Top Five Dark Horse Heisman Candidates For The 2024 College Football Season

There probably isn't 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 Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel 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? Even Jayden Daniels last year was around +1100 in the preseason odds.

Below are five dark horse candidates for the 2024 Heisman Trophy. These players may not be favorites, but strong seasons could certainly put them in the conversation. All betting odds come from DraftKings.

Will Howard - QB, Ohio State - +1500

Will Howard transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State this offseason, where he'll look to take advantage of a loaded Buckeyes roster and have the best season of his college career.

The emergence of Avery Johnson at K-State fueled Howard's decision to leave, but his landing with Ohio State should be proof enough that just because he wasn't the answer at QB for the Wildcats doesn't mean he's a bad quarterback.

Howard is coming off his best season, completing 61.3% of his pass attempts for 2,643 yards and 24 touchdowns. That came with tight end Ben Sinnott as his top target. This year, he'll be throwing the football to Emeka Egbuka and star freshman Jeremiah Smith, plus the one-two punch of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins makes up arguably the best backfield in the country. Howard is going to get a chance to put up the best numbers of his college career. Will it be enough for Heisman consideration?

Cam Ward - QB, Miami - +2200

Let me get the bias out of the way right off the top here. I'm a huge Cam 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 is a good quarterback, and he has a chance to put up big numbers this season for the Hurricanes.

Canes fans and people in this space know how I feel about Cam Ward. He has every winning QB trait in the book, including a bazooka right arm.

55 yards in the air vs 2-man coverage (man with 2 deep safeties). And Ward doesn’t get to fully step into the throw. pic.twitter.com/VOZBYJYdOH

— Jeremy Marks-Peltz (@JMP1063) July 30, 2024

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 two years ago, 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. Morris left for the head coaching job at UNT last year, but Ward improved across the board, completing 66.6% of his passes for 3,736 yards and 25 touchdowns. Now, he heads to Miami, where he'll have a chance to shine for the Hurricanes.

Shedeur Sanders - QB, Colorado - +3500

Shedeur Sanders entered 2023 with a lot of hype, but most of that has died down now as we head into the 2024 season. But has that hype died down too much?

In his first season at the FBS level, Sanders completed 69.3% of his pass attempts for 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns. He was picked off just three times. As a runner, Sanders added four touchdowns, though he lost 77 yards because of sacks.

Sanders needs two things to happen to be a dark horse Heisman candidate in 2024. First, he needs to play more at his ceiling than his floor. Sanders had 510 yards and four touchdowns in his FBS debut against TCU and overall had four games with at least four touchdown passes. He also four games with just one touchdown pass. He'll have to avoid games like that.

Colorado also has to find a way to win games. After going 1-11 in 2022, the team improved to 4-8 last season, but three of those wins came in the first three games before the team cratered. The Buffaloes need to finish over .500 for Sanders to have a chance here. He'll do what he can to make that happen, but can the rest of the roster step up?

Noah Fifita - QB, Arizona - +4000

If Noah Fifita's head coach hadn't left for Washington, he might be higher on this list. Or heck, if Fifita had followed Jedd Fisch there, it might be the same story. Instead, he stayed at Arizona and looks to create a legacy at a program that's been short on college football success.

Fifita took over as Arizona's top QB against Washington at the end of September, throwing for three touchdowns in that game. From there on, Fifita had multiple touchdown throws in all but one game, and he led Arizona to wins in their final seven games.

"I had no idea what an amazing human being he is." @CoachBrennan on what makes returning QB Noah Fifita a next-level leader. pic.twitter.com/v0rvt5xNR4

— Jim Rome (@jimrome) August 6, 2024

His best game was against Arizona State, with Fifita going 30-for-41 for 527 yards and five touchdowns. While he's a pocket passer who doesn't add value on the ground, his accuracy and ability to protect the football make him one of the most exciting young QBs in college football.

Ollie Gordon - RB, Oklahoma State - +7500

The Heisman has become a passing man's game. The last eight winners have been either a quarterback or wide receiver, with no running back winning since Derrick Henry back in 2015.

But Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon was seventh in Heisman voting last year, making him the top running back in the vote. That happened with Gordon not even starting for the Cowboys when the year began.

Despite not rushing for over 100 yards until his fourth game of the season, Gordon finished 2023 with 1,732 rushing yards. Essentially, the rest of the field got a three-game head start on Gordon, yet he came back to lead the FBS in rushing yards and scrimmage yards, plus his 22 touchdowns led the Big 12. If Gordon can come out of the gates playing at the level he ended 2023 on, and we get a year where no quarterback stands out, we could see a running back life the Heisman once again.

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