Leading into the college football season, On3 is listing their top five candidates from each Power 5 conference in regards to who they think can win the Heisman Trophy.
Last year, USC quarterback, Caleb Williams, brought home the Heisman. Archie Griffin is the only player in the award’s history to have won it twice when he won it in consecutive years in 1974 and 1975.
Based on that history, there could be a new winner lifting the Heisman Trophy when the regular season ends. Who that player will be is something that will be determined on the field.
The last Big Ten player to win the Heisman was Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith in 2006.
Here are the top five candidates from the Big Ten who On3 thinks could end up lifting the trophy in New York.
Marvin Harrison Jr. – Ohio State
2022 Stats: 77 rec, 1,263 yds, 14 TDs
Marvin Harrison Jr. has been dominant since he’s stepped foot into the college football level. He’s widely considered the best non-quarterback in college football and he’s only entering his junior season. He won the Biletnikoff Award following last season which goes to the nation’s top wide receiver.
It’s not surprise that Harrison Jr. is on this list. He’s a complete force to be reckoned with and could be the second wide receiver to win in the 2000s.
J.J. McCarthy – Michigan
2022 Stats: 64.6% completion, 2,719 passing yds, 22 TDs, 5 INT
J.J. McCarthy will be in the mix if Michigan is able to finish the season undefeated with big wins over their rivals throughout the season. After taking over the starting quarterback job last season, he led the Wolverines to another Big Ten championship win and trip to the College Football Playoff.
If he’s able to put them in the same position again, he should find himself as a finalist for the award if he’s putting up monster statistics. Last season, the offense was heavy on the running game. With both of their running backs returning for this season, the question will be if McCarthy can put up enough personal stats to get credit for the potential Michigan success.
Donovan Edwards – Michigan
2022 Stats: 140 rushes, 991 yds, 7 TDs
It might be surprising to see Donovan Edwards listed above his backfield teammate Blake Corum. After all, Corum was a Heisman contender last season before his injury late in the year. On last year’s team, Edwards was the clear number two back even though he had a monster yards per carry number.
On3 believes that Edwards will be the workhorse early on as Michigan tries to ease back Corum from his injury. If that’s the case, it could be Edwards as the number one back and Heisman contender throughout the season.
Nick Singleton – Penn State
2022 Stats: 156 rushes, 1,061 yds, 10 TDs
After the monster freshman season that Nick Singleton had, it should come as no surprise to Penn State fans that he’s getting some national love for the most prestigious award in college football. He came into his college career with a lot of hype surrounding him and he over delivered on those expectations.
The only question surrounding Singleton is in regards to the stacked backfield that Penn State has created. Fellow sophomore Kaytron Allen got quite a few reps for himself last season and actually carried the ball more times than Singleton. We’ll see if Singleton will be able to put up eye popping numbers to get himself into Heisman contention.
Kyle McCord – Ohio State
If Ohio State has a good season, their quarterback will get credit someway or another. Kyle McCord comes into this season with relatively low expectations because he hasn’t played much in his career and has been a little forgotten as being a five-star recruit.
McCord could step right in and run Ryan Day’s offense to perfection. If that’s the case, Ohio State will continue to be really good and McCord will get a good amount of the credit. It’s hard to project if that will happen or not because of the lack of McCord’s live reps during games.
Story originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire