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The countdown to the college football season has reached single digits, and while we haven’t seen a down played yet, there are some early returning favorites to win college football’s most prestigious award.
Last year, Alabama Crimson Tide QB Bryce Young took home the Heisman Trophy, and as he returns for a third year in Tuscaloosa, he’s high in the preseason running. Let’s take a look at who else might be the best player in college football in 2022.
2022 Heisman Trophy preseason odds
Favorites
Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud leads the odds for the Heisman at +220, with Alabama’s Young shortly behind at +380 and USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams with the third-best odds at +700.
The Heisman voters love a quarterback and at these three flagship programs, all of which have good chances of making the CFP, all three will have plenty of opportunities to showcase their talent against tough opponents.
Only one player has ever won the award twice (Ohio State’s Archie Griffin, 1974-75), so a back-to-back win for Young would make history. Stroud has arguably the best slate of running backs and wide receivers in the NCAA downfield, and Williams’ move to USC with his former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley has all the makings of a comeback to the national stage for the Trojans.
Last season, Williams threw for 1,915 yards and 21 touchdowns after coming in midseason to replace Spencer Rattler. Stroud threw for over 4,000 yards and 44 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman.
Pick: USC’s Caleb Williams. He’s at +700 right now because of the unknowns going into USC’s season with a new head coach and a lot of transfer portal pickups filling the roster, but his raw talent combined with Riley’s coaching and USC’s resources and opponents should let him put on a masterclass during the 2022 season.
Sleepers
Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson is coming into the season at +3500, and the RB position has a lot of potential to individually shine as opposed to wide receivers, who share half the credit with their QBs. Henderson is going to be an absolute force this season if he can avoid injury, and he’s one of my favorite dark horse candidates.
There’s also the Texas issue for sleeper candidates. QB Quinn Ewers and RB Bijan Robinson have the much larger “can Texas actually win” question mark hanging over their heads, but if the Longhorns can finally settle back into consistent success, Ewers at +3500 and Robinson at +2200 might just find their names on the ballot come December.
Pick: It has to be Henderson out of the sleepers. Ohio State is going to be a real threat this year with Stroud in his second year. While the Buckeyes have a talented wide receiver class, they also lost a few starters in that position, which will give Henderson the chance to shine this season.
Here is the complete list of odds for the 2022 Heisman Trophy from DraftKings Sportsbook:
2022 Heisman Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Player | Odds |
| CJ Stroud | +220 |
| Bryce Young | +380 |
| Caleb Williams | +700 |
| Will Anderson Jr. | +1600 |
| Bijan Robinson | +2200 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | +2500 |
| Dillon Gabriel | +3000 |
| Quinn Ewers | +3500 |
| TreVeyon Henderson | +3500 |
| Tyler Van Dyke | +3500 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | +3500 |
| Hendon Hooker | +4000 |
| Anthony Richardson | +4000 |
| DJ Uiagalelei | +4500 |
| Will Levis | +5000 |
| Devin Leary | +5000 |
| Spencer Rattler | +5500 |
| Cade Klubnik | +6000 |
| Malik Cunningham | +6000 |
| Devon Achane | +6000 |
| Cameron Rising | +6000 |
| Braelon Allen | +6000 |
| Kedon Slovis | +7000 |
| Will Rogers | +7000 |
| KJ Jefferson | +7000 |
| Tyler Buchner | +7000 |
| Jaxson Dart | +7000 |
| Max Johnson | +7000 |
| Dorian Thompson-Robinson | +8000 |
| Jase McClellan | +8000 |
| Jayden Daniels | +8000 |
| Jack Miller III | +8000 |
| Phil Jurkovec | +8000 |
| Bo Nix | +8000 |
| JT Daniels | +8000 |
| Jordan Addison | +8000 |
| Stetson Bennett IV | +8000 |
| Aidan O'Connell | +9000 |
| Travis Dye | +9000 |
| JJ McCarthy | +9000 |
| Kendall Milton | +10000 |
| Casey Thompson | +10000 |
| Cameron Ward | +10000 |
| Sean Clifford | +10000 |
| Blake Corum | +10000 |
| Jake Haener | +10000 |
| Tank Bigsby | +10000 |
| Spencer Sanders | +10000 |
| Luke Altmyer | +10000 |
| Chris Rodriguez Jr. | +10000 |
| Haynes King | +10000 |
| Jaren Hall | +10000 |
| Grayson McCall | +10000 |
| Will Shipley | +10000 |
| Mohamed Ibrahim | +10000 |
| Brennan Armstrong | +10000 |
| Marvin Harrison Jr. | +12000 |
| Conner Weigman | +12000 |
| Brock Bowers | +12000 |
| Deuce Vaughn | +15000 |
| Cade McNamara | +15000 |
| Israel Abanikanda | +15000 |
| Zach Calzada | +15000 |
| Blake Shapen | +15000 |
| Taulia Tagovailoa | +15000 |
| Michael Mayer | +15000 |
| Tyler Shough | +15000 |
| Michael Penix Jr. | +15000 |
| Adrian Martinez | +15000 |
| Drew Pyne | +15000 |
| Zach Evans | +15000 |
| Jarek Broussard | +15000 |
| Donovan Edwards | +15000 |
| Kayshon Boutte | +15000 |
| Sean Tucker | +18000 |
| Payton Thorne | +18000 |
| Zach Charbonnet | +20000 |
| Gerry Bohanon | +20000 |
| Jayden Reed | +20000 |
| Emory Jones | +20000 |
| Noah Sewell | +20000 |
| Tanner McKee | +20000 |
| Clayton Tune | +20000 |
| Lyn-J Dixon | +20000 |
| Marvin Mims | +20000 |
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