2023 Heisman Trophy watch list: Caleb Williams, J.J. McCarthy, Quinn Ewers headline top 10 candidates
Call it the Archie Griffin Curse, if you'd like.
For whatever reason, Griffin remains the only man in college football history to win the prestigious Heisman Trophy award twice, doing so in 1974 and '75 as a star tailback for Ohio State. Several big-name winners have won the award with college eligibility remaining -- including Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, Johnny Manziel, Lamar Jackson and, most recently, Bryce Young -- but none could repeat.
That's the history staring USC QB Caleb Williams in the face as the reigning Heisman winner. Williams threw for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns (against just five interceptions) while also running for 382 yards and 10 more scores in a brilliant sophomore campaign. And, not yet eligible for the NFL draft, he's back with a talented Trojans offense built for him to hoist the stiff-arming statue once again.
But we know how that goes. Some years, the August favorite is out of the race by October. One injury, one crushing loss -- a Heisman campaign can go up in flames just that quickly.
And the 2023 college football season promises to be rich in talent at quarterback, the position that has won the award in 19 of the past 23 seasons, which will give Williams some serious competition across the country. Plus, we've seen two non-QBs win it recently -- Alabama WR DeVonta Smith in 2020 and Crimson Tide RB Derrick Henry in 2015 -- so the field appears even more potentially open for competition.
Below you'll find my 10 best candidates to win the 2023 Heisman Trophy. The toughest cuts included a slew of talented QBs: Oregon's Bo Nix, Tennessee's Joe Milton, Clemson's Cade Klubnik, Notre Dame's Sam Hartman and Penn State's Drew Allar, to name a few, along with some who have yet to formally win the starting
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