Top Five Dark Horse Heisman Candidates For The 2023 College Football Season

August 26, 2023

Justin's NCAA college football dark horse Heisman candidates for 2023. His under the radar Heisman candidates include Blake Corum and Drake Maye, among others.

There might not be an award in sports that's more iconic than the Heisman Trophy. I mean, who hasn't struck a Heisman pose after a key moment in life?

Entering this season, players like USC quarterback Caleb Williams and Texas QB Quinn Ewers are among the favorites, but the favorites don't always win an award like this. Remember when Joe Burrow won the Heisman after having odds as high as 200/1 before his senior season at LSU?

Below are five dark horse candidates for the 2023 Heisman Trophy. These players may not be favorites, but strong seasons could certainly put them in the conversation.

Blake Corum - RB, Michigan

Running backs don't win Heismans these days. Since the year 2000, only three running backs have won the award, and one of those—Reggie Bush in 2005—ended up having the award stripped away. It's just tough for a running back to stand out enough and accumulate enough yards to come away with the trophy.

Michigan running back Blake Corum finished seventh in Heisman voting last season, making him the highest non-quarterback in the voting. The only returning player who finished ahead of him is last year's winner, USC's Caleb Williams.

Corum had 247 carries for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns last season while also adding 11 catches for 80 yards and a score. It'll be hard to better those numbers, which he'll need to do in order to have an actual chance at winning the award. Still, if a running back has a shot, it's Corum, who will be heavily featured in the Wolverines offense.

Jalon Daniels - QB, Kansas

The best surprise in the country last year was Jalon Daniels. He had Kansas off to a great start before an injury ended his shot at being a dark horse Heisman candidate and ruined the Jayhawks' shot at winning the Big 12.

Daniels led the Jayhawks to a 5-0 start, throwing for 11 touchdowns to just one interception before he was injured against TCU. He ended up returning in late November but Kansas ended up going 0-3 in his final three starts.

On the season, Daniels had 2,014 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and four picks, plus 425 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. In his final game, he threw for 544 yards and five touchdowns in a bowl loss to Arkansas. He also ran for a score in that game. Keep an eye on the junior signal caller.

Frank Harris - QB, UTSA

Alright, full disclosure here: I don't actually think Frank Harris is going to win the Heisman. Players from non-Power 5 conferences just don't win it. The last one was Ty Detmer at BYU, way back in 1990. However, there have been some non-Power 5 finalists.

Jordan Lynch was third in the voting in 2013 after a huge season for Northern Illinois. Hawaii's Colt Brennan was third in 2007. It's not unheard of for a quarterback from a non-Power 5 conference to have a year that's so good that he gets some Heisman hype, even if there's no chance he wins.

Harris is my dark horse to be this year's G5 "Maybe he could be a Heisman finalist" guy. He enters his fifth season with the Roadrunners after throwing for 4,063 yards and 32 touchdowns last season while also accounting for 602 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.

What is the big thing that can help this year in his quest to finish in the top 10 in Heisman voting? UTSA is moving to the American Conference, a tougher conference than CUSA. If Harris can put these kinds of numbers up against tougher competition and cut down the interceptions a little, he can be in the conversation.

Drake Maye - QB, North Carolina

Of all the players listed here, Maye's the one with the best chance of actually winning the Heisman. He's the least dark horse of the dark horses. It would still be a surprise to see Maye win, as BetMGM currently has him at +1800, giving him the 10th-best odds to take home the trophy.

In Maye's first season as a starter for UNC, he completed 66.2% of his passes for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns. He was picked off seven times. He also displayed a lot with his feet as well, carrying the ball 184 times for 698 yards and seven touchdowns.

Maye had big shoes to fill after the last Tar Heel QB, Sam Howell went to the NFL. In 2022 he showed that he was capable of filling those shoes, and Maye looks to have a higher long-term ceiling than Howell at this point. UNC ranked 18th in FBS in plays per game last season so Maye should have ample opportunities in this quick-paced scheme to display his arm and leg talent.

Cameron Ward - QB, Washington State

Let me get the bias out of the way right off the top here. I'm a huge Cameron Ward fan. He graduated from the same high school as me and I was friends with his brother growing up. I'm rooting extremely hard for him to succeed. That rooting interest isn't just based on nothing. Cameron Ward's a good quarterback, and he has a chance to put up big numbers this season for the Cougars.

Most people became aware of Ward because of the absurd numbers he was posting at FCS school Incarnate Word. He won the Jerry Rice Award as a freshman and set the school record for passing yards in just six games in an abbreviated COVID season. He smashed that record the next year, throwing 4,648 yards and 47 touchdowns.

He landed at Washington State last year, joining his UIW head coach Eric Morris, who was the OC for the Cougars in 2022. He didn't set the world on fire, but in his first year against FBS competition, he threw for 3,232 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Ward is still a raw player. He played in a run-first system in high school, so he's still figuring some things out in a pass-heavy system. One concern this year is Morris left for the head coaching position at UNT. He was replaced with Western Kentucky's Ben Arbuckle, who should run a system that plays more to Ward's strengths.

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