Vendetta Roundtable: Who Wins The 2023 Heisman Trophy?
We made it. We endured a long summer without football, and the sport we love is finally back. All off-season, we projected who would win conferences, make the College Football Playoff, and who would win the 2023 Heisman Trophy. Well, three of the best minds here at Vendetta bring you our thoughts, as we roundtable to see who we believe will hoist the most prestigious individual award in College Football. I will be joined by James Herrick and the Don of Vendetta himself, Trey Daubert.
James: I take absolutely no pride in picking Caleb Williams to win the Heisman Trophy for the second consecutive year. It feels like a cop-out answer. Regardless, there are several reasons for him to repeat. The most important is that he is the most talented player in the country. The talent disparity between Williams and any other choice is massive. Furthermore, Williams is on a Lincoln Riley-led USC team that will score a lot of points and push for a playoff spot. I fully expect Williams’ end-of-season stats to look comically large. The combination of talent and situation makes it tough to select anyone outside of Williams.
Trey: My pick last year sucked. I’m halfway convinced my rookie picks in fantasy are cursed because as soon as I took Treyveon Henderson he decided to get hurt and do nothing at Ohio State. I’ve thought about this a lot and I’m picking this player and it has nothing to do with the fact that I also have this guy in fantasy. I think Texas is back and if Texas is back, then Quinn Ewers is winning the Heisman.
Ewers is one of the highest-recruited players in the history of the sport. He also looked like a freak in the game against Alabama and his season was never right after getting hurt in that game. We also have to remember that Ewers is young and reclassified once upon a time. In theory, this should be the pop year for him. I believe it will be. Texas wins the Big 12 and Ewers wins the Heisman proclaiming himself an All-American selection.
Garrett: I have gone back and forth on this pick for a few days now. I had a list of roughly eight guys who I believe have a real shot to win it, and I have it narrowed down to four. Those four are Marvin Harrison Jr. from Ohio State, Caleb Williams from USC, Jayden Daniels from LSU and my dark horse is Nicholas Singleton from Penn State. My gut led me first to pick my guy Williams (USC fan here) because I think he might be the best player in the country, but also for the history it would create. No one has gone back to back since Archie Griffin in 1974-1975. However, that history won’t be made this year.
We do see a bit of history as the fourth-ever receiver wins the 2023 Heisman Trophy, and my vote goes to Marvin Harrison Jr. Harrison is one of the best receivers we have seen in quite a long time, and with new signal caller Kyle McCord under center in Ohio State, he should look to get the ball in Harrison’s hands whenever he can. Harrison went for 77 receptions for 1,263 yards and a staggering 14 touchdowns a year ago. I can see a scenario where Harrison pushes close to 100 catches for 1,600-plus yards and 18-20 touchdowns. If he can pull off a monster season like that, the award is his.
