College football is right around the corner and the Heisman Trophy watch is already on. After LSU's Jayden Daniels won the award in 2023, a quarterback has now the award three years in a row. Daniels was also the second straight winner from a non-playoff team.
That most likely won't be the case this season as the College Football Playoff expands to 12 programs. What does that mean more broadly for the Heisman? Additional big games for players to make a statement.
Here are five players who look primed to be in contention for college football's most prestigious award.
Ewers led Texas to the CFP in 2023 and now leads the Longhorns into the SEC. Last season, he completed 69 percent of his passes for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. Ewers has one of the best offensive lines in the country protecting him and he'll be throwing to a deep roster of pass catchers. Ewers and the Longhorns have some mega matchups to watch, including Sept. 7 at Michigan and Oct. 19 against Georgia.
Speaking of Georgia, Carson Beck got his opportunity last season and made the most of it. The redshirt junior posted 24 touchdowns and six interceptions with 3,941 yards. He completed 72 percent of his passes. His numbers were just a hair better than Ewers', which means this should be a fun SEC quarterback matchup to watch.
Milroe and the Tide are now under new head coach Kalen DeBoer after Nick Saban's retirement. But the dual-threat quarterback should be just as difficult to stop in 2024. Last season, he passed for 2,834 yards and 23 touchdowns, while running for 531 yards and 12 touchdowns. Milroe will most likely be throwing the ball more under DeBoer.
The fourth SEC quarterback on this list is Dart, who is primed for a big season under head coach Lane Kiffin. As a junior, Dart threw for 3,364 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 65 percent of his passes. Ole Miss brought in the top transfer class in the nation and is hoping to fight its way into the SEC championship game. Dart will have plenty of chances to prove himself worthy of the Heisman, but none bigger than Nov. 9 when Georgia comes to town.
There are other quarterbacks who could be on this list, but for the sake of diversity, Hunter is the top Heisman candidate who is not a QB. The do-it-all Colorado Buffalo played only nine games last season, but caught 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns on offense. On the defensive side of the ball, he made 30 tackles with three interceptions. A full season of that production and voters are going to have to give him a hard look to go to New York.
More must-reads:
Archie Wilson came all the way from Australia to play football at Nebraska, and the freshman punter is admittedly feeling a bit homesick. Wilson recently enrolled at Nebraska after growing up in Victoria, Australia, and playing a different brand of football. The 18-year-old spoke with the media for the first time on Tuesday, and he was asked about his family back home. Wilson became overwhelmed with emotion. "I love them a lot. I've got two little brothers and my mom and dad ... yeah, that's the tough part about being here," Wilson said. "I love them a lot, but they know this is what's best for me, and it's good I can still talk to them plenty over the phone, and they're coming here to see the first few games, so I'm looking forward to that." Wilson is a rugby-style punter who trained at Prokick Australia, which is a program that trains Australian athletes to become punters and kickers in American football. Several current NFL players and Division I student-athletes came from Australia and trained with Prokick. Nebraska will have a new starting punter this season after three-year starter Brian Buschini graduated, and Wilson is competing for the job.
The Green Bay Packers have a cause for concern with Jordan Love in the preseason. The quarterback suffered a thumb injury during the Packers' 30-10 loss to the New York Jets on Saturday. Love went 1-of-5 passing for seven yards and took a sack for -3 yards in the defeat. Both of his drives ended in punts. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Love is set to have surgery on his thumb after seeing how it held up at practice on Monday. General manager Brian Gutekunst believes Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. "Gutekunst sounded adamant that Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Lions," Schneidman wrote. "Hit his left hand on a helmet on that half-scramble vs. Jets. Wanted to see how it felt at practice yesterday and decided to get it fixed to avoid future issues. Will be with team in Indianapolis. "Brian Gutekunst says Jordan Love is having a procedure done on his left thumb. It’s a 'ligament thing.' Hurt it in the preseason opener. Gutekunst hopes he returns to practice next week." The injury comes at an inopportune time for the Packers. Love and the majority of his receivers have not been in sync during training camp and in the preseason game. Like last season, Packers' receivers have dropped passes during practices and did so in the preseason opener against the Jets. Green Bay needs Love on the field, gaining chemistry with his pass-catching targets, including first-round pick Matthew Golden, before it plays the Lions.
Jon Gruden sent another warning shot toward the NFL after scoring a major win in court. On Tuesday, Gruden welcomed a ruling that will force the NFL to litigate the circumstances of his firing in court rather than closed-door arbitration. The former Las Vegas Raiders coach made it clear that he intends to continue his legal challenge to the NFL, ensuring that they are held accountable. “I’m looking forward to having the truth come out, and I want to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Gruden said in a statement provided to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. “The league’s actions disrupted the whole season. We were leading the division at the time and they completely blindsided me and the team.” The Raiders were 3-1 in 2021 when Gruden was forced to resign after offensive emails he had sent between 2011 and 2018 were leaked. Gruden has alleged that the NFL leaked the emails to force him out of a job after obtaining them during an investigation into the Washington Commanders. The NFL is set to appeal Monday’s ruling, but if that appeal fails, the league may be forced into public discovery. One alternative would be to offer Gruden a settlement, but he has not said whether or not he would be interested in such a resolution. Gruden has not held an NFL coaching job since the Raiders forced him out. He has recently spoken about possibly making a return to coaching at the college level.
New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel raised some questions Monday with his cryptic comment about wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Diggs did not play in Friday’s preseason opener against the Washington Commanders, but the move did not attract much attention. Diggs is still coming back from a torn ACL, and the presumption was that the Patriots were not yet ready to risk the wide receiver in game action. Vrabel, however, opened the door to more speculation when asked about Diggs’ absence Monday on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “Coach’s decision,” Vrabel said, via Karen Guregian of MassLive. Diggs appeared to be on shaky footing with the Patriots in May, when he was filmed flashing a pink substance on a party boat. Vrabel indicated he was not thrilled with Diggs after that, but those negative feelings seemed to have faded within a few weeks. Diggs was a full participant in Monday’s practice, so there does not appear to be a new injury in play. Realistically, this is probably nothing, but considering the earlier controversy with Diggs, Vrabel’s answer will raise some eyebrows. The Patriots signed Diggs to a three-year, $63.5 million contract in March, hoping he would provide a veteran weapon for QB Drake Maye.
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!