Notes For Heisman Eve

The four finalists for the 88th Heisman Trophy spent Friday — AKA Heisman Eve — in New York City, which included a press conference with members of the college football media landscape and a trip up to the 1200-foot observation deck of The Edge in Hudson Yards.

Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, TCU’s Max Duggan, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and USC’s Caleb Williams are all one more sleep away from finding out if they’ll be the next Heisman Trophy winner.

As such, below is a list of “What-If” notes if each were to be named the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner. Depending on who wins, here is what it will mean (listed alphabetically).

Stetson Bennett (Georgia)

If he wins the Heisman …

• He would be Georgia’s third winner, joining Frank Sinkwich (1942) and Herschel Walker (1982). 

• He would be the 34th Heisman winner from the Southeastern Conference and the fourth in a row following Bryce Young (2021), DeVonta Smith (2020) and Joe Burrow (2019).

• He would be the 19th quarterback in the last 22 years to win the Heisman and the 38th overall.

• He would be only the third senior to win the Heisman since 2006.

• He would be the ninth Heisman winner to take part in the College Football Playoff, joining Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Derrick Henry, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Burrow, Smith and Young.

• He would join Miami’s Gino Torretta (’92) as one of two Heisman winners to wear the number 13 on his jersey.

• He would be the second player to win the Heisman after starting his college career as a walk-on (non-scholarship) athlete.

If he finishes second or third …
… A second-place finish would be Georgia’s first since Walker in 1981. A second- or third-place finish would also be Georgia’s best finish since Garrison Hearst was third in 1992. 

He is the second player to be named a Heisman finalist after starting his college career as a walk-on (non-scholarship) player.

Max Duggan, QB, TCU

If he wins the Heisman …

• He would be TCU’s second winner, joining Davey O’Brien (1938).

• It would be the first Heisman Trophy for a player from a school in the Big-12 since Murray (2018) and the 13th overall.

• He would be the 19th quarterback in the last 22 years to win the Heisman and the 38th overall.

• He would be only the third senior to win the Heisman since 2006.

• He would be the ninth Heisman winner to take part in the College Football Playoff, joining Winston, Mariota, Henry, Mayfield, Murray, Burrow, Smith and Young.

• He would join Tim Tebow as one of two Heisman winners to wear the number 15.

If he finishes second… 

He would be TCU’s highest finisher since HB Jim Swink in 1955.

If he finishes third or fourth… 

He would be TCU’s highest finisher since QB Trevone Boykin was fourth in 2014. RB LaDainian Tomlinson was also fourth in 2000. 

C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State

If he wins the Heisman …

• Stroud would win Ohio State’s eighth Heisman Trophy, be its seventh Heisman winner overall and its first winner since Troy Smith (2006). He would join Buckeye winners Les Horvath (1944), Vic Janowicz (1950), Howard Cassady (1955), Archie Griffin (1974-75), Eddie George (1995) and Smith.

• He would be the first Big Ten player to win since Smith.

• It would be the 16th Heisman won by a player on a current Big Ten school.
• He would be the 21st junior to win and the first since Kyler Murray in 2018.

• He would be the 19th quarterback in the last 22 years to win the Heisman and the 38th overall.

• He would be the ninth Heisman winner to take part in the College Football Playoff, joining Winston, Mariota, Henry, Mayfield, Murray, Burrow, Smith and Young.

• He would be the fifth Heisman winner to wear No. 7, joining John Huarte, QB, Notre Dame, 1964, Pat Sullivan, QB, Auburn, 1971, Danny Wuerffel, QB, Florida, 1996, Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska, 2001

• His 182.24 passer rating would be ninth best by a Heisman winner.

If he finishes second…
• He would be the fourth Ohio State player to finish as runner-up and the first runner-up from the Big Ten since Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon (2014).

If he finishes third …
• He would be the highest Ohio State finisher since Justin Fields was third in 2019.

Caleb Williams, QB, USC

If he wins the Heisman …

• He would be USC’s seventh winner, joining Matt Leinart (2004), Carson Palmer (2002), Marcus Allen (1981), Charles White (1979), O.J., Simpson (1968) and Mike Garrett (1965).

• It would be the first Heisman Trophy for a player from a school in the Pac-12 since Mariota (2014) and the 11th overall.

• He would be the 19th quarterback in the last 22 years to win the Heisman and the 38th overall.

• USC would join Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Florida and Florida State as the only schools with three quarterback winners.

• He would be the sixth sophomore to win and the second in a row following Young’s 2021 win.

• He would join Gino Torretta (’92) as one of two winners to wear the number 13 on his jersey.

• He would be the sixth player to win the Heisman after transferring from another Division I or FBS school, joining Felix “Doc” Blanchard (’45, Army/North Carolina), Cam Newton (’10, Auburn/Florida), Baker Mayfield (’17, Oklahoma/Texas Tech), Kyler Murray (’18, Oklahoma/Texas A&M) and Joe Burrow (’19, LSU/Ohio State).

• He would be the eighth player to win the Heisman after transferring from another school, including junior college, joining Felix “Doc” Blanchard (1945), O.J. Simpson (1968), Mike Rozier (1983), Cam Newton (2010), Baker Mayfield (2017), Kyler Murray (2018) and Joe Burrow (2019).

• He would be the fourth transfer player in the last six years to win the Heisman. Three of those players will have been coached by Lincoln Riley.

• He is the first player to win the Heisman who was born in Washington D.C.

• He would join John Huarte of Notre Dame (’64) as the only Heisman winner to engineer as much as a 7-win improvement for his school over its previous season. Huarte’s ’64 Notre Dame squad went from 2-7 in ’63 to 9-1 in ’64, while USC went from 4-8 in 2021 to 11-2 in 2022 with Williams at quarterback.

If he finishes second or third

• He would be the first runner-up at USC since Rodney Peete.

Lincoln Riley Notes

If Williams wins the Heisman …

• Would join Frank Leahy (4), Nick Saban (4), Red Blaik of Army (3) and Woody Hayes (3) as head coaches who have coached at least three Heisman winners.
• He would join Tommy Prothro as the only coach to coach Heisman winners at two different schools. Prothro accomplished that feat in 1967 when Gary Beban won it for UCLA after coaching Terry Baker at Oregon State in 1962.
• All three of Riley’s Heisman winners would be transfers from previous schools. Williams’ win means Riley is the first coach to tutor a Heisman winner at his previous school as well as at his current school.
• Riley would be the sixth coach to win a Heisman in his first year at a school, joining Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M (’12), Mack Brown at Texas (’98), Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame (’64), Carroll Widdoes at Ohio State (’44) and Eddie Anderson of Iowa (’39). Riley is the ONLY coach to win Heismans in his first season at two different schools. 
• Riley’s three Heisman winners — Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and now Williams — averaged 4,681 yards of total offense, 9.62 yards per play, 4,156 passing yards, and 48 TDs running and passing in their Heisman-winning seasons.
• At age 39, Riley would be the first coach to have three Heisman winners before the age of 40.