2024 Heisman Trophy Watchlist: Breaking down the Top 25 contenders

Who will win the 2024 Heisman Trophy?

It’s a fascinating question for the nation’s most prestigious award because there’s no returning winner for the first time in three years — and no obvious frontrunner, either. 

The 2024 Heisman Trophy race figures to be as wide-open as ever with the introduction of the 12-team playoff. More teams in the hunt means more opportunities for “Heisman moments” late in the year. 

So who will steal the spotlight?

Earlier this offseason, I broke down the (most logical and viable) Top 5 candidates from each power conference (and Notre Dame). I then released my Top 10 overall candidates. 

The SEC’s Top 5 candidates
The Big Ten’s Top 5 candidates
The ACC/Notre Dame’s Top 5 candidates
The Big 12’s Top 5 candidates
The Top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates

But those lists were subjective. 

Using Fan Duel’s latest odds, here are 25 candidates for the award for the On3 Heisman Trophy Watchlist in 2024.

THE FAVORITES 

QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
QB Carson Beck, Georgia
QB Quinn Ewers, Texas
QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama
QB Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss

The Top 5 contenders in terms of odds are a quintet of quarterbacks on potential College Football Playoff contenders. All five quarterbacks will have ample opportunities in the national spotlight — oftentimes against one another. Gabriel, now at his third school, will look to become the sixth former transfer in the last eight years to win the Heisman Trophy. Dart is looking to lead the Rebels to their first SEC Championship Game, while Ewers hopes to make a splashy introduction into the SEC. Beck and Milroe could both put up monster numbers (albeit quite differently) in top-flight offenses.

THE TRANSFERS

QB Will Howard, Ohio State
QB Cam Ward, Miami
QB Riley Leonard, Notre Dame
QB DJ Uiagalelei, Florida State

As previously mentioned, transfer quarterbacks have fared quite well lately winning the Heisman Trophy. 2024 could be no different. Gabriel is the favorite with the No. 1 odds nationally, but Howard is a legitimate contender playing quarterback for The Ohio State University — perhaps the favorite to win the national championship this fall. If Leonard leads the Irish to a story season he’ll be a shoe-in for an invite to New York City. Same if Ward has a big season leading Miami back to national relevancy. Uiagalelei is more of a longshot due to the unlikelihood he posts gaudy stats in Florida State’s run-heavy offense this fall, but he bears mentioning as the starting quarterback on the ACC frontrunner and CFP hopeful. 

THE YEAR 2 QBs

QB Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee
QB Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma
QB Avery Johnson, Kansas State

The trio of former 5-star quarterbacks are set to make their debut as starters in offenses specifically designed to accentuate their electric talents. Bryce Young won the award as a sophomore in 2021, and with the 12-team playoff this fall, could we see a Johnny Manziel 2.0 season from Iamaleava or Arnold? 

THE LONG-SHOT SLEEPERS

QB Brady Cook, Missouri
QB Noah Fifita, Arizona 
QB Drew Allar, Penn State
QB Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
QB Jalon Daniels, Kansas
QB Cam Rising, Utah
QB Connor Weigman, Texas A&M
QB Miller Moss, USC

This is a bit of a hodgepodge group of quarterbacks, but all eight starters have various narrative paths to potential candidacies this fall. Cook and Allar both led CFP contenders, while Fifita and Daniels will post impressive numbers on a couple of Big 12 favorites. Could LSU produce a third Heisman Trophy winner in six years? Highly doubtful, but Nussmeier will be relied on heavily to replace Jayden Daniels’ insane production. Weigman is a former 5-star who has struggled to stay healthy, but what if everything clicks for the Aggies’ quarterback this fall and he leads Texas A&M on a surprising playoff chase? Lastly, Moss might not even hold onto USC’s starting job, but having a watchlist of candidates and not putting a Lincoln Riley quarterback on it would be a dereliction of duties. 

THE PLAYMAKERS

WR Luther Burden, Missouri 
RB Ollie Gordon, Oklahoma State
RB Donovan Edwards, Michigan 

Quarterbacks have won 21 of the last 25 awards — and famously zero defensive players have taken home the trophy since Charles Woodson in 1997. Texas backup quarterback Arch Manning has the same odds (+1200) as Ohio State edge Jack Tuttle — the top “defensive candidate,” per Fan Duel. Still, it’s improbable — but not impossible — that a tantalizing talent like Burden makes so many plays that he steals the show from his teammate Brady Cook. A running back faces a real uphill battle to win the award with modern offenses focusing on the passing game, so Gordon or Edwards would need to lead their teams to a conference championship with a 2,000-yard season.

THE BUFFS’ DUO

QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado 
WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado

Finally, Colorado’s duo belongs in their own category. While Shedeur Sanders is seen as a “preseason favorite” by many, his odds reflect a much different reality. The Buffs’ quarterback has the same odds (+4000) as Fifita and Moss. He could put up a great statistical season again in 2024, but if Colorado is simply a fringe bowl team, then Sanders has no legitimate shot at winning the trophy. 

However, there’s at least an interesting pathway for Travis Hunter to be in contention late in year — even if the Buffs are a so-so team. The sport’s most versatile player (he won the Paul Hornung Award in 2023) will play more snaps than anyone in the country and if he produces a superstar season as both a receiver (where he had 57 catches and five touchdowns last season) and corner (three picks and five pass breakups) then he could be a popular outlier candidate and a darkhorse contender.