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Jackson's sleepers to win the 2025 College Football Heisman Trophy. His top dark horse candidates for the Heisman Trophy with predictions and analysis.
The college football offseason continues to drag on, so it's time for another way-too-early article covering some of the hottest topics in the sport. Last season, the two Heisman Trophy finalists were not among the preseason favorites to win the award. Colorado's Travis Hunter's preseason odds sat at +5000, while Boise State's Ashton Jeanty was not among the top 40 players in the Heisman winner market.
That said, coming out of nowhere and winning the award is doable, and we've seen it happen several times in recent memory. This article will focus on six "dark horse" candidates to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy Award, given to the nation's most outstanding player. That means this list will not include big-time names like Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, Drew Allar, Jeremiah Smith, Cade Klubnik, and Carson Beck.
All selections will have odds of +5000 or longer, meaning you'd at least profit 50 times your wager if one of these picks comes to fruition. Cutting it off at +5000 eliminates many of the big-name quarterbacks in the SEC and Big Ten, so don't be surprised to not see them here. All lines are via DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of writing.
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Kevin Jennings, QB, SMU
DraftKings Heisman Odds: +5000
2024 Season Stats: 3,245 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 354 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns
Entering the 2024 season, Kevin Jennings was not a familiar name among college football fans. However, he's now recognized after leading the Mustangs to the ACC Championship Game and a College Football Playoff berth. His first-round performance at Penn State was a disaster, but he's heading into his fourth collegiate season and could take a big step forward in 2025.
7️⃣ pic.twitter.com/P5SLIaOWBo
— SMU Football (@SMUFB) March 30, 2025
More importantly, the recipe for winning the Heisman is there with Jennings. In most cases, quarterbacks on teams with great records that are competing for championships take home the award. As things stand, SMU has the third-best odds (+440) to win the ACC.
If the Mustangs can at least win 10 games, they'll likely be back in the playoffs. Jennings' Heisman hopes could depend on beating one of Clemson or Miami, though.
Avery Johnson, QB, Kansas State
DraftKings Heisman Odds: +5000
2024 Season Stats: 2,712 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 605 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns
Avery Johnson had a fantastic 2024 campaign, and there is certainly room to grow in 2025. Last season, the Wildcats looked like a potential playoff contender at times before an untimely loss to Houston and close losses to both teams that competed in the Big 12 Championship (Arizona State/Iowa State). K-State has the third-best odds to win the Big 12, but the conference is setting up to be another razor-thin race again.
Avery Johnson is entering Year 3 at Kansas State and his Head Coach, Chris Klieman, told @DustyDvoracek & @dannykanell that the sky is the limit for Johnson this season.@KStateFB | @CoachKli pic.twitter.com/W69asLqdoH
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) May 7, 2025
Johnson's dual-threat skill set and responsibility in Chris Klieman's offense give him a chance to put up video-game numbers in his true junior campaign, but again, winning enough games will matter significantly.
Army and North Dakota should not present big problems for the Wildcats, and the program avoids a matchup with Arizona State. Its toughest opponent on paper, Texas Tech, will be played at home.
Miller Moss, QB, Louisville
DraftKings Heisman Odds: +5000
2024 Season Stats: 2,555 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions, -18 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns
Miller Moss became the scapegoat at USC last season and was benched for Jayden Maiava despite playing mostly solid football. He'll need to clean up the turnover issues, but oddly enough, he landed at a program that will give him an easier path toward competing for a conference title and CFP appearance.
The Cardinals are viewed as the fourth-best team in the ACC entering 2025, and Jeff Brohm's program could be ready to take the next step in the third year of his tenure.
We can count on Brohm's offense to be potent, and running back Isaac Brown's threat on the ground should take some pressure off the overhauled offensive line. Ja'Corey Brooks is gone, but Chris Bell, who posted 737 yards last season, is ready to take the No. 1 WR role.
The road won't be easy, as the Cardinals face the three teams ahead of them in the ACC preseason rankings (Clemson, Miami, SMU). But if Brohm and company can exceed expectations as he's done time and time again, and Moss has impressive counting stats, he could be in contention for the Heisman at year's end.
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
DraftKings Heisman Odds: +6000
2024 Season Stats: 1,125 rushing yards (6.9 YPC), 17 rushing touchdowns, 28 receptions, 237 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns
Jeremiyah Love is largely viewed as one of the best running backs returning to college football, but because it's difficult for any non-QBs to take home the Heisman, he qualifies as a "dark horse." Over the last two seasons, the Irish have relied on veteran quarterbacks Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard to lead their offense.
Now, redshirt freshman CJ Carr is taking over the reins. What's the best tactic for helping break in a young quarterback? Leaning on an elite running back.
Leonard accounted for 906 rushing yards and 17 rushing scores last season. He's now onto the NFL, there is a significant chunk of rushing production up for grabs. Sure, backup running back Jadarian Price will take on some of that workload, but offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is sure to feed Love a whopping share of the team's total touches as long as he stays healthy.
The rising junior is likely headed for the NFL this time next year, so don't be surprised if the Irish capitalize on every last touch they can get out of him.
JEREMIYAH LOVE GOES 98 YARDS FOR THE TOUCHDOWN 😱 pic.twitter.com/SSAjPnrRtt
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 21, 2024
Behren Morton, QB, Texas Tech
DraftKings Heisman Odds: +30000
2024 Season Stats: 3,335 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions, -22 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown
Now we're getting into super longshots, but hear me out. Behren Morton is expected to be fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, and Texas Tech has put its money up to field the most talented roster in the Big 12 thanks to a tremendous transfer portal class coming in.
There's a reason the Red Raiders have the best odds to win the conference, and they could be favored in 11 of their 12 games. Head coach Joey McGuire must find a way to put all the pieces together, but luckily, their first three games are against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kent State, and Oregon State. Morton and company will have time to jell.
If Tech has the season its fanbase is hoping for, and many around the country think they can, Morton will be a big name in 2025, and his offensive output should be a significant reason why they have success. It's surprising to see Morton's odds at +30000 given his situation compared to many players listed above him. This is my favorite longshot bet.
Looking forward to supporting my guys achieve our goal of nine wins in the Liberty Bowl later this month.
After that, all sights on 2025 and a Big 12 Championship! #Wreckem pic.twitter.com/vEJE2qFsLX
— Behren MorŦon🌵 (@BehrenMorton) December 15, 2024
Blake Horvath, QB, Navy
DraftKings Heisman Odds: +30000
2024 Season Stats: 1,353 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, four interceptions, 1,254 rushing yards, 17 rushing touchdowns
Army quarterback Bryson Daily finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting last year, and Navy QB Blake Horvath could follow in his path in 2025. The Midshipmen are riding high after a blowout win over Army and a victory over Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl to capture a 10-win season. With Horvath back in the fold, Navy has the second-best preseason odds to win the AAC.
His opportunities to impress Heisman voters could be tough given the weak strength of schedule, but an 11-1 campaign with a loss to Notre Dame could put him in the mix. He'll need the perfect storm of many of the other quarterbacks around the country to faceplant, but we can believe. How fun would it be for a player from a military academy to win the award?
More Heisman Longshots
- Jayden Maiava, QB, USC (+7000)
- Kaidon Salter, QB, Colorado (+8000)
- Sawyer Robertson, QB, Baylor (+10000)
- Haynes King, QB, Georgia Tech (+10000)
- Jake Retzlaff, QB, BYU (+15000)
- Quintrevion Wisner, RB, Texas (+20000)
