Getty FOX college football host Joel Klatt listed 3 members of the Alabama Crimson Tide as Heisman candidates (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The Heisman Trophy is typically rewarded to a standout player on one of the top teams in the country, and Alabama has a very unique problem midway through the 2022 college football season — that being that the Crimson Tide have 3 players in contention for the award as things stand.
According to FOX college football analyst Joel Klatt, the team’s starting quarterback, running back, and star EDGE rusher are all contenders for college football’s most prestigious awards. “Heisman race is going to be a good one…As of now there is a clear favorite and then a TON of good options,” tweeted Klatt, before listing Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud above everyone else, proceeded by USC quarterback Caleb Williams, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, Michigan running back Blake Corum, Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, Alabama EDGE rusher Will Anderson, UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Illinois running back Chase Brown in that order.
During his latest Heisman Tiers rankings, Klatt noted Stroud as the clear-cut favorite due to his team’s play and individual dominance. “This guy is the cream of the crop right now,” wrote Klatt. “He’s the best quarterback right now in the nation and that’s the best offense in the nation. He will be there as long as they continue to play this way, which they will.”
Joel Klatt on Bryce Young’s Heisman Chances
Defending Heisman winner Bryce Young’s chances to once again win the award for the 2022 season took a serious narrative hit the last few weeks following his absence for three quarters of the Arkansas win on the road October 1 and the entirety of the Tide’s triumph over Texas A&M October 8.
While the offense looked notably sloppier with backup Jalen Milroe running the ship, turning the ball over 4 times against an Aggies defense that gave Haynes King and co. a chance to win the game in the closing seconds to no success, Young wasn’t needed to defeat two of Alabama’s toughest SEC West tests on the 2022 schedule — at least according to preseason projections.
Joel Klatt believes Young’s success in 2021, not his current shoulder ailment, could ultimately be his biggest roadblock when it comes to winning the award again this season. “Bryce Young won the Heisman Trophy in large part due to the fact he had incredible numbers last year,” said Klatt in his latest Heisman Tiers piece. “And the hard part in trying to defend that or win it in back-to-back years is that a lot of voters are going to hold him to that standard, not just whatever standard is in front of him with his peers this season. I don’t think that’s the correct way to vote or look at it, but I am at least acknowledging the reality that’s likely how voters will look at Bryce Young.”
Joel Klatt on Jahmyr Gibbs’ Heisman Chances
While Bryce Young was right below C.J. Stroud and ahead of Caleb Williams in Joel Klatt’s Heisman Tiers in Tier 1, Jahmyr Gibbs was listed in Tier 3 — along with Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders, Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, and TCU quarterback Max Duggan.
Klatt believes Gibbs has a golden opportunity to play his way into the Heisman conversation with Young’s shoulder potentially limiting him as the Crimson Tide enters a key stretch against Tennessee, Mississippi State, LSU, and Ole Miss over the next four Saturdays. “Without Bryce Young out there this week and maybe in coming weeks, they will run the crap out of the ball,” said Klatt. “You literally read Nick Saban’s lips when he was screaming. I think Jahmyr Gibbs is going to have a couple monster weeks coming up, and he can play himself into this conversation.”
Will Anderson wasn’t included anywhere in Klatt’s Heisman Tiers, and is likely being considered in the same vein former Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis was during his breakout year in 2021. While his play warrants attention, his Heisman chances aren’t high.