Top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates 2022: Can Bryce Young repeat?
Bryce Young ran away with the Heisman Trophy this season but, as he returns for the 2022 season, can he repeat as the winner among the other candidates?
On Saturday night, what college football fans have known for at least a week — if not longer — was made official as Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young was awarded the Heisman Trophy, beating out C.J. Stroud (Ohio State), Kenny Pickett (Pitt), and Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) to win the prestigious honor.
But while Young is the second straight Alabama player to hoist the Heisman Trophy, it’s impossible not to already be looking ahead to next season. First and foremost, many are wondering if the Crimson Tide signal-caller can become only the second player to win the award twice, joining Archie Griffin in that elite company.
Bryce Young will surely enter next season as the Heisman Trophy favorite. However, he won’t just be given the award. And these are the 10 candidates, including Young, who will enter the 2022 season as Heisman candidates to watch.
Heisman Trophy candidates: Top 10 players in the running for 2022
10. D.J. Uiagalelei, Spencer Rattler, Dillon Gabriel (QBs in new situations)
We’re starting off this list of potential candidates with a threesome of quarterbacks who will be entering new situations and how things play out regarding that could determine their candidacy for this award.
First, we have D.J. Uiagalelei, who will be at Clemson again. However, after he and the Tigers are coming off of a down year, they now have to go into the 2022 season with a new offensive coordinator (and defensive coordinator, for that matter). Subsequently, we’ll have to see how that affects the big-armed young quarterback.
Spencer Rattler and Dillon Gabriel, however, do not know where they’ll be playing next year. Their talent is obvious but the situation they fall into could determine their own candidacy. For Gabriel, landing with Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss would have to immediately vault him heavily into the Heisman conversation. As for Rattler, it remains to be seen where he’ll land but, if he goes somewhere with the right mix of coaching and program success, he to could finally live up to expectations.
9. Jaxson Dart, QB, USC
Lincoln Riley quarterbacks getting put into the Heisman Trophy conversation — stop me if you’ve heard that one before.
The 2022 season will be year one of Riley at the helm of the USC Trojans and, as of right now, it appears that rising sophomore Jaxson Dart will be his quarterback. And when you look at what he did without the new head coach guiding the offense as a true freshman, it’d be hard not to think that Dart has tremendous upside under a new regime.
Battling injuries and in a competition, Dart played in six games this past season, throwing for 1,353 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions in addition to notching two rushing scores as well. But he passed the eye test from a talent perspective and, with Riley guiding him, he could be in line to accomplish special things.