04: And so we had this conversation about um, you know, football, and then it it went to the social responsibility, which was the theme of the night.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_04: And Derek uh said he was a little nervous about that, that that was just something that he'd never had to experience, and he was gonna have to get up in front of people and talk and be part of the community.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_04: I said, you know, Derek, uh, and we got back to family again.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_04: You know, you got a great family.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_04: I've I've heard you talk about it.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_04: He goes, Yeah, it's my rock.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_04: And uh I said, you know, when you're so family focused and you're already part of a community, you're gonna do great.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_04: And so lo and behold, seven years later, we both end up in Nashville, Tennessee Titans for Derek, and I come back uh after a number of years in China and uh had the opportunity to catch up with with Derek again.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_04: And I gotta tell you, he's just a man of the community uh in Tennessee and in Nashville.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_04: He's well known.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_04: He won't he won't come uh he won't let us come and deliver his Nissan to him every year.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_04: Uh we uh we we we actually uh or he insists on coming down to the plant and taking um uh taking possession of his Nissan.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_04: Why?
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_04: Because he wants to be with the community.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_04: He wants to be with our plant workers who are part of our community and uh and spend moments with them.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_04: He'll just shake hands and spend a couple hours with uh with our team.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_04: So um just goes to show you the the quality of people um that are selected for uh Heisman candidates uh and uh and of course ultimately winners.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_04: They really are special in our communities, and I think their first exposure to that is through the Heisman Trust.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_05: I think this uh whole event, like someone like Derrick Henry, uh was almost like uh like a tadpole, and then they and then they develop into they become frogs during this event because they they just become like you know, you can see the transformation, right?
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_05: So um I want to talk a little bit about the Heisman House.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_05: What's um were you there when when they when they conceived the Heisman House?
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_04: Or no, I I wasn't.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_04: Um at the time of the uh conception of Heisman House, I was uh actually working in another part of the business at the time.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_04: Uh my first real exposure to it was watching it on on TV and going, that's a really cool idea.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_04: But I worked for somebody else at the time, so didn't think a lot more than that.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_04: Uh but then when I came to Nissan many years later, I started Nissan Canada, ended up coming uh to uh uh Nissan North America, and I ran our East Coast operations, specifically kind of more northeast, not exactly college football town, uh more like college basketball town.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_04: And uh so I, you know, once again, not a lot of responsibility, but because it was the the Heisman event was in New York City as the regional vice president, I was invited to the uh, at least at a minimum, the Sunday night event.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_04: And so I really grew to love the event.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_04: Um, it's a really special weekend, and you know, it's funny, the players are walking around town and they're seeing New York City, and people instantly recognize them.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_04: And it's just a very special time for New York, it's a very special time uh for uh for the the candidates as well.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_04: Uh but uh we we we love our Heisman House uh uh uh relationship, and I think it's a it's a relationship that you know will go on into the future.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_04: And Heisman House is just a piece of that, it's a way to express it.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but I gotta tell you, there's nothing like going to the Heisman House shoot.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_04: Take 49.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_04: Some of the guys aren't natural.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_04: No, it's but it's amazing.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_04: Some of them are.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_04: I think about Baker Mayfield.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_04: We call him one take Baker.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_04: Uh um, you know, and then there's others that you know they haven't had that experience.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but uh it's a it's a lot of fun, and the players love the interaction with with each other.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_05: What do you see uh for uh the relationship between Heisman and Nissan?
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_05: Uh what does the future hold for that relationship?
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_04: Well, I I hope it's a long future.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_04: Uh uh we uh like I said, we've been uh with Heisman Trust for 16 years.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_04: Uh we would love to continue that uh into the future.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_04: Um it's it's the right thing, I think, for the Heisman Trust.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, gives the Heisman Trust a little bit um um, I would say, broader spectrum and and understanding by the community that it's it's more than just the Heisman Trophy.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_04: The you know the Heisman organization has deep tentacles into um the social profile of America and and we can show that off uh just a little bit.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_04: So we would love to have a a long future with the Heisman Trust.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_05: That's wonderful.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_05: I know of a certain uh Heisman podcast that could use a sponsor if you're interested.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_04: Love to do it, Chris.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_05: Uh well, Michael Hal uh Michael Colleran, uh Senior Vice President of uh Nissan North America.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_05: Thanks for joining us on the official Heisman Trophy Podcast and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_04: Chris, thank you, and thank you to the Heisman Trust.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_05: And that'll do it for episode 17 of the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_05: Please excuse my congestion.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_05: I came back from New York with quite the head cold.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_05: Next Wednesday, we will have a behind-the-scenes look.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_05: At Heisman Weekend, we're gonna go in and talk to so many of the volunteers and the main characters who make Heisman Weekend possible.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_05: I think you're really gonna enjoy it.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_05: The official Heisman Trophy podcast streams every Wednesday during the college football season and is hosted, co-produced, edited, and engineered by Chris Houston.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_05: Paul Goldberg is the executive producer and editor.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_05: Special shout out to Isaac Lohencron, and big thanks to the Heisman Trophy Trust and its executive director, Rob Whalen, and associate director Tim Henning.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_05: The official Heisman Trophy podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and anywhere you listen to your favorite podcast.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_05: You can also find clips of our show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_05: Just go to Heisman Trophy.