The Heisman Hopefuls Podcast
The Heisman Hopefuls Podcast, hosted by Heisman historian Chris Huston, features year round interviews with top Heisman contenders, insider stories from Heisman history, hard-hitting discussion of the latest college football news plus updates on the Heisman Trophy Trust’s charitable work. New episodes every Thursday. Follow @HeismanTrophy on all platforms and watch clips on YouTube and TikTok. Contact: pod@heisman.com
The Heisman Hopefuls Podcast
Louisiana State QB Jayden Daniels
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Heisman Trophy candidate Jayden Daniels comes on the show to discuss his overall improvement since landing in Baton Rouge, his favorite moments at LSU so far, and why sometimes he just can't slide like his coaches want him to. Then it's the story of 1959 LSU Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon and his famous punt return against Mississippi on Halloween night. Remember? Finally, a few man on the street interviews about Heisman history outside Notre Dame Stadium.
The Heisman Hopefules Podcast streams every Thursday during the college football season and is hosted by Chris Huston. The pod is available on all streaming networks, including Spotify and Apple Music, and full videos of the show are available on YouTube, with clips on TikTok and Instagram.
Email us at pod@heisman.com for feedback and inquiries.
Think about Jaden uh think about Jaden Daniels. When he goes to the line and he positions his guys and he collapses at hand. Um you know it it's kind of like that that box of chocolate that uh Forrest Gomp would talk about. You never know what you're gonna get, but you know it's gonna be good. Uh on the other side of the line you don't know what you're gonna get, but you can be pretty sure it's gonna be bad. And that's what's really, really fun uh to watch this young man uh run an offense.
SPEAKER_20Welcome to the official Heisen Trophy Podcast.
SPEAKER_06Hello, hello to Kingdom Legend over there.
SPEAKER_19Welcome to another episode of the official Heisman Trophy Podcast. Happy Halloween out there to those of you who celebrate. We're at this really nice part of the season where we get playoff baseball, the NBA is starting, college basketball's around the corner, and I'm pretty sure hockey started too. Wait, has hockey started? It doesn't matter. We have a great show for you today. We're gonna lead off our show with LSU quarterback Jaden Daniels. Has he been on fire lately or what? And just like last week was an all FSU episode, this is gonna turn out to be an all LSU episode because in our B block we're gonna tell the story of Billy Cannon's Halloween run. I guess you can say it's an LSU themed and Halloween-themed episode. But before we get to Jaden Daniels, let's kick things off like we always do by rounding up the latest in the Heisman race. And I was just kidding about the hockey.
SPEAKER_20It's the Heisman Roundup, week eight.
SPEAKER_19The dog days of October have taken hold in the race for the stiff arm trophy, and the college football gods are doing what they do best, hurling lightning bolts upon Heisman candidates from coast to coast. It's looking more and more like Archie Griffin's remarkable double Heisman is safe for at least one more season, anyway. Will we ever see another two-time winner? While we ponder that, let's start off this week's Heisman Round off with FSU's Jordan Travis. Fresh off the heels of headlining the official Heisman Trophy podcast, he led the number four Seminol to a 38-20 comfort behind victory over number 16 Duke. He threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns and added 62 scary yards on the ground that included a key fourth-quarter two-yard rush that put FSU ahead for good. In the biggest game of the weekend, number three Ohio State defeated number seven Penn State in the force shoot, thanks to Marvin Harrison Jr.'s dominant 11-catch, 162-yard performance. In the last three games, he's been outstanding, catching 25 balls for 430 yards despite bursting a sore ankle. Against the Lions, the junior whiteout, who was on our show a few weeks ago, by the way, caught this 18-yard touchdown pass from Kyle McCord that ended up being the nail in the coffee. Over the pedal. Check out this week's podcast, Jaden Daniels of LSU, who continues to tear it up for the Tigers. Since a week zero loss to FSU, Daniels has rushed and passed for at least four touchdowns in all but one game, and now has a combined 30 touchdowns on the season. In limited action against Army last Saturday, he completed 11 to 15 passes for 279 yards and three scores, and chipped in a rushing touchdown as the number 19 Tigers won going away 62 to nothing. Let his 86-yard bomb to Brian Thomas Jr. serve as an extra tasty pre-Halloween morsel for everyone. Knicks grew for 293 yards on 18 of 25 passing and scored on this two-yard run that put Oregon ahead for good as the Ducks kept their conference title and playoff hopes alive. The junior signal collar topped four touchdown passes and had 287 yards through the air, as the Wolverines remained undefeated. His first score, a 25-yarder to Roman Wilson, was a thing of beauty. Gets away from away. Roman Wilson starts in the game.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. It's the A to Z for Everything Heisman, from Alan Amici to Danny Worfel. We really need a Heisman winner whose name begins with Z.
SPEAKER_17Hi, this is Charlie Ward, 1993 Heisman Trophy winner, and you're listening to the official Heisman Trophy podcast.
SPEAKER_19Our opening guest for this week's episode has been on a tear lately. And incidentally, so has his team, which leads the nation in both scoring and total offense. Appropriately enough, he leads the nation in passing efficiency with a 204.32 rating, which incidentally would be an NCAA record if the season ended today. He has 2,573 yards passing, with a 73% completion percentage, over 11.5 yards per attempt, 25 touchdowns, just three interceptions. He's also getting it done on the ground as well, with 521 yards so far to go with five rushing touchdowns, which gives him a total of 30 touchdowns running and passing on the year so far. He's an exciting player, one of the best players in the country. Could he be the best? We'll find out pretty soon. His team has a huge matchup with number nine Alabama in Tuscaloosa this Saturday. And in keeping with the spirit of the times, he is also a transfer player who started out his career in the Pac-12 at Arizona State. Lots of transfers out there competing for the Heisman. Keep in mind four of the last six Heisman Trophy winners have been transfers. And of course, I'm talking about Jaden Daniels, senior quarterback for the LSU Tigers. Thanks for coming on the official Heisman Trophy podcast. Jaden, as good as you were last year, it looks like you're one of the most improved quarterbacks in the nation so far this year. You already have more touchdown passes than you did all of last season, and you're gaining even more yards on the ground. Plus, you're leading the nation in passing efficiency. What do you think has caused this jump in production for you?
SPEAKER_00I would just say uh just the work I put in throughout the offseason. Um, you know, coming back, and you know, I wanted to be better than I was last year, obviously. Um, you know, you always want to improve, but you know, making sure that I had a plan set on how I'm gonna get better. Um, you know, all assets of being a quarterback, uh, leadership and and you know, foot work, fundamentals, things like that, and just trying to uh grow my knowledge of the game.
SPEAKER_19I heard you wanted to gain some weight too. What did you uh play at last year and what are you playing at now?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so last season uh I played around 195. This year I'm playing around 207, 208. Um, so you know, just being able to just put on that weight, uh, you know, it's helped me uh gain more confidence.
SPEAKER_19The entire LSU offense has turned into one of the most explosive attacks in the country. You're averaging over 45 points per game. What do you think was the turning point for you guys that really got things clicking?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, um, this is how we how uh confident we were coming into the season. Uh obviously, you know, we didn't play up to the standard that we wanted to in the first game, but we knew um what we were capable of as our offense. Um so I mean, after that Grambling game, uh, you know, we just kept rolling. Uh, you know, we gained more confidence. We never really lost confidence, but you know, uh you gain more confidence each game. Um, you know, just going out there and be able just to produce at a high level. You know, that's something that we we knew we could do and we just had to go show it.
SPEAKER_19These last three games heading into the Army contest, you're averaging 107 yards on the ground. Have you been trying to make a concerted effort to get more ground yards, or is it just a matter of taking advantage of your opportunities?
SPEAKER_00Uh it's just taking advantage of opportunities. Obviously, you know, we have a very good running back in Logan Diggs, um, you know, that that could carry the uh the load. So uh I just pick and choose my battles when I when I need to run and when I don't. Um, you know, there's times that the defense that allows me to run. Um, you know, if I see some just taking and be decisive and go go get the yards, I just want to stay ahead of the chains and don't want to have negative plays. But um, you know, I just take advantage of the opportunities when I'm when they're presented.
SPEAKER_19I tell you what, you seem really fearless out there when you're going, you're taking lots of big hits. Are your coaches getting on you about sliding more?
SPEAKER_00Of course. Of course they are.
SPEAKER_19So on each play, there's in the back of your head this directive that you should slide if the opportunity arises. But then you've got these other situations where I can imagine the competitive instinct just kind of takes over and you can't slide.
SPEAKER_00I'm just a competitor. I I just get caught up in the moment. Obviously, I gotta be smarter and pick and choose my battles, but uh, you know, I bounce right back up. But you know, that that's just me being a competitor. Uh obviously, you know, you want to fight for more yards, you know, help the team out. Um, but you know, you just gotta pick and choose your battles.
SPEAKER_19Well, heck, being bigger and stronger now, you should it's even more reason to run, right?
SPEAKER_00Uh I mean they they don't want me to run as much, but uh in my eyes, yeah.
SPEAKER_19You're in your second year at LSU as a California transplant by way of ASU and El Cajon High. What's been the biggest cultural adjustment you've had to make living in Baton Rouge?
SPEAKER_00Um last year when I first got here was the different type of weather. Uh, you know, being from California, um, Arizona, and going to Arizona State. Uh, you know, you deal with the dry heat, uh, stuff like that. So when I first got here, you know, it was raining and dealing with the humidity. That was probably the biggest uh cultural shock for me.
SPEAKER_19I heard the last year or so it's been actually um not very much rain at all. So it's almost been a little bit like the desert, huh?
SPEAKER_00Uh no, it's been hot. It's still humid out here. It was hot this summer. It was it's probably the hottest summer I've been a part of.
SPEAKER_19Have you had a chance to go to Mardi Gras yet or any of the other festivities uh surrounding that time of year?
SPEAKER_00Uh I didn't. Uh I almost went this year, but I I went to go work out in uh in Dallas for a couple days. Um I missed out on the Mardi Gras.
SPEAKER_19Is that something on your bucket list to do before uh before you leave LSU?
SPEAKER_00Uh I mean most definitely it's something I want to do in the future, just experience that. Um, but you know, I I had to go and get some work and you know that's that's just how the mindset I was. Uh, you know, I enjoyed Mardi Gras uh later down the road, but you know, I had my eyes set on the goal. Um, you know, I had to do anything I can to achieve it.
SPEAKER_19Well, the way things are going, you'll probably be the grand marshal of one of the one of the parades down the road. Uh LSU fans are known for their passion and dedication. Can you describe what it's like to play in front of such a passionate fan base at Tiger Stadium?
SPEAKER_00Uh it's great. I mean, uh just the energy that they bring. Um, Saturdays, um, especially nighttime at Death Valley. Um, it's unmatched. You know, I've I've played on the West Coast, you know, I've been in different stadiums like that. Um, and it's it's second to none out here, you know, just how passionate they are about about LSU football. Um they show up and show out every week. So, you know, I'm glad that I have a fan base uh that is rooting for us as a team, you know, supporting us. Um and I wouldn't want any other fan base fan base in the country.
SPEAKER_19Quarterback in the SEC is notoriously challenging. What are some of the biggest adjustments you've had to make as a quarterback in that conference, both on and off the field?
SPEAKER_00Uh I mean, all eyes are on you uh uh every time, uh everywhere you go, especially, you know, football being so big in the South and you're playing in the uh Southeastern Conference. Uh, you know, everybody wants to know what you're doing, what you're up to. Uh so on and off the field, um, you know, you just gotta show that you're putting in that work, you know, doing the right things, um, the little things right every time. Um, because, you know, people are looking at you no matter where you could be at, you go to Walmart or Target, you know, people are gonna know who you are. Um just make sure you're always doing the little things, you know, and and showing the best version of yourself.
SPEAKER_19Yeah. What aspects of your game do you feel you've improved upon the most since arriving at LSU? And what areas are you still working on to become an even better quarterback?
SPEAKER_00Uh areas uh it's obviously, you know, uh just little things with fundamentals. Sometimes uh footwork might get lazy or your ball might die on me. Um just trying to be consistent with that. Um obviously uh, you know, just keep upping my knowledge uh for the game of football. Uh there's always more stuff I can learn, always more stuff I can figure out. I feel like what I improved on, um, you know, it's just the the timing and the confidence we have with each other, with myself and the receiver groups of downfield shots, creating more explosive plays, um, making sure I'm I'm pinpoint accurate so I can put the ball where I want to, uh exactly put it so I can give my receivers a chance to create explosive plays. Um that's something we worked on so hard this offseason to do.
SPEAKER_19Well, it's certainly showing up uh on the football field every Saturday. Can you share some of your favorite moments or highlights from your time at LSU so far? Is there a specific game or play that stands out to you as particularly memorable?
SPEAKER_00Uh I would say um last year was the uh being old miss, you know, coming back that game. Uh obviously the the overtime game with Alabama, that was a big one. Um I'll say this year, uh I would say just the uh Mississippi State game. Uh just how we were all flawing on offense. Um, you know, all assets of of the game, you know, offense, defense, and special teams, I feel like that's probably one of the most complete games we played this year. Um, you know, we're flying around the ball, everything was was moving, we're efficient on both sides of the ball. So I I'll say that's my favorite moment from this season.
SPEAKER_19Beyond football, what are some of your interests and hobbies and how do you balance your life on and off the field?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, uh right now within football, I don't have much of a life. Uh I spend most of my time up here, but um, you know, in the offseason I like to uh hang out, uh eat, shop, uh, play video games with my friends. So, I mean, I I still do what what young teens do, uh young adults I should say, do, you know. Um just hang out, you know, just find different ways to stay out of trouble, but also, you know, still be locked in. You know, uh we like to watch uh YouTube, even when we're not in football, we're still talking about football, watch YouTube uh highlights and stuff like that. Um and just watch other people. Uh try to try to keep uh open our putt more knowledge in our in our brain. Um but you know, just balancing, you know, the stress that you have to deal with being a student and an athlete. Uh you just gotta find different ways to to get away from from both those uh life and then video games does that for a lot of us.
SPEAKER_19Yeah. Whose uh highlights do you like to watch the most on YouTube?
SPEAKER_00Uh I mean, I I like to watch uh everybody. I mean quarterbacks, uh Lamar Jackson is probably a big one for me, uh just how exciting he is as a player. Um I like to watch the receivers. I like to watch game highlights uh from previous seasons, you know, just to see how how dominant people were um in that season. And we just sit up there and just watch stuff like that.
SPEAKER_19Do you ever go back and look at any Heisman winners? And did you have any Heisman winners that you uh liked growing up?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, uh Cam Noon, uh Lamar, uh, and RG3, you know, the what they did those type of years, uh obviously that's something that intrigues me a lot.
SPEAKER_19Have you had a chance to meet Joe Burrow?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, of course.
SPEAKER_19What's uh what does he have to tell you and and what's it like having someone who hosts so recently won a Heisman for LSU just around to kind of give you advice?
SPEAKER_00Uh I mean he just told me, you know, stay focused, keep the main thing the main thing. Um, you know, as big as you can get, as fast as much success you can have, you know, as quick as it can be gone. Um so it's always just you know find different ways to stay even killed, you know, keep the guys focused, um, and don't get caught up with every what what everybody is saying about you. Um, you know, to stay focused and fo and focus on the task at hand.
SPEAKER_19Yeah. Looking ahead, what are your goals and aspirations both in football and in life after your playing career?
SPEAKER_00Uh I mean football, I want to finish out this year uh as best we can. You know, I obviously don't want to lose a game just being the competitor that I am. Um so I want to finish out and you know, enjoy my last year of college um the the way I want to, and the way I can control it to be. Um and then afterlife, you know, obviously I want to uh I want to open like training facilities, uh, you know, help out the the youth and and stuff like that back home and all around. Um but I mean I don't really have uh too much I I I have set after football. Uh you know, I'm focused on the present right now, but yeah, I gotta start thinking about that type of stuff soon.
SPEAKER_19Yeah, still plenty of time to do that. Finally, if you were a Heisman voter and you're looking at a quarterback uh to potentially vote for the Heisman, what little things would you look for in that player beyond just the yards and touchdowns?
SPEAKER_00Uh I mean what they do for their team, um, what how important they are to the team, uh, team success. Um, you know, it could be a great team around them and stuff like that, but you know, if you take them out, what is what would that team look like? How important are they, and how valuable are they to the team? So that's something I look at. Um, you know, because I mean quarterback is it's a it's a main position in football. Um, but you know, if you have a great team and you're still gonna be a well-oiled machine without that player, um, how can you say he's a Heisman winner? Um, so that's something I'll look at if I was a voter.
SPEAKER_19Jaden Daniels, LSU quarterback, leading the nation in passing efficiency. We really appreciate you taking the time to join us on the official Heisman Trophy podcast, and we wish you and your team the best of luck going forward.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_19Hey college football fans, tickets to the 2023 Heisman Trophy Dinner Gala are now on sale. The event takes place in New York City on Sunday, December 10th, the day after the Heisman Trophy ceremony. The guest of honor for the gala is the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, as well as the 50th anniversary winner John Capoletti, the 25th anniversary winner Ricky Williams, and the 10th anniversary winner Jameis Winston. Plus, we'll also be honoring the 2023 Heisman Humanitarian Award winner. Just go to Heisman.com to purchase tickets and witness Heisman history. Now we're excited to share with you another Heisman Spotlight, featuring one of the most famous plays in the trophy's history. This is not only a famous moment in Heisman lore, it's one of the most famous moments for the entire state of Louisiana. We're talking a play that has achieved full-on mythological status. If you haven't guessed yet, we're referring to the Halloween run, 1959 Heisman winner on LSU great Billy Cannon's earth-shattering, 89-yard fourth quarter punt return for a touchdown that gave the number one Tigers a 7-3 win over number 3 Mississippi on Halloween night in 1959. Kids growing up in Baton Rouge were raised on similar Halloween traditions as the rest of us. You dress up in your favorite costumes, you load up on your neighbors' candy, and you keep your eyes peeled for ghouls and ghosts. But down in Baton Rouge and in the constellation of small towns that surround it, Halloween also means the local TV stations always run a special segment, and you do an annual salute to the Halloween run. Where I grew up, we always watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown on Halloween. But I think down on the Bayou, they watched the Halloween run first, then Charlie Brown. Now let's set this up a bit. LSU under Coach Paul Dietzel was on a bit of a heater, having won its first national title in 1958 with a perfect 11-0 season, capped with a Sugar Bowl win over Clemson that marked just the second time in the decade that the Tigers had won more than five games. The Tigers opened the 1959 season ranked first and won their first six games while allowing just two field goals in 24 quarters. Cannon played running back for the Tigers, but he also starred on defense. LSU entered the Magnolia Bowl, that's the rivalry game with Ole Miss that dates back to 1894, riding an 18 game winning streak. Dan Bornet is the school's decades long Public address announcer for Tigers football and basketball. He grew up in nearby Thibodeau, Louisiana, about an hour south of Baton Rouge, and he knows the rivalry between LSU and Ole Miss quite well.
SPEAKER_16You have to put the LSU Ole Miss rivalry into perspective here. Uh lots of people uh look at the LSU Alabama rivalry as one that's uh top drawer, but uh in the fifties and sixties, uh it was LSU against Ole Miss. That was the great uh competitive rivalry. But coming uh out of the nineteen fifty-eight of the season now, when LSU won its first national championship, uh the LSU Ole Miss game was in a tremendous setup in nineteen fifty-eight. LSU was uh number one at the time six and oh. And Ole Miss came to Baton Rouge. Also six and oh. And LSU beat Ole Miss 14 to nothing in the championship season. Fast forward to nineteen fifty-nine, uh which is when uh Billy made the uh the famous run, uh Ole Miss, because of a quirk in scheduling, uh came back to Baton Rouge to play in 1959.
SPEAKER_19As for the Rebels, well they were smack in the middle of the greatest stretch of football in program history. And that is not up for debate. Between 1957 and 1962, they finished with 10 wins three times and had nine wins the other three seasons. The 1960 Rebels team won a share of the national title, and had it not been for Billy Cannon, they might have won it in 1959, too. In fact, had it not been for Cannon, Mississippi might have had its first 11-win season, something the Rebels still haven't attained. And while LSU entered the game with a stout defense that had given up just six points, well, Ole Miss had only allowed seven. Now meet Smiley Anders. Like Dan Bornet, he grew up knee-deep in the LSU Ole Miss rivalry. He and Cannon went to local Estruma High, and though they weren't in the same class, he remembers Cannon as a youth.
SPEAKER_04He was just kind of a playful kind of guy. Uh he came from a kind of a rough area of town. You know, a lot of really you know foo halls and bars, really sleazy bars, the guys from X with Docs, you know, over there and SO docks. And they wind up on this little strip here, looking for bars and food shoes, and whatever else sailors look for washore. And so it was pretty pretty rough. He was uh funny guy and and spot. I sat behind him in America's history class. And I confess the looking on his paper was so rough because he was really bright.
SPEAKER_19While Anders went on to journalism school, Cannon blossomed into a six foot-one, two hundred and fifteen-pound athlete, with an emphasis on athlete, since not only was he one of the best football players in the country, but also a track and field standout who set state records by shot putting over 56 feet and running the 100-yard dash in 9.6 seconds. Naturally, he earned a scholarship to LSU. Now back to Halloween 1959, which was a dark and stormy night. Well, actually, the almanac will tell you the thunderstorms had drifted out of Baton Rouge well before the 8 p.m. kickoff, but the night air was still thick and sticky and the turf was soggy. Bournet grew up on nights like these. He was twelve when the two teams met.
SPEAKER_16I've been going to LSU football games uh since I was around eight years old, and that was uh in nineteen fifty-four. Okay. So uh I've been in and out of that stadium uh for a long, long time. And uh uh I sat in it when the games were at eight o'clock, when uh the lights weren't quite as uh bright as they are now in the stadium because there was no TV uh telecast at that time, and uh when the the the fog would kind of drift in over the stadium about uh the start of the third quarter, and it it had this ethereal effect. It was like you're in a different world.
SPEAKER_19No, he wasn't at the game. It was Halloween after all, and he was at a party where all the kids were listening to the game.
SPEAKER_16I didn't go to the Halloween night game. I heard the game on radio. I was twelve years old, and um I recall vividly listening to the entire game. We had a friend who had a uh Halloween party that night, because it was Halloween night, and it was a Saturday, and uh n everyone went to the party, but nobody partied. I mean we were twelve years old and everybody at that party sat around a radio and listened to that game. You have to understand th there was no there was one game a week on television back then. Just one game a week. Now you have fifty. Okay. Uh and so it it it was the thing. And and and uh my little South Louisiana Louisiana town was a hundred percent LSU uh when we weren't playing Tulane. When we played Tulane, the the the you know the the uh uh population of 14,000 people was pretty well split. But boy, when we were playing Ole Miss, it was LSU all the way. And we listened to that game and it was as if we were in a trance because uh all of us were sort of placing ourselves in that stadium. That stadium sat 68,000 people, okay? And uh having gone to that stadium so many years before and sitting in it, you could just feel yourself in it.
SPEAKER_19The recorded crowd that night, on homecoming no less, was sixty-seven thousand three hundred and twenty-seven. And for most of the night, they watched a defensive struggle with far more punts than points. Initially, Cannon looked more likely to be the GOAT than the hero. He fumbled twice in the first quarter, the second of which led to a short rebel field goal for a three-nothing lead, a three-point lead that looked like it may hold up. LSU wound up fumbling three times in the first half and could barely move the ball, but entered the third quarter still down just a field goal. A cannon interception early in the third quarter gave the Tigers their best field position of the night, but field goal kicker Wendell Harris missed a 37-yard try. LSU spent much of the third quarter in Mississippi Territory, but one drive ended on a failed fourth down run, and another was stopped on a fake punt. The Rebels, under their longtime coach John Vott, used their punter Jake Gibbs, who doubled as their quarterback, as a weapon, often punting on first down just to flip the field and pin LSU deep. It worked early in the game, and they stuck to the playbook into the fourth quarter. Cannon returned an early fourth quarter punt twenty yards, but the subsequent drive stalled. But when the Tigers sacked Gibbs for a ten-yard loss that landed him back in Old Miss Territory, Vaught directed Gibbs to punt away. Dietzel instructed Cannon not to field it deep, certainly not if it was near the ten, but Cannon got a clean bounce at the eleven yard line and took off. Cue history. Here's the famous call by LSU play-by-play announcer JC Pollitz, who only announced Tiger football for two seasons. But hey, timing is everything.
SPEAKER_10Billy Cannon watches it down. He takes it on his money, lemon, microphone, 15, money, money.
SPEAKER_19He was on the field in the fourth quarter, but on the opposite side of where Cannon fielded the punt. He didn't see it well at first.
SPEAKER_04And then he started running and how you see, you know, it was just a damn missing, I never see, I've never seen a hell of the team. They were really good. But these guys were hitting me as I hit a brick wall. They were literally just bouncing off. He was just determined, I thought he was gonna make the go. He was a fast son of a guy. He was bow ragged.
SPEAKER_19In all, eight rebel players got their hands or other body parts on Cannon, but none could slow him down as he raced down the right side of the field into the end zone for the go-ahead score. As you heard from Politz's call, it sent the crowd into a frenzy.
SPEAKER_16The film of it is fun because uh running along the sidelines with him is a referee. And uh you have to figure that referee was probably doing about a four, three, forty, you know. Uh McCann was uh uh he was an SEC champion sprinter uh as well as a uh a field guy. So he was a champion both track and field and uh and football.
SPEAKER_19Rebels All-American Marvin Terrell was on the field that play and described his memories of it in a 2018 interview.
SPEAKER_05McCann wasn't supposed to catch that ball. He was supposed to, you know, just let it hit hit on that wet turn, but it bounced right through him. He couldn't get out of the way, so he grabbed it and took off down the sidelines, and though about seven of us that missed him on the sidelines. And I was the last one chasing him. I I couldn't catch him, of course, because you know he was probably the fastest guy on the field.
SPEAKER_19In an interview that Gibbs gave a number of years ago, the Rebels' quarterback and punter thought Cannon would fair catch the punt.
SPEAKER_02They had a rule that do not fill the ball within the 15-yard line. And when the ball hit on the 11, he was on the sidelines hollering, no, no, no. Then when Cannon broke one tackle, broke two tackles, broke three or four tackles, he was saying, Go, go, go.
SPEAKER_19Cannon's punt return had all the trappings of a game winner, but there was still some 10 minutes to go in the game, and suddenly Ole Miss found a way to move the ball.
SPEAKER_16So it was everybody was of course went crazy, but then we started biting our nails because uh into the fourth quarter, Ole Miss started driving.
SPEAKER_19On the Rebels' final drive, they converted five first downs and reached the seven-yard line of LSU with about 90 seconds to play. Three runs netted five yards, leaving a fourth and goal from the two. On fourth down, Ole Miss backup quarterback Doug Elmore tested the left side of the line, but was first met by Warren Rabb. And as he tried to squirt free, Cannon came up to finish off the tackle and the game. Later in his life, Cannon was asked about that final defensive stop.
SPEAKER_12Well, you know, back then we would get into a gap eight, and then I would move up to the middle linebacker. Now we have the best linebacker in football playing defense in fact the line three times. How badly passed over here for four times? Food is not the ball. One comes up to me. Great craft. We were together last night, GJ Ribbs. He told me he said, you know, it's been 55 years, you finally gave me credit for the tiger.
SPEAKER_04If we had the stopped, of course, we're running everything, we just it would have been a nice ride, but it wouldn't have been like a legend as it is now.
SPEAKER_19And let's give Dan Bornet the closing comments and where he puts the Halloween run in the history of LSU football.
SPEAKER_16I think it's absolutely without question. Uh the first thing that comes to people's minds who have a history of LSU football embedded in them. Uh there have been great runs, there have been great seasons, there have been great athletes. Uh and you know, we have a uh another Heisman winner now in uh in Joe Burrow and and another candidate, strong candidate in Jaden. Uh but for the old timers who've been around long, that run tops everything. Uh because it was uh it was it was not only uh the run that scored the touchdown that won the game, but it was an incredibly uh noteworthy individual effort. Uh there were block there was blocking, of course. But to break seven tackles and to score, um that's special. There haven't been many uh many plays in LSU history that would uh that would reach that pinnacle. And in my book, it's still number one. Where else could you could you point to one play uh where a player ran uh for a tiger touchdown, a tiger victory, and the Heisman Trophy, all in uh 89 yards.
SPEAKER_19Billy Cannon's Halloween run was written and produced by Paul Goldberg, engineered by Chris Houston. Special thanks to Charles Lucier, Dan Bornet, and Smiley Anders down in Baton Rouge for helping us out. Happy Halloween, everybody.
SPEAKER_14This is Archie Griffin, 1974, 1975 Hagen Trophy Winner, and you're listening to the official Hagen Podcast.
SPEAKER_19We were in South Bend, Indiana last weekend for the USC Notre Dame game, and we got some audio of people just around the stadium talking about the Heisman, talking about their memories, and just getting ready to witness a game between two universities with 14 Heisman trophies between them. And some of the people we talked to had memories that went very far back.
SPEAKER_03What got me to be an SC fan in the beginning was Mike Garrett winning his Heisman. And I've been a Trojan football fanatic since 64.
SPEAKER_19It appears the further you go back with your Heisman memories, the greater the appreciation is for really any Heisman Trophy winner.
SPEAKER_03Well, you know, you gotta appreciate Archie Griffin, you know, back to back. And I hope Caleb will do the same thing. And, you know, him talking about coming back for a third year, it'd be great to have the only three-time Heisman Trophy winner.
SPEAKER_19Of course, Heisman Hope Springs Eternal. Some of the fans we chatted with had been tailgating for several hours that day, so perhaps uh, you know, their memories weren't quite as clear as they could have been.
SPEAKER_13So uh Rich Ross of my favorite non-USC Notre Dame Heisman memory would have to be Charles Woodson in Michigan doing the Heisman pose in the end zone. And I loved it because eventually he became a Raider, being a huge Raiders fan. Just that's the one Raiders jersey I own is a Charles Woodson jersey. So that's my uh favorite non-USC Notre Dame Heisman pose.
SPEAKER_19We didn't have the heart to tell him that it was Desmond Howard who struck the Heisman pose after a punt return against Ohio State back in 1991. Of course, Charles Woodson also had a great punt return in 1997 against Ohio State, so it's an understandable mistake.
SPEAKER_01So what was most impressive, and I hate to say this, but I'm here at the Notre Dame game was Rahid Dijmail watching him play against uh SC. Uh in 91 we had we played USC. We played Notre Dame here in South Bend, and ironically enough, we caused him to fumble on two uh kickoffs or one kickoff that led to an early touchdown. We lost the game. I'm sorry, it's 89. 89. We lost the game, but Marinovich scored a touchdown on that opening drive. So that's my uh that's my lasting member of a non-USC Heisman Motor.
SPEAKER_19The Mandela effect is pretty strong in Heisman history, and this is a great example of it. Ragi Mizmail did not win the Heisman Trophy. He was the runner-up to BYU's Ty Detmer in 1990.
SPEAKER_11I'm 57 years old, so I've been alive for four national championships, but I really only remember the last one was an 88. And it was Tim Brown when he went to Heisman Trophy winner.
SPEAKER_19Oh, I'm sure Tim Brown would have loved to have been on that 1988 team. However, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1987, the year before that national title. Time really can play tricks on you. For example.
SPEAKER_15It was just amazing, you know. And I know a lot of people got a lot of bad things to say about OJ, but I'm gonna talk about the good things because the pass is in the past, and I'm just gonna talk about the good things, and that's my Heisman moment.
SPEAKER_19OJ did play in South Bend in 1967, but he didn't break off a long run. He did break off a long run later in the year against UCLA, but he didn't win the Heisman until 1968. And we'll close things out with a little tribute to the 50th anniversary Heisman Trophy winner, the 1973 Heisman Trophy winner. Well, you know who he is, don't you?
SPEAKER_18Before my time, though, only Heisman winner in Penn State history, John Capoletti. So we need we almost had another one, but only one in Penn State history.
SPEAKER_19So, all right. Hope you enjoyed our little man on the street interviews, and we'll see you next week. The official Heisman Trophy podcast streams every Wednesday during the college football season and is hosted, co-produced, edited, and engineered by Chris Houston. Paul Goldberg is the executive producer and editor. Special shout out to Isaac Boencron, and big thanks to the Heisman Trophy Trust and its executive director, Rob Whalen, and Associate Director Tim Henning. The official Heisman Trophy Podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and anywhere you listen to your favorite podcast. You can also find clips of our show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Just go to Heisman Trophy.
