Heisman Trophy: Who will win college football's highest honor in 2022?
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young will be the latest to make a run at college football immortality as the second two-time Heisman Trophy winner, joining former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin.
But that he took home this year's Heisman doesn't necessarily make Young the favorite to do so again in 2022 — in fact, the results since Griffin's second win in 1975 tell us that Young is facing a very uphill battle heading into what may be his final season with the Crimson Tide.
He still leads the way in an early look at next year's Heisman race. (The list of contenders does not include players who have already declared for the NFL, such as Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral, and players who seem likely to forgo another season or two of eligibility and follow suit.)
QB Bryce Young, Alabama
He earned this year's Heisman with consistency and a great close to the regular season. Next year's offense will lose a superb left tackle in Evan Neal and will need to do another slight rebuild at the skill positions, but the starting lineup should include multiple seniors and be far more experienced than in Young's first season as the starter.
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QB C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
The numbers will only get Stroud so far, as we saw down the stretch of the regular season. He'll probably be just as productive in 2022, if not more so, even as the Buckeyes lose star receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave to the NFL. (Returning receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba might be a Heisman candidate in his own right.) But Ohio State needs to win the Big Ten and get back to the playoff to put Stroud on top.
QB Caleb Williams, Oklahoma
Williams will enter next season with enormous name recognition after spending a few midseason weeks as the talk of college football. Being a household name may only get him so far. There are some major questions about the future of Oklahoma's offense without coach Lincoln Riley and just how strong his supporting cast will be given the rash of transfers and lost verbal commitments since Riley left for Southern California.
LB Will Anderson, Alabama
Anderson just missed being a finalist for this year's Heisman despite leading the Football Bowl Subdivision during the regular season in tackles for loss and sacks. There's no doubt he'll start 2022 in the top five of every Heisman list as the defender most likely to make a run at the honor.
RB Bijan Robinson, Texas
Robinson was one of only a few bright spots during coach Steve Sarkisian's miserable debut season. Whether the sophomore factors into the Heisman race depends on what sort of growth Texas and the offense makes during a crucial offseason. If Sarkisian can identify a permanent starting quarterback and take the next step in a roster rebuild, Robinson has the ability to run for 1,500 yards with another 500 yards as a receiver.
RB Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State
Robinson may not be the best option at running back coming out of the Big 12, however. The one reliable piece of Kansas State's offense in each of the last two seasons, Vaughn went over 1,000 rushing yards during the regular season and is leading the Wildcats in receptions for the second straight year. There's a matter of getting his team into New Year's Six consideration, but Vaughn's numbers may speak for themselves.
QB Tyler Van Dyke, Miami (Fla.)
With 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions, Van Dyke quietly put together an outstanding freshman season during a tumultuous year for the Hurricanes. With at least three touchdowns in each of his last six starts, Van Dyke will roll into the offseason as the face of the team under new coach Mario Cristobal. With Kenny Pickett and Sam Howell off to the NFL, there's a void to fill atop the list of ACC quarterbacks.
RB Will Shipley, Clemson
Shipley will have to do more as a receiver to work his way into the top tier of Heisman contenders. There's also the question of how Clemson's offense will look amid the possibility of some schematic tweaks after a down season. But he's a gifted runner who nearly carried Clemson's offense on his back as a freshman; with nothing working in the passing game, Shipley went over the 100-yard mark three times during the Tigers' five-game winning streak to end the regular season.
RB Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
Allen is the next super-productive Wisconsin back, following in the footsteps of more than a generation of runners to crack the 1,000-yard mark. Recruited as a safety by most programs and only 17 years old as a freshman after reclassifying into the 2021 class, Allen went for 1,109 yards and 12 scores on 7.1 yards per carry during the regular season despite carrying the ball just 12 times in Wisconsin's first four games.
WR Wan'Dale Robinson, Kentucky
Getting quarterback Will Levis to turn down the NFL and return in 2022 would be huge for Robinson's Heisman chances. (Levis may take that leap given how his stock soared during his one year with the Wildcats.) The former Nebraska transfer flourished in a role more suited to his size and skill set, setting a new single-season program record with 94 receptions and counting as the Wildcats averaged more than 30 points per game for the first time since 2010.
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg