We’ve only got 364 days until the 2026 Heisman Trophy ceremony, so let’s look into the crystal ball.
Forecasting potential candidates comes with a few obvious caveats. Being a Heisman candidate often means being on a team that’s relevant, and history suggests that playing quarterback usually matters. That’s obvious.
What we don’t know is whether certain draft-eligible players will return, so there’ll be a heavy emphasis on underclassmen in the crystal ball. What’s also less obvious is who can actually emerge as a candidate. Don’t believe that? Then ask yourself if you would’ve predicted Diego Pavia would earn a trip to New York.
This is tougher than it looks. But hey, let’s take a crack at it.
These are the SEC‘s top 5 Heisman candidates for 2025:
5. Ahmad Hardy, Mizzou RB
This last spot was for Hardy or Jadan Baugh. As much as I love Baugh, I question if Florida will put together a season that’ll covet that type of consideration with a Year 1 coaching staff. Hardy, on the other hand, will have the benefit of staying in the same scheme with the same elite proven rushing attack. All Hardy did in his first year at Mizzou was run for an SEC-high 1,560 rushing yards, 1,111 of which came after first contact, which was the best among Power Conference players. Hardy is a decent bowl game from surpassing 3,000 career rushing yards before he’s even draft-eligible. The guy has already had 4 games with 200 rushing yards, so having a Heisman moment is always on the table.
The only reason that Hardy isn’t even higher on this list is because he’s got a tougher bar to live up to. He’s already such an accomplished player that he might be working against himself. We’re now a decade removed from a running back winning the Heisman, so it might take a 2,000-yard season from Hardy to get there.
4. Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss RB
Similar to Hardy, Lacy was a monster in his new home. The former Mizzou transfer led Power Conference players with 86 missed tackles forced (Hardy was right behind him with 85), en route to shattering the Ole Miss single-season rushing touchdown record (20). If Ole Miss gets 2 more games, he could realistically get to 24 rushing touchdowns and 1,500 yards. The only other SEC player to ever check both of those boxes in the same season was … the last running back to win the Heisman, AKA Derrick Henry.
Lacy took on more carries than any Power Conference back, so you don’t have to question what his workload will look like. What’s fair to question is what potentially new surroundings will look like. John David Baker is returning to Ole Miss after he ran a prolific rushing attack at East Carolina. Is there a possibility that Lacy joins Lane Kiffin at LSU? That remains to be seen. Either way, Lacy is poised to get a ton of work and be the face of a potent offense.
3. Arch Manning, Texas QB
I know, I know. You don’t want to hear about more Manning hype. Hey, he’s only at No. 3 on this list. But let’s put some context on this. Manning didn’t live up to monstrous preseason expectations. Duh. The only way he would’ve done that would’ve been if he had been in New York. So what makes us think that he could have a chance to get there in 2026? Didn’t he struggle with accuracy? And didn’t he have a 121.0 QB rating in true road games? You bet. That’s what we call “meat left on the bone.”
Manning had a disappointing season, yet he still racked up 33 touchdowns (24 passing, 8 rushing, 1 receiving) and 3,190 scrimmage yards in a 12-game regular season. He made plenty of next-level throws and showed plenty of the traits that made him such a decorated recruit. Kevin Jennings was the only FBS quarterback who had more touchdown passes under pressure than Manning (8), and he had 11 touchdown passes on throws 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. The problem was that he wasn’t consistent enough and he left too many of the easy yards on the table with just 5.4 yards/attempt on passes 0-9 yards from the line of scrimmage. Manning has to clean up his accuracy issues and get better offensive line play, but even if that’s not a drastic improvement in Year 2 as a starter, a 40-touchdown season for a Playoff-bound Texas team is a fairly realistic bar to reach.
2. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M QB
Reed was a legitimate Heisman candidate heading into the final weekend of the regular season, and if he had made it to Atlanta, he likely would’ve followed it with a trip to New York. That’s more than anybody else on this list can say. Reed had 31 touchdowns and 3,398 yards in a 12-game regular season. He’s a dual-threat quarterback, which seems to be a prerequisite in the Playoff era. There’s a feeling that Reed is already one of the nation’s best quarterbacks, but he’s still got room to take his game to another level.
One of the challenges facing Reed will be adjusting to a new offensive coordinator after Collin Klein’s return to Kansas State. We also need to see what happens with a veteran-laden offensive line, which played a massive role in Reed getting sacked just 9 times. Those could hinder a progression, but Reed’s ability to develop as a downfield passer will determine if this is on the table. At the very least, Texas A&M will have the most decorated quarterback it had since … well, you know.
1. Gunner Stockton, Georgia QB
It’s possible that we’re just scratching the surface with Stockton’s statistical potential. We’re already seeing all the intangibles of his game play out in a scary, who-wants-to-face-Georgia sort of way. Stockton had 3,133 scrimmage yards and 31 touchdowns for the SEC champs. Beyond filling up the stat sheet as a dual threat with a nose for the end zone, Stockton had a 162.2 QB rating vs. teams that are currently in the AP Top 25, which is No. 1 among quarterbacks with 2 such starts. He’s been every bit as clutch as Georgia hoped he’d be.
We saw Stockton post a 17-1 TD-INT ratio when blitzed, yet he could burn teams that turned their back on him in man coverage. That’s an elite combination for someone who broke the mold of a Kirby Smart era quarterback because of all the designed runs. Stockton had an improved group of Georgia pass catchers to work with in 2025, but he was still subjected to 6 drops on passes of 20 yards, which was the most of any SEC quarterback. Those types of throws only made up 13.2% of Stockton’s attempts (No. 10 in the SEC), yet he had a 46.5% adjusted completion percentage on those throws and he had the SEC’s best adjusted completion percentage (71.4%) on intermediate throws. Oh, and he led the FBS with a 78.7% adjusted completion percentage on throws under pressure. In other words, he can attack downfield and that can become an even bigger part of Georgia’s offense next year.
If that happens, we could be talking about the first Georgia Heisman winner since Herschel Walker.
My guess is that Ty Simpson and Trinidad Chambliss will be gone, but if they’re not, they’re replacing the RBs on this list
I just wanted to note that in case somebody missed the intro and lost their minds that I didn’t include those 2.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
