The Heisman Trophy conversation usually starts with the obvious names, but that’s not always where it ends. After laying out the 2026 favorites, the next wave is where things get interesting - the quarterbacks and receivers who already have production, but still need the right season, the right stage, and maybe a little chaos ahead of them.
A few of these players are coming off uneven 2025s. Others are trying to turn strong seasons into true national traction. Either way, they’re not long shots you can just wave away in August.
Haynes King is first up because he already spent part of last season looking like a legitimate Heisman contender while Texas A&M rolled to an 11-0 start and reached the College Football Playoff. He threw for 3,169 yards and 25 touchdowns and added 493 rushing yards and six more scores.
Then the finish got away from him: four interceptions and no touchdown passes in the Aggies’ final two games, both losses. Now he’s headed into his third season with a new offensive coordinator in Holmon Wiggins and another deep group of skill players around him.
If he takes care of the ball and Texas A&M stays in the SEC title picture, his dual-threat numbers will be hard to miss.
John Mateer fits a different kind of Heisman path. He was one of the early-season stories in college football before a broken thumb on his throwing hand changed his year.
He came back fast after surgery, but he never fully got back to the form he showed before the injury, finishing with 2,885 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Even so, he still ran for 431 yards and eight touchdowns while helping Oklahoma reach the Playoff.
He’s healthy now, and the Sooners added Parker Livingstone and Trell Harris to a receiving group that already includes Isaiah Sategna. If Mateer gets back to his pre-injury level, he could be the face of a top-10 team and one of 2026’s best comeback stories.
Bryce Underwood didn’t walk in and immediately look like a superstar as Michigan’s freshman starter, but the tools are still there. He completed 60.3% of his passes for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions as the Wolverines finished 9-4.
He entered college as the No. 1 quarterback recruit in his class for a reason, and new offensive coordinator Jason Beck should give him a better runway to show it. Beck arrives after working with dual-threat quarterbacks at Utah and is expected to spread the field more often.
If Underwood makes a big second-year leap and Michigan gets back into Big Ten contention, the combination of name recognition and physical talent could push him into the national Heisman picture.
Then there’s Malachi Toney, who already has the kind of freshman résumé that usually belongs to a frontrunner. He was the 1B to Jeremiah Smith’s 1A and led the FBS with 109 receptions.
He also set Miami season records with 1,211 receiving yards and scored 10 touchdowns during the Hurricanes’ run to the national championship game. The challenge now is positional, not production.
He’ll be catching passes from Darian Mensah, who threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns at Duke last season. Miami has enough weapons to keep defenses from keying on Toney every snap.
He may need a few huge return plays or signature catches in big games, but another jump could make him Smith’s strongest receiver rival. The last wideout before DeVonta Smith to win the Heisman was Michigan’s Desmond Howard in 1991, and there’s no denying the value of a memorable pose on the Heisman stage.
Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. might be the quietest name on the list, but his 2025 season was one of the most productive dual-threat campaigns in the country. He finished with more than 3,600 total yards and 31 total touchdowns.
He now returns with two full years in Jedd Fisch’s offense and a bigger share of the workload after major changes elsewhere on the roster. The issue is Washington’s profile, not his ceiling.
If the Huskies emerge as a real Big Ten threat and Williams delivers in games against Ohio State and Oregon, his numbers and style give him a real chance to break through.
In Other News...
Texas A&M Linebackers Suddenly Carry A Big Defensive Question
Texas A&Ms fifth preseason practice offered a little bit of everything on both sides of the ball, with quarterback Marcel Reed showing improvement and wide receiver Mario Craver continuing to stand out. The Aggies also brought in 17 transfer portal additions, and one of the more important ones for this fall is linebacker Ray Coney, who arrives with the kind of profile that can help steady a defense still sorting out its identity.
At linebacker, the intrigue is starting to center on how quickly that group comes together after the offseason turnover. Defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill has already expressed confidence in the room, and Daymion Sanford is nearing full strength again after the injury he suffered in the Maroon & White Game. Even with those encouraging signs, the position still carries a big question for Texas A&M as camp unfolds, because the next few practices will go a long way toward showing who can turn promise into production. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M's Texas Tech Decision Says Plenty About SEC Scheduling
Texas A&M has made its scheduling priorities pretty clear by passing on Texas Techs offer to set up a non-conference game in the foreseeable future. Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said the Red Raiders have reached out to multiple schools about matchups in 2027 and beyond, and so far the answers have not been encouraging. For the Aggies, the decision fits the broader way SEC teams have been managing their calendars, with outside games carefully chosen around the demands of league play and the need to protect long-term scheduling plans.
Texas A&M already has home-and-home series lined up against Arizona State and Louisville over the next four seasons, which underscores how selective these openings can be. For fans hoping to see old regional ties revived, the Texas Tech pitch would have carried real appeal, but the Aggies refusal suggests they are not eager to add another commitment unless it fits exactly what they want. In the meantime, Tech keeps searching for a partner, and the lack of traction says as much about the current scheduling climate as it does about any one matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M May Have Finally Fixed One Passing Game Problem
Texas A&M spent a good chunk of last season looking for a little more variety in its passing game, and now it appears the Aggies may have added a piece that changes the shape of the room. A transfer receiver is on the way who brings the kind of size this offense has not consistently had, giving the unit a different look to pair with Mario Craver and KC Concepcion.
The addition matters because the new arrival is not just another target, but a player who produced in bigger spots last season and showed he could hold up against major competition. For an Aggies passing attack trying to become more balanced and harder to defend, that mix of size and production could be exactly what it needed. [Read more 🡒]