Heisman Trophy contenders: Noah Fifita, Travis Hunter headline the Big 12's Top 5 candidates in 2024

After a one-year hiatus, college football’s most prestigious award returned to the SEC last season, as LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels was crowned the Heisman Trophy winner after his record-setting season. 

The SEC has taken home the Heisman Trophy in four of the last five seasons, with a former Oklahoma quarterback (Caleb Williams, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield) the other players to win the award since Lamar Jackson in 2016. 

Over the next week, we’ll look at the Top 5 candidates from each Power 5 conference (and Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard). 

This year’s Heisman Trophy race figures to be as wide-open as ever. 

There is no returning winner (unlike the last two seasons) and no obvious frontrunner, either.

There’s a school of thought that the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field could provide more opportunities for players (still mostly QBs) on teams not necessarily in the mix to contend for the Heisman Trophy. With fewer and fewer undefeated teams, there could be a wider net on the pool of candidates. 

Caleb Williams became the first Heisman Trophy winner since Lamar Jackson not to lead his team to the College Football Playoff, and then it happened again with Daniels just last season.

That being said, these projections aim to identify potential candidates who have a somewhat-realistic case to contend for the award. Rarely, if ever, will a defensive player merit mention — not because stars like Caleb Downs or James Pearce aren’t worthy but Heisman Trophy voters have shown a complete refusal to even seriously consider defensive talent in recent seasons.

It was just two years ago that Will Anderson didn’t even net an invite to New York City after posing a season with over 33 tackles for loss and 17 sacks.

I debuted the series with the SEC, and then took a look at the top candidates from the Big Ten and ACC. We wrap up the power conferences with the best Heisman Trophy contenders from the Big 12. 

The Big 12’s Top 5 Heisman Trophy contenders in 2024:

1. QB Noah Fifita, Arizona 

The Wildcats’ star had the best freshman season of any quarterback in 2023, throwing for 25 touchdown passes and completing 73% of his passes despite starting just nine games. He and his best friend/top target Tetairoa McMillan then chose to stay at Arizona, opting not to follow head coach Jedd Fisch to Washington. 

After leading the Wildcats to a 10-win season in 2023, Fifita is looking to pilot the program to a Big 12 title in their first year in the conference. If he manages to pull that off (which would mean needing to beat teams like Kansas, Oklahoma State and Utah), Fifita could become the first Arizona player to ever be invited to NYC for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

2. DB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado

Hunter won the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in college football in 2023, playing both ways for the Buffs as the team’s best individual talent. The former 5-star recruit has the story (spurning Florida State to play for HBCU Jackson State) and career arc (following Deion Sanders to Colorado and playing the most snaps of any player in the country in 2023) that will draw the attention of plenty of award voters. 

If Hunter 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) + Colorado manages to exceed expectations, then he could be the exact type of outlier candidate (see: Charles Woodson, only more explosive) who emerges as a popular darkhorse choice.

3. QB Jalon Daniels, Kansas

Could a Kansas Jayhawks player seriously contend for the Heisman Trophy? It’s not impossible in 2024! Obviously, Jalon Daniels has to stay healthy after averaging just over six starts a year the last four seasons. But when available, the preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year has been a fun talent who helped bring Kansas’ program back from the dead. 

The Jayhawks won nine games in 2023, and are one of the preseason favorites to compete for a conference championship in the new-look Big 12 this fall. If Daniels leads the program to glory — a ticket to their first-ever Big 12 title game — then he’d be a shoe in to at least make it to NYC — especially considering Kansas would be just three years removed from winning three or fewer games for 12 straight seasons. 

4. QB Avery Johnson, Kansas State

The Wildcats’ longhaired stallion has a similar path to New York City as Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava. Like the Vols’ young quarterback, Johnson has just one career start in K-State’s bowl win last season, but he’s an electric talent that has drawn real comps to Lamar Jackson (12 total touchdowns in spot duty in 2023). 

Kansas State willingly let Will Howard walk out of the building to Ohio State because the program believes in Johnson’s tremendous upside. He’s going to produce plenty of ‘WOW’ highlights — both as a runner and passer in 2024. If the Wildcats make a run for the conference championship, then Johnson could emerge as a real sleeper candidate in his sophomore season.

5. RB Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State

Gordon was a little-used sophomore tailback three games into the 2023 season before he exploded onto the scene and became the best ‘back in the country by season’s end. He finished the year with 1,732 yards (second-most nationally) and 21 touchdowns, recording nine games with over 100 yards. 

The Cowboys brought in some running back insurance to ease Gordon’s load in 2024, but there’s little doubt the Pokes still plan to ride their workhorse star. If Gordon, who will get to run behind the most veteran offensive line in the country this fall, comes anywhere near 2,000 yards and carries Oklahoma State to a Big 12 Championship, then I’m not sure another running back in the country has a better shot at winning the Heisman Trophy.

WILD CARD CANDIDATES

Shedeur Sanders has a better shot at becoming the first quarterback off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft than winning the Heisman Trophy  — mainly because Colorado simply is unlikely to win enough games for Deion’s son to merit serious consideration. 

But Shedeur Sanders bears mentioning because of his popularity and notoriety, which at least puts him in the preseason conversation after his debut FBS season with 3,230 passing yards and 27 touchdowns. 

Conversely, Utah’s Cam Rising might not have the stats to warrant the top award but if he returns from missing the entire 2023 season with a knee injury and leads the Utes to a third conference championship in three years as the team’s starting quarterback, then CFB’s graybeard will garner some feel-good votes.