2022 Heisman Candidates: Early Top Ten Prediction, Watch List

2022 Heisman Candidates: To start speculating early, who should belong on the watch list for the trophy?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Yeah, Bryce Young was on every list of 2021 preseason Heisman candidates, but Kenny Pickett? The guy who didn’t get past 13 touchdown passes in any of his first four years?

DeVonta Smith – a wide receiver? – was going to win the 202 Heisman? NO ONE came close to predicting that, and no, you and nobody else had the first clue that Joe Burrow would have one of the greatest seasons in college football history in his 2019 run.

That’s why we always start any Heisman prediction piece by going with The Field, The Field, The Field.

For every Spencer Rattler of 2021 was a Will Anderson, Kenneth Walker, or Aidan Hutchinson just waiting to pop up and into the race.

Making the 2022 Heisman race even more insane to figure out is that we really don’t know what we don’t know, because …

1. Transfers, transfers, transfers. Not only will a few guys on this list be gone to other spots by the time you’re probably done reading this, but others are going to transfer into sweet gigs with big statistical potential.

2. Draft, draft, draft. Who’s this year’s Kenny Pickett type who’ll stay in school and bet on himself? A whole slew of key players – like Georgia’s JT Daniels – aren’t on this list because we’re just assuming they’re off to the NFL. We’ll do this piece again after all the early entries are set.

3. Coaches, coaches, coaches. Really, who’s going to be Lincoln Riley’s quarterback at USC? Really, what’s Brent Venables going to do at Oklahoma? Will Miami start winging it around? Where will all the star offensive coordinators end up?

The goal is getting the early 2022 Heisman call close to the pin – last year we did have Young at 3; but cheerfully ignore 1 and 2.

2022 Heisman Candidates Watch List: Names On A List As Fliers … Just In Case

Call this the Johnny Manziel/Cam Newton//Joe Burrow/DeVonta Smith base-covering list. These all might seem crazy, but Matt Corral was in this space last year.

It’s in alphabetical order after beginning with …

The Field
Again, if someone offers you The Field, take it. Oh, there’s a 2019 Joe Burrow out there, and we have eight months before next season to find him.

QB Jaxson Dart, Soph. USC
There’s a chance this could be Kedon Slovis’s offense to fly, but there’s a better shot that new head coach Lincoln Riley ends up with Caleb Williams – more on that in a moment – or some other superstar transfer in the Baker, Kyler, Jalen mold. Dart is on this list just in case he turns out to be The Guy.

QB Quinn Ewers, Fr. Undecided
Will he be Steve Sarkisian’s guy at Texas? Will he take over at Texas Tech? More on that with the Red Raiders in a moment. No matter where he ends up, the former superstar get for Ohio State has the talent to be instantly special wherever he goes.

QB Jake Haener, Sr. Fresno State
He was in the transfer portal – the thought was that he’d be off to Washington with former Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer – and then he came back in to be new/old head man Jeff Tedford’s quarterback. This is a straight stat play after throwing for over 3,800 yards and 32 touchdowns. He might put up eye-popping numbers that blow away the 2021 stats.

QB Sam Hartman, Jr. Wake Forest
What, you think this is slowing down? For all of the love and affection given to Kenny Pickett this year in the Heisman race, Hartman was stride-for-stride statistically for stretches before the interceptions kicked in. Throw in the 11 touchdown runs with the 36 touchdown passes and close to 4,000 yards, and the stats will be there.

– Bryce Young wins 2021 Heisman Trophy: He checked all the boxes

QB Hendon Hooker, Sr. Tennessee
Possibly the most underappreciated quarterback in college football over the lsat few years, the former Virginia Tech transfer stepped in at Tennessee – after not getting the job to start the year – and finished with 26 touchdowns passes just three interceptions, and 561 yards and five touchdown runs. He could be a super-senior and take his game up a few notches in the Josh Heupel offense.

RB Mohamed Ibrahim, Sr. Minnesota
At the very least, he might be the feel-good story of 2022 if he comes back to form after tearing his Achilles tendon in the opener against Ohio State. He was crushing the Buckeyes with 163 yards and two scores before getting hurt. If he’s his old self, he’ll be a statistical monster.

QB KJ Jefferson, Jr. Arkansas
Totally overshadowed in a division with Bryce Young, Matt Corral, and Will Rogers, all the 6-3, 245-pound Jefferson did was throw for close to 2,600 yards with 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions, and run for 554 yards and five scores. Now he knows what he’s doing.

QB Devin Leary, Jr. NC State
Leary didn’t air it out quite as much as some of the other ACC stars, but he’ll finally get a little bit of the spotlight after throwing for 3,433 yards and 35 touchdowns with five picks.

QB Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Did Bryce Young lead the SEC in passing? No. Did he lead the SEC in completion percentage – at least among quarterbacks who threw at least 100 passes? No. Did Rogers lead the SEC in both categories, and will he likely blow up the stats in the Mike Leach offense after completing 75% of his throws for 4,451 yards and 35 touchdowns? Probably.

– Top Ten 2022 Heisman Candidates

NEXT: 2022 Heisman Candidates: Top Ten

10. QB Donovan Smith, Soph. Texas Tech

Or Tyler Shough, or possibly Quinn Ewers, or anyone who takes over the Texas Tech quarterback gig.

So you liked that massive season by WKU’s Bailey Zappe – throwing for a nation-best 427 yards per game and 56 touchdowns? Enjoy Texas Tech next year with new head coach Joey McGuire hiring away WKU offensive coordinator Zach Kittley to bring the magic to Lubbock.

Smith is a 6-5, 230-pound mobile baller who looked great at times when thrown into the fire late in the season. However, again, he’s not a sure thing for the job.

If the Red Raider starting quarterback puts up 2020 Zappe numbers in a Power Five conference, he’s in New York in early December.

9. RB Bijan Robinson, Jr. Texas

Talent-wise, there’s no question that Robinson will be the best player on the Texas offense next year, but in the Steve Sarkisian offense he might not be the main man.

Think 2020 Alabama, with Najee Harris sort of being in the Heisman mix, but not enough to push past the other Tide stars.

Robinson ran for 1,127 yards and 11 scores in a rough, banged up season, but again, the talent is undeniable. Like Robinson …

8. RB TreVeyon Henderson, Soph. Ohio State

The problem isn’t talent, and there won’t be an issue with stats and numbers.

Henderson might actually be the best running back in college football, but there’s that quarterback the Buckeyes have who’ll take up most of the Heisman oxygen.

Remember, winning the Heisman requires a whole slew of things to go right. Henderson will be better than his 1,172-yard, 15 touchdown, four-receiving score season, but past Buckeye running backs – at least recently – struggled to get Heisman recognition.

7. RB Sean Tucker, Soph. Syracuse

It’s a flier, but there’s no such thing as a wacky call when it comes to early Heisman calls.

Sean Tucker will lead the nation – at least, the call is that he’ll lead all Power Five running backs – in rushing.

The Orange workhorse came up with close to 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns with two touchdown catches, and that’s even after being held in check against Pitt to end the season.

Pushing for 2,000 yards might not be enough to win it, but he should be a finalist if all goes according to plan.

6. RB Braelon Allen, Soph. Wisconsin

No, if Jonathan Taylor couldn’t win the Heisman, Allen almost certainly won’t, either. That doesn’t mean he can’t be right there in the mix as a finalist.

All it takes is one bad day – think Kenneth Walker against Ohio State – with everyone watching, and that’s it.

In a quarterback world, it’s just too hard to rise up above the pack. Throw in the expected return of Chez Mellusi to take away yards and time, and getting the numbers might be tough. However, if Allen can do what he did over a seven-game stretch after taking over as a freshman, he should be in the discussion.

But enough of the running backs who won’t win …

– Top Five 2022 Heisman Candidates

NEXT: 2022 Heisman Candidates: Top Five

5. DE Will Anderson, Jr. Alabama

Fine, to everyone who yelled at me for not putting the nation’s best pass rusher on my Heisman ballot – technically, I did, but I changed the 2 and 3 spots several times before settling on CJ Stroud and Aidan Hutchinson – you won’t have any problem with your guy getting enough national recognition in 2022.

It’s asking way too much to repeat – or better – the 15.5-sack, 91-tackle, 31.5 tackle-for-loss season, but Chase Young improved at Ohio State in 2019 when he supposedly couldn’t get any better.

Anderson might actually win it if he does that again.

4. QB DJ Uiagalelei, Jr. Clemson

Ohhhhhhhhh, no. It’s not time to assume that the guy with all this talent is just going to be nine-touchdown/nine-interception bad again.

And ohhhhhhhhh, no. You’re not going see any accepted invites here to the national Clemson pity party after all the changes and lost coaches.

You think Clemson is just going to go to stay mediocre? (Which, by the way, mediocre might mean the 2021 team only wins ten games.)

You think that program is going to roll into 2022 without a wee bit of fire and a whole lot of changes?

This might be way wrong, and Uiagalelei might just not have it – there are other options in the Clemson quarterback mix – but let’s take the chance that the guy who hit Notre Dame for 439 yards and two touchdowns in 2020 shows up in 2022.

3. QB Caleb Williams, Soph. Oklahoma

Honesty time. I really, really, really wanted to put Williams on my Heisman ballot, but couldn’t do it – especially with the options I had to leave off.

When he was on his game – like in the Texas Tech win, or in the second halves against Kansas and Texas, or on the final drive against Oklahoma State – he was as good as any player in the 2021 college football season.

Putting him in this spot is splitting the call. If he stays at Oklahoma, he’s in the top five. If he follows Lincoln Riley to USC, he’s No. 1

2. QB Bryce Young, Jr. Alabama

Here’s going to be his problem. He could go 2019 Joe Burrow and throw 60 touchdown passes next year for an unbeaten Alabama team that beats everyone by 50, and there will still be a misguided chunk of the Heisman electorate that won’t want to make him a two-time Heisman winner – just because.

Okay, if he throws 60 touchdowns and Alabama destroys everyone, he’s winning it again. However, as we’ve seen with players who seem like they should be sure-thing repeat winners if all goes well – Tebow, Manziel, Bradford, Leinart – it doesn’t happen.

It doesn’t mean it can’t, but Young’s No. 2 only because it would take something historic to join Archie Griffin.

1. QB CJ Stroud, Soph. Ohio State

Ever since Troy Smith won in 2006 – by the way, put Smith’s Heisman season in 2021 and he’d be 57th in the nation in passing – Ohio State quarterbacks have been close, but they haven’t been able to get over the hump and win the thing.

Justin Fields, Dwayne Haskins, Braxton Miller, JT Barrett – there’s been a lot of talent, and a few finalists.

Assuming there’s a bit of a Bama Heisman-fatigue thing happening, Stroud should be the early odds-on favorite to win.

Ohio State will still be great.

he program will keep churning through NFL-caliber receivers, and Stroud – who would’ve made the 2021 Heisman race very interesting if the Buckeyes beat Michigan and went on to win the Big Ten Championship – should go bananas again after hitting 71% of his throws for 3,862 yards and 38 touchdowns with five picks.

– Predictions of Every Game
– Bowl Previews | Rankings