Week four has concluded in college football. The Inscriber Magazine will now take a look at the early 2023 Heisman candidates and where each one ranks.
Currently, Michael Penix Jr is the front runner. So far in 2023 he has completed 74.3 percent of his passes for 1,332 yards, 12 touchdowns and one interception. In all three games he has thrown for over 400 yards including a 473 yard performance against Michigan State on Saturday while also throwing four touchdown passes.
With the University of Southern California on a bye this week, Shedeur Sanders leap frogs Caleb Williams for the time being. Last night he impressively led his offense on a 98 yard touchdown drive in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter. He also was successful on the two-point conversion to tie the game up which resulted in overtime.
Ultimately the Colorado Buffaloes outlasted the Colorado State Rams in double overtime. Sanders now has thrown for 1,251 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception. He has completed an impressive 78.7 percent of his passes as well.
Caleb Williams and the Trojans were off this week.
Yet last week Williams took apart Stanford in their 56-10 win. He was nearly perfect completing 19 of 21 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns. Like Penix Jr, he has thrown 12 touchdown passes and has yet to throw an interception.
A dark horse candidate for the Heisman is Cameron Ward of Washington State. He has thrown for 990 yards and nine touchdowns and has yet to throw a pick. More impressive he beat a ranked Wisconsin team last week, he threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran the ball 17 times for 43 yards.
Another surprising candidate is Dillon Gabriel of the University of Oklahoma. The Sooners are 3-0, their quarterback has thrown for 905 yards and the most impressive part he has completed 82.5 percent of his passes.
Also, he has thrown 11 touchdowns to one interception.
Noteworthy is that Drake Maye of the University of North Carolina is not one who is ranked. He has struggled so far in 2023, throwing only four touchdowns passes and he has been intercepted four times.
While the Tarheels are 3-0, for him to get back in the conversation he will need to limit the turnovers.
Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr was also one who was mentioned for the Heisman before the 2023 season started. In the first game of the season against Indiana he left the game for a bit due to a shoulder injury yet eventually returned to the game. He had a quiet game by his standards as he caught two passes for 18 yards. Over the last two games he has caught 12 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns.
With his quiet game in week one, he will need a few more big games before being added back in the conversation.