Three Michigan football players who could win the Heisman Trophy in 2024

Michigan has three Heisman Trophy winners in school history: Tom Harmon (1940), Desmond Howard (1991) and Charles Woodson (1997). In recent years, there have been a few Wolverines who have come close to winning the coveted award, such as Aidan Hutchinson (2021) and Chris Perry (2003).

While there is currently no Wolverines favorite to win the 2024 Heisman, I’ll give you three Wolverines who have an outside chance to win the Heisman and bring it back to Ann Arbor in 2024. For that to become a reality, Michigan would have to accomplish everything it wants to accomplish in 2024. Like winning 10 or more games and getting back into the College Football Playoff.

Let’s face it, the Heisman Award is now a quarterback award. The last seven of eight winners have been quarterbacks – that position currently dominates football.

Alex Orji has not yet been named Michigan’s starter, but assuming he gets the job and plays well, Orji has a good chance to win. Orji’s ability to call on two players at once is somewhat reminiscent of Denard Robinson during his playing days at Michigan. Robinson was voted 6th in the 2010 Heisman voting.

Orji has only thrown one pass during his two years in Ann Arbor, but Orji has run a lot. He has 21 carries for 123 yards and three touchdowns. He averages nearly six yards per carry, which is pretty amazing when defenses know he’s going to run the ball when he’s in the game.

Orji needs to show he can throw the football to not only start for Michigan, but win games for the Wolverines. Orji got off to a slow start in the Spring Game in April, but once he settled in, Orji was in control of Michigan’s offense. If Orji starts for the Wolverines, he doesn’t need to throw for 250 yards and three touchdowns every game to win awards. Orji has a playmaker in him when he uses his legs. He will pick up yards on the ground to embarrass defenses. Of course, Orji still needs to show he can beat defenses when he uses his arm.

With the Wolverines facing a challenging schedule with teams like Texas, USC, Oregon, Washington and Ohio State, his name could still be in the running at the end of the season if he plays well.

While Alex Orji is the team’s potential quarterback, making him the most likely option, Donovan Edwards is the most realistic option. The last running back to win the Heisman was Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. Therefore, it’s a stretch to say a running back could win the award, as – once again – quarterbacks and passing dominate the sport’s landscape.

But Edwards isn’t just any running back. The cover athlete of the NCAA 25 video games is a well-known figure in college football, and he can do more than just run the football.

Edwards, who has been waiting for his chance to start behind Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum, is now the team’s rushing leader. He had nearly 1,000 yards rushing in 2022 – when he replaced the injured Corum. Last season was a bit disappointing for Edwards, who rushed for 497 yards. But he did have a memorable national title game. He had 106 yards on six carries and two long TD runs against Washington.

What makes Edwards special is that he is a major threat in the passing attack. In 2021 – his freshman season – Edwards caught 170 yards on 10 receptions (a record for a UM back), including a 77-yard touchdown catch against Maryland. In his Michigan career, Edwards has 68 receptions for 714 yards and three touchdowns. He is now 96 yards away from holding the Michigan record for most receiving yards as a running back.

Michigan will most likely make it as far as Edwards can make it, and with his dual talents as a runner and receiver, Edwards should rack up enough yards to qualify for the award.

This would probably be +5000 on betting sites, if not higher, because defensive players just don’t win the price. That happened once, with former Wolverine star Charles Woodson.

But as arguably the best player not only at Michigan, but possibly in all of college football, the junior cornerback should be the one to make a case for. The 2023 All-American had four INTs for the Michigan defense last season, and teams want to get rid of Johnson. Entering his junior season, Johnson has tallied 54 tackles, 14 PBUs, and seven INTs in his two seasons with the Wolverines.

In 2022, Johnson led all Power Five cornerbacks at PFF with a 91.1 man coverage rating. In 2023, he was the No. 20 player in college football allowing receptions just 44.7% of the time – based on players who had 306 or more snaps.

Johnson is already being considered a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft next April. Of course, he would have to have a stellar season as a defensive back for Heisman voters to even give him a chance, but there have been rumors that Johnson is in the running as a returner for the Wolverines this season. Given that chance, Johnson would polish his stats for the Heisman Trophy.

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