The Replacements

When LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier takes the field against USC on September 1, he’ll have some big shoes to fill.

So will USC quarterback Miller Moss

As it turns out, both signal callers have been tabbed to replace Heisman Trophy winners. Nussmeier takes over for last year’s winner, Jaden Daniels, while Moss steps in for 2023 winner Caleb Williams.

And they’ll christen their new starting roles by facing each other in Las Vegas!

Talk about pressure.

It’s not an easy task taking over for a college football legend, so it’s understandable that some have handled it better than others over the years. Three Heisman replacements did manage to win a national title in their first year taking over as a starter, but only Murray was able to win the Heisman itself (another two did go on to win Heismans in their own right in subsequent seasons).

Here’s a year-by-year look at how replacements fared in the seasons after taking over for their Heisman predecessors. Due to the unreliability of some early statistics, we only go back to 1960 with this chart:

* = won Heisman later in career