In college athletics, there might not be a more prestigious award than the Heisman Trophy and the 2024 race will be a tight one with multiple star contenders. Per a recent market update, Miami’s Cam Ward is the current Heisman frontrunner following a sensational start to the 2024 campaign with the Hurricanes. Meanwhile, Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart is another fantastic player who is in early contention for the big award with some big stats of his own to kick off the year. Also in contention are some other SEC signal-callers like Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava who are some of the most talented athletes at the position in all of America.
For this report, SBS will be exploring what to look for from each athlete along with more notes and information regarding NCAA football betting and beyond.
NCAA Football Heisman Futures 2024 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cam Ward | +350 | +350 | +350 | +350 | +350 |
Jaxson Dart | +500 | +500 | +500 | +500 | +500 |
Jalen Milroe | +750 | +750 | +750 | +750 | +750 |
Nico Iamaleava | +900 | +900 | +900 | +900 | +900 |
Following a transfer from Washington State, Ward has had an electric start to the 2024 season. With a 4-0 record to start the year, the Hurricanes are back in conference title contention thanks to Ward’s impressive stat line of 1,439 passing yards and 14 touchdown scores. In addition to his passing prowess, the Miami starter has one rushing score. An accomplished college athlete, Ward previously played for Incarnate Word in addition to Wazzu. When he was a quarterback for the Cardinals, he won the 2020 Jerry Rice Award given to the best freshman player in the FCS. However, this might be Ward’s best year in terms of overall team talent which should bolster his chances.
After starting his college career at USC, Dart transferred to Ole Miss in 2022 and has been locked in as the Rebels’ starting quarterback. With a career record of 22-7 with Ole Miss, the Utah native has been an excellent player for Ole Miss. LAst season, he notched an impressive 23 passing scoring, eight rushing touchdowns, and 3,364 passing yards with the Rebels en route to an 11-2 record. This season though is on pace to be better with 12 passing scores to date and another three on the ground. This of course equates to an excellent 4-0 record for the Rebels. If Ole Miss can keep playing at this level in the stacked SEC, then Dart could end up as the Heisman winner later this season.
A redshirt junior signal-caller for the Tide, Milroe has been a mainstay for Alabama during his time in Tuscaloosa. During his freshman season, he backed up sophomore star Bryce Young and had some solid stats in clean-up duty in 2021 and 2022, including one win. However, he took a starring role last year, putting together a great campaign for the electric Alabama squad. In 2023, he was able to score 23 passing touchdowns along with a sensational 12 rushing scores. Indeed, Milroe is perhaps the best dual-threat quarterback on this list and can be a game-breaker if he can mitigate his mistakes and keep his accuracy at a strong level. This season, he has the Tide out to another undefeated start and has 14 combined touchdowns along with zero interceptions. Like his SEC brethren though, conference play will play a significant role in determining his Heisman contendership.
Wrapping our contender countdown, Iamaleava was one of the top players in the 2023 recruiting class and is an excellent star for the Vols. Serving as the backup last year to Joe Milton, the Warren High School product notched five total scores last year, two through the air and three on the ground. This season, he of course has a starring role, leading the Vols to an undefeated mark at 4-0, taking his career record in college to 5-0. Moreover, while his passing numbers are not as eye-popping as his peers here, he is coming off an awesome win over Oklahoma, which is a fantastic start for Tennessee. Nonetheless, he still boasts six passing scores and one rushing touchdown on the young season.
While Ward might not have as much explosive dual-threat ability as his counterparts, he perhaps has the cleanest path to the Heisman Trophy. As you may have noticed on this list, it is littered with SEC quarterbacks, and as college football fans know, the SEC is the most brutal conference in America. If Ward and Miami can continue their ascent in the ACC this year, he will win the Heisman while the SEC squads beat up on each other.
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