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For the second year in a row and the fifth time in the past seven years, a transfer quarterback has won the Heisman Trophy.

LSU‘s Jayden Daniels, who began his college career at Arizona State before transferring to Baton Rouge in 2022, won the sport’s most prestigious award Saturday night after accounting for 4,946 yards of offense (3,812 passing yards, 1,134 rushing yards) and 50 total touchdowns this season.

Daniels received 503 first-place votes and 2,029 total points to edge out two fellow transfer quarterbacks in Washington‘s Michael Penix Jr. (292 first-place, 1,701 total) and Oregon ‘s Bo Nix (51 first-place, 885 total), as well as Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (20 first-place, 352 total) in a ceremony held at Lincoln Center in New York City. Florida State‘s Jordan Travis placed fifth after receiving eight first-place votes for 85 total points.

Daniels’ 328-point margin of victory over Penix marked the closest Heisman voting since 2018, when Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray won with 2,167 points over Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s 1,871.

Daniels said winning the Heisman was “a dream come true.”

“I want to thank all my teammates, from Arizona State to LSU,” Daniels said. “You’re my brothers. You work so hard every day, inspiring me to be my best.”

Daniels, a 22-year-old from San Bernardino, California, is the first player since 2016 to win the Heisman as part of a team that did not play for a conference title. The No. 13 Tigers will play Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 1, though Daniels has not yet decided if he will play.

“I really wish I could have brought you back another championship,” Daniels said as he thanked the LSU fans.

Daniels led all FBS players in QBR (95.7), yards per attempt (11.7, an FBS record) and passing touchdowns (40), as well as completions of 20 yards or more (70). His 72.2 completion percentage was seventh in the nation, while his total offensive yards per game (412.2) were first, 74 yards better than the next best player.

As a runner, Daniels was topped by only 25 running backs in yards per game, and his 8.4 rushing yards per attempt was good enough for fourth in FBS among all running backs. In every season since he first entered college, Daniels has improved upon his output as a runner, more than tripling his 2019 rushing yards total in 2023.

A four-star recruit out of Cajon High School in San Bernardino, Daniels first committed to ASU in 2018 before winning the starting quarterback job heading into the Sun Devils’ 2019 season. He was the first true freshman to be a starting quarterback in the history of the program.

Daniels’ time in Tempe featured some highs — a freshman campaign that featured 2,943 yards and 17 touchdowns — as well as some lows, including a 10-interception season in 2021. Before that season began, the NCAA announced Arizona State was under investigation for several potential recruiting violations.

Following the 2021 season at ASU, Daniels announced he would be transferring to LSU, who had just hired Brian Kelly as its head coach. During his first season as a Tiger, Daniels led LSU to nine wins and the SEC Championship game while throwing for 2,774 yards and running for 818 more.

But even with Daniels at the helm after making a substantial leap in his fifth year, LSU couldn’t improve upon its 2022 season, once again winning nine regular-season games. This year, that was not good enough to make it to the conference championship.

Yet when it came to the Heisman, Daniels’ statistics were far too impressive to ignore. Daniels is the second player in FBS history with 40 pass TDs, 10 rush TDs and 1,000 rushing yards in a season — the other being Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray in 2018. Though the Heisman only encapsulates this season, Daniels’ honor is also somewhat a career achievement award. He is the first player in FBS history to reach 12,000 career passing yards and 3,000 career rushing yards.

Daniels is the third LSU player to ever win the Heisman (Billy Cannon in 1959 and Joe Burrow in 2019) as well as the third straight quarterback to win the award and the seventh in the last eight years.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Red Sox 1B Casas out for year after knee surgery

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Red Sox 1B Casas out for year after knee surgery

BOSTON — Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas suffered a ruptured tendon in his left knee and is out for the remainder of the season, the team said.

The 25-year-old Casas ruptured his patellar tendon running to first on a slow roller up the line and fell awkwardly in Boston’s victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. After laying on his back in pain — not moving the knee — he was carted off on a stretcher before being taken to a Boston hospital.

The team announced Sunday that he had surgery for a left patellar tendon repair at Massachusetts General Hospital. The surgery was performed by Dr. Eric Berkson.

“I talked to him last night,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said in a news conference on Saturday discussing the injury outside Boston’s clubhouse. “We exchanged text messages [Saturday]. We all care deeply about just his overall wellbeing.”

Manager Alex Cora said Casas worked hard during the offseason to play every day after missing a large amount of last year with torn cartilage in his rib cage.

“He did an outstanding job in the offseason to put himself in that situation. It didn’t start the way he wanted it to,” Cora said of Casas’ struggles. “He was going to play and play a lot. Now we’ve got to focus on the rehab after the surgery and hopefully get him back stronger than ever and ready to go next year.”

Casas batted just .182 with three homers and 11 RBIs, but Breslow said his loss will be felt, especially with the team’s lack of depth at the position.

“He certainly struggled through the first month of the season but that didn’t change what we believe his production was capable of being,” Breslow said. “It’s a big loss. In addition to what we think we were going to get on the offensive side, he was kind of like a stabilizing presence on the defensive side of the field — also a big personality and a big part of the clubhouse.”

During spring training, Casas talked about how his focus at the plate this season was being more relaxed.

“You really want it until you don’t,” he said, explaining his thoughts while standing at his locker. “Then you can’t want it that much.”

Now, he’ll have to focus on his recovery plan for next season.

Casas, a left-handed batter, was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with infielder/outfielder Abraham Toro selected from Triple-A Worcester.

Cora said Toro — a switch-hitter — will split time at first along with Romy Gonzalez. who bats right-handed.

Breslow said the team might be exploring a long-term replacement.

“This is unfortunately an opportunity to explore what’s available,” he said. “We’ll look both internally and outside as well.”

Cora said there are no plans to move Rafael Devers, who was replaced at third by offseason free-agent acquisition Alex Bregman and moved to DH.

“We asked him to do something in spring training that in the beginning he didn’t agree with it and now he’s very comfortable doing what he’s doing,” Cora said. “Like I told you guys in spring training, he’s my DH.”

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3B Ramirez (ankle) returns to Guardians’ lineup

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3B Ramirez (ankle) returns to Guardians' lineup

TORONTO — Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez was back in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, two days after the third baseman left in the third inning because of a mild right ankle sprain.

The six-time All-Star was injured when he stumbled and fell while crossing first base on an infield single. Ramirez went down after being struck in the back by a throw from Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt.

Ramirez was batting third Sunday against right-hander Bowden Francis.

Ramírez sat out Saturday when Cleveland beat Toronto 5-3. He went 2 for 2 before departing Friday, boosting his average to .274. He has five home runs and 15 RBIs in 31 games.

In last Thursday’s 4-3 victory over Minnesota, Ramirez became the first primary third baseman to reach 250 homers and 250 stolen bases.

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Yankees’ Volpe day-to-day after tests on shoulder

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Yankees' Volpe day-to-day after tests on shoulder

NEW YORK — Shortstop Anthony Volpe was not in the New York Yankees‘ starting lineup Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays, a day after he injured his left shoulder on a dive while trying to get to a grounder.

“X-rays, MRI — good news,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s sore today, but I feel like we’re probably in a good spot. We’ll see. Kind of day to day right now.”

Volpe remained in the game after his unsuccessful attempt for a backhand stab on Christopher Morel‘s eighth-inning single, which sparked a two-run rally in Tampa Bay’s 3-2 win Saturday.

Volpe said after the game he heard a pop in the shoulder.

“It’s a little unclear in there. He’s got some stuff that they feel like is older stuff, so hard to know exactly,” Boone said. “He’s definitely a little cranky in the shoulder today.”

Volpe, 24, is hitting .233 with five homers, 19 RBIs and four stolen bases in his third season with the Yankees.

Oswald Peraza was listed to start at shortstop, batting ninth.

New York already is missing second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (strained right oblique), third baseman DJ LeMahieu (strained left calf), ace Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery) and right-hander Luis Gil (right lat strain), the reigning AL Rookie of the Year.

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