The Heisman Trophy is one of the most prestigious individual awards in any sport. The Oklahoma Sooners have had seven players take home the coveted honor. Billy Vessels, Steve Owens, Billy Sims, Jason White, Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray ran and threw their way into college football’s history books forever.
Oklahoma fans hope the next Heisman winner is already on the roster. Starting quarterback Jackson Arnold is the hope of Sooner Nation and will finally step into the leading role in 2024.
A consensus five-star recruit in the 2023 class, Arnold sat behind Dillon Gabriel as a freshman. But Arnold had been identified as the future of the program, so Gabriel transferred to Oregon for his last season of college football rather than delay Arnold’s ascension.
Arnold won the Elite 11 competition in 2022 and was the Gatorade National Player of the Year for his senior season of high school. More recently, he was a standout at the Manning Passing Academy, showing off his arm strength and accuracy.
With Arnold, the Sooners have a star in the making under center, one capable of being a Heisman finalist. It has been five years since that was truly the case: Jalen Hurts was the runner-up in 2019. But OU fans have been spoiled, to say the least, at the QB position.
Dillon Gabriel was what Oklahoma needed the past couple of years: a steadying, veteran hand to begin the Brent Venables era. He was really good in those two seasons. However, Arnold’s ceiling makes him a more attractive option moving forward.
One college football analyst sees Arnold as a potential dark-horse Heisman contender.
On3’s Andy Staples made 10 predictions for the season, and one prediction focused on the Heisman race.
After fairly predictable winners each of the last three years, Staples predicted the Heisman winner will come out of nowhere this season. Specifically, he thinks the eventual winner will have a plus-2000 or higher season-opening betting line. According to Staples, Devonta Smith, who didn’t appear on any Heisman watch lists going into his historic 2020 season, was the last dark-horse winner.
Staples broke down a handful of the top contenders in 2024:
“That’s a long way of saying we’re due for an out-of-nowhere Heisman winner,” Staples said. “The books seem confident this offseason that Georgia QB Carson Beck (plus-750), Texas QB Quinn Ewers (plus-900) and Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel (plus-1000) are the most likely candidates, but then the numbers get big fast. Alabama QB Jalen Milroe (plus-1500) and Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart (plus-1500) should put up big numbers on teams expected to compete for CFP berths. Ohio State QB Will Howard (plus-1300), who transferred this offseason from Kansas State, is surrounded by talent, has Chip Kelly calling plays for him, and might have the best defense playing opposite his offense.”
Those are some of the favorites, but Staples went deeper, identifying some of the more out-of-nowhere possibilities. This is where Arnold joins the party. Currently his odds to win the Heisman are plus-3000, certainly in the “dark horse” territory for Heisman consideration. But if he gets off to a fast start and Oklahoma beats Tennessee and Auburn ahead of the Red River Showdown..
Arnold is wedged between two other SEC quarterbacks at plus-3000. Texas A&M’s Weigman (plus-2500) and Missouri’s Cook (plus-3500) have more starting experience, but the country hasn’t seen a fully-loaded Arnold yet.
His uneven performance in the bowl game against Arizona turned some folks off nationally, but Sooner fans believe he is capable of bigger things than even his predecessor was. If he can bring OU to the College Football Playoff this season, he may very well find himself in New York City in early December for the Heisman ceremony.
First things first, Arnold and the Sooners will open the 2024 season at home on Friday, Aug. 30, against the Temple Owls. Their first conference game in the SEC will come against head coach Josh Heupel (Heisman runner-up in 2000 at OU), quarterback Nico Iamaleava (a dark-horse Heisman contender in his own right), and the Tennessee Volunteers in Sept. 21 in Norman.
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