Alabama QB Bryce Young returns in 2022 to defend his Heisman Trophy win from a year ago. He is not the overall favorite to win it again, which makes sense since there has only been one repeat winner in the award’s history.
As is typical, most of the favorites on the board are quarterbacks. The last non-QB was Alabama running back Derrick Henry who won the award in 2015. Henry and fellow Crimson Tide RB Mark Ingram are the only two non-QB Heisman winners since 2005.
Could a player other than a quarterback win the award this season? Could Young become the second repeat Heisman winner? Anything is possible. Here is a look at the 2022 Heisman Trophy favorites.
Young Not the Favorite
Ohio State RB Archie Griffin is the only player to ever win consecutive Heisman Trophies and he accomplished that feat back in the 1970s. More recently, guys like Jameis Winston and Lamar Jackson had the opportunities to repeat but did not. That history, plus some other worthy candidates, is why Young is not at the top of the board.
That honor belongs to Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud who is coming off an incredible season of his own. Like Young, it was also Stroud’s redshirt freshman season. He wound up throwing for 4,435 yards and 44 touchdowns last season. He capped it off with a record-setting performance – 37-for-46, 573 yards, 6 TDs – in the Rose Bowl win over Utah.
Stroud tops a talented betting board at +200. Young follows him at +350. Young’s Crimson Tide is the favorite to win this year’s national championship. What Young will not have in 2022 is receivers Jameson Williams and John Metchie III. When they were on the field, Alabama averaged 8.7 yards per dropback. When they were not on the field, that number dropped to 6.4. Young has no returning receivers with more than 250 receiving yards last year.
New USC QB
Caleb Williams followed his head coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to USC in the offseason. Big things are expected from Williams who took over the Sooners starting job from Spencer Rattler, who ended up transferring to South Carolina. Williams will have to improve over his play late last season though.
Williams was amazing in his first four games as the primary quarterback – 73 percent completion rate, over 15 yards per completion, and a 211.7 QB rating. Then, in his last four games of the season, his completion rate dropped to 57 percent, he averaged 12.5 yards per completion, and his QB rating dropped to 133.2. If not for that poor play at the end of the season, Williams might be listed better than his current +800.
The Non-QB
No other player is given better than Williams’ +800 odds. Texas RB Bijan Robinson is next on the board at +1600. Robinson (6-0, 221) ran for 1,127 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He will be the focal point of the Longhorns’ offense this season and he’ll have QB Quinn Ewers running the show. That could help him as he tries to become the first non-QB Heisman winner since Henry in 2015.
The Rest of the Field
Ewers is actually on the board at +2000. He is one of four players listed at +2000. Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson had better numbers – 1,248 yards, 15 TDs – than Robinson last year. Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei struggled early in his first full season as the Tigers’ starter. He should be better in 2022. Florida QB Anthony Richardson will be the guy for the Gators this season. Florida has a new head coach in Billy Napier and the new offense will showcase Richardson’s talents.