Heisman Trophy Futures Pricing & Analysis: Who Will Win the Heisman?
Updated September 29, 2026
Updated September 29, 2026
The Heisman Trophy is the top individual award in all of college sports, awarded to the top player in college football each season. Quarterbacks tend to dominate the race to win this award, but there is always the possiblity of a player from another position making a run for the Heisman as well. Here, we break down the prediction market pricing to win the Heisman this season, along with our prediction on who is going to claim the hardware.
Jeremiah Smith has become one of the new favorites to win the Heisman according to the above pricing data from Polymarket. Smith is a wide receiver, which makes his path to the Heisman more of an uphill climb than the path for the quarterbacks on this list. But Smith's performance over the last few years at Ohio State has made it clear that his presence near the top of this market is no fluke.
Smith put up over 150 receiving yards in three of his first four games of the year for the Buckeyes. That included a 164-yard performance against the Texas Longhorns, despite Ohio State relinquishing a huge lead and losing that contest in the fourth quarter. As long as Smith continues to produce at that level, he will remain in the Heisman race as a non-QB option.
Also on the list of early Heisman favorites is Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. Chambliss is one of the most exciting quarterbacks in college football today, and has arguably the best combination of rushing ability and throwing ability among college quarterbacks this season.
The big question for those making college football predictions this year is whether Chambliss and Ole Miss can perform well enough in SEC play to keep him near the top of this race. He will need to deliver in big games to win the Heisman this time around, and a loss at Florida early in conference play certainly hasn't helped his early case after he briefly stood alone as the favorite after beating LSU.
Miami's Darian Mensah has received some early love in the Heisman futures markets as well. Miami's schedule hasn't been impressive early in the season, so it's hard to get a full read on his chances to win this award. But Mensah's statistical output has been impressive nonetheless, and he has emerged as an early contender.
Mensah has had success at his previous stops in college football, helping Tulane and Duke put together successful seasons before he transferred to Miami. The combination of Mensah's skills and the media attention that Miami's program receives will make Mensah an attractive Heisman option.
This season, there is a non-quarterback who is a strong contender to win the Heisman. Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has a similar market price to some of the top quarterbacks in the country this season. Smith finished top 10 in the country in receiving yards, touchdowns, and receptions last year. He could put up even bigger numbers this year and could grab the Heisman as a result.
Of course, any player that isn't a quarterback has to have an incredible season to contend for the Heisman. Players like DeVonta Smith, Derrick Henry, and Travis Hunter are recent examples. But they all put up massive numbers and impacted their teams in huge ways, something any non-QB needs to do to win the Heisman.
Right now, we are going to take our chances with Jeremiah Smith to win the Heisman. He will need to put up huge numbers to win it from the wide receiver spot. But he is more than capable of putting up those kinds of numbers on a weekly basis. We'll take him at a much better price than the favorites listed above at this stage of the year.
