Who can challenge Alabama’s Young for Heisman?
Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud have been friends since middle school, competing in basketball and football while growing up in Southern California.
Young already can claim one victory against Stroud, winning the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night over his fellow finalist.
The two quarterbacks will return to college in 2022 and resume the competition from afar.
Young is the fifth sophomore to win the Heisman and sixth player in his second year of college. Stroud is a secondyear player and first-year starter, like Young, but a redshirt freshman by eligibility.
In 2022, Young will try to become just the second player to win two Heismans. Ohio State running back Archie Griffin is the only two-time winner of college football’s top player award, taking it home in 1974 and ’75.
Back then, the Heisman was dominated by seniors, so it was rare to have a returning winner in college football. That has changed over the past two decades. In 2007, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win the award. The next two winners (Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Alabama’s Mark Ingram) also were sophomores.
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel was the first redshirt freshman to win the Heisman, in 2012, and Jameis Winston of Florida State matched the feat the following year. Louisville’s Lamar Jackson also was a sophomore when he won the Heisman in 2016.
History suggest the odds are against Young repeating. Or maybe college football is due for another two-time Heisman winner. Expect Stroud to be a contender, too. But who else will go into 2022 with Heisman hype?
Caleb Williams, QB, Oklahoma:
The five-star prospect signed up to play with Lincoln Riley, who is now at USC. With the new NCAA transfer rules, the first question is: Does he stay? And can Oklahoma continue to be a Heisman factory without Riley, who coached winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray?
Jaxson Dart, QB, USC: Riley’s new quarterback was thrust into a starting role as a freshman and showed promise on a team that wasn’t very good but is poised to rebound under Riley.
Braelon Allen, running back, Wisconsin:
The Badgers’ runners usually get the combination of opportunity and team success to make it into the Heisman conversation. After barely seeing the field in Wisconsin’s first four games, he ended up running for 1,106 yards at 7.06 yards per carry.
Sean Tucker, running back, Syracuse: Tucker carried a limited Orange offense this season, with 1,751 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns.
Will Anderson Jr., linebacker, Alabama: Anderson put up 15.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss this season.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, wide receiver, Ohio State: SmithNjigba led a team with two possible first-round NFL draft-pick receivers in catches (80) and yards receiving (1,259).
Briefly: Five-star recruit Quinn Ewers, who skipped his senior year of high school to enroll at Ohio State in the hopes of cashing in on endorsement deals, has committed to transfer to Texas. He originally committed to the Longhorns before his junior year at Southlake Carroll High School, outside Dallas . ... Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, a three-year starter, said in a video posted to Instagram on Sunday that he plans to leave Auburn as a graduate transfer.