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Associated Press
This is Part Two of 2023’s Heisman trophy contenders. Check out part one right here!
In this installment, I will look at a couple rising youngsters and then a handful of elder statesmen. Winning the award would cause each to see a tremendous rise in value next season.
Remember, a player’s Share Price reflects statistical expectations in their NFL career. For NCAA prospects, college stats only matter if they affect how the market views their NFL potential. That all starts with their expected draft position.
Make sure you tack on their 2x Multiplier if you want a chance for higher returns!
The following have posted odds on FoxSports.com
My favorite freshman quarterback in the 2022 class, Klubnik was pressing the supposed starter DJ Uiagalelei all season. Finally, Klubnik got the call after Uiagalelei faltered early in the season and then had his number called in the ACC Championship game when Uiagalelei completely spun out.
Klubnik led the Tigers to one of their best offensive outputs of the season in that game when it mattered most. He threw for 279 yards on just 24 attempts, one touchdown through the air and another 30 yards plus a score on the ground in victory.
An athletic dual-threat, Klubink could certainly follow in the footsteps of Bryce Young and Caleb Williams to make it three-straight sophomores to take home the Heisman. Should that happen, he will vault himself into consideration for the #1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft– like Young this year and Williams next– and his share price will jump to near or above $30
A consensus 5-star recruit and 247’s QB1 in the 2022 class should enter 2023 as the unquestioned starter at Penn State. There were whispers he looked good enough to start as a true freshman, but the staff was loyal to long time staple Sean Clifford.
He did manage to work his way onto the field sparingly this past year. Having that opportunity over a longtime incumbent like Clifford was enough to push his stock up during the back-half of Penn State’s schedule.
Allar is the type of guy that could blow the doors off college football in his first year under center. He wowed during his senior year at Medina High School with 4,444 passing yards, 382 rushing yards, 57 total touchdowns, and only seven interceptions.
He’s been compared to Josh Allen and has all the tools you want to see in a cornerstone quarterback. The main reason to throw cold water on this pick is that James Franklin’s offenses have been less than exciting. Yet, Franklin has not had a QB like Allar in Happy Valley.
I’d Go Long on Allar now given his pedigree, inclusion as a true freshman, and current share price. Even just being cheaper per share than Klubnik tells me has room to grow regardless of how close he gets to winning the Heisman trophy. Both these young QBs could easily wind up in the $13-15 range by next year.
This price is laughable. Not only is Nix less expensive per share than Travis, he’s more than four times as cheap as Hooker! Nix was a better recruit, has more on-field experience, just played a better season, and is two years younger than Hooker!
While Hooker had a nice fifth year to put him on the map, Nix blossomed in his fourth. Hooker’s share price was $12 last offseason, while Nix remains cheaper than $5. I am a noted Nix fader, but not anymore and not at this price!
It was a surprise to some when Nix announced he’d return to Oregon since he was generating some serious draft buzz. Hooker has too, despite a late-season ACL tear, but another season like 2022 and Nix is likely to be drafted higher next draft than Hooker will be in this one. In fact, his ascent reminds me more of Joe Burrow than Hooker to this point.
Many fifth year QBs have been taken in the first round of the NFL draft including Burrow, Matt Ryan, and Carson Wentz among others. Projecting Nix to win the Heisman and be a first round NFL draft pick is not crazy at all given his 2022 performance. A $1K bet on Nix right now with his Multiplier would turn into $8k by next season’s end should he reach Hooker’s current share price.
I’ll keep this one pretty simple: McCord is the favorite to Ohio State’s next QB in Ryan Day’s offense. They’ve produced a 3rd place finisher in Justin Fields (2019) and back-to-back finalist CJ Stroud (2021, 2022) over the last four years and Fields would have contended for the award in 2020 if not for the Big 10’s wonky schedule.
Entering his third year on campus, McCord is ready to seamlessly take over an Ohio State offense that could have the best WR room in the country.
We have not seen much of McCord just yet, he’s attempted only 58 passes for the Buckeyes, but he has a cannon for an arm and was a five-star recruit. Plenty of Heisman winners have been first year starters, let’s not make this too difficult.
Florida State is doing all the right things to capitalize on Travis’ late ascension. In his fifth year, he led the Seminoles to a surprising 9-3 regular season record and finished the season in style with five straight wins.
There is no doubt Travis will be on Heisman short lists coming off a 29 touchdown season. With his dual threat ability to take over a game, Travis will be a popular “sleeper” to watch for many pundits.
Also meaningful, he and FSU are ready to challenge Clemson for the ACC championship in 2023. They’ve added key pieces in the transfer portal and will be a buzz-worthy team all offseason.
While winning the Heisman is a good surrogate for production, it does not necessarily mean he will ever be considered an NFL franchise quarterback. He’ll be a sixth-year college player by next season’s end, but somehow only 23 at the time of the draft.
While we’ve seen NFL teams draft older players (Chris Weinke, Brandon Weeden), we don’t have a good precedent for sixth year guys. Keep an eye on Hendon Hooker and Jaren Hall in the 2023 NFL draft to see how the NFL will evaluate the “COVID sixth year” types.
Regardless, Travis is undervalued for a guy who will be in the national spotlight next year and possibly the Heisman race as well.
