The Latest Heisman Race News And Notes

The 2025 college football season is like a multi-layered action-adventure series, introducing new main characters with every new episode.

As soon as we get familiar with one set of stars, the show’s producers drop another half dozen or so key players who move the plot forward.

That’s how it has gone so far this season in college stadiums around the country where impressive players look around, say hold my Gatorade, and throw their names into the ever-widening Heisman hopeful ring.

Let’s start with Heisman winner Robert Griffin III’s latest Heisman frontrunner list after Week 3, which features Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed first with Miami QB Carson Beck second, Florida State QB Tommy Castellanos third, Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson fourth and Texas Tech QB Behren Morton fifth. Completing Griffin’s current top 10 are A&M’s wideout Mario Craver, Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, Oklahoma QB John Mateer, Georgia QB Gunner Stockton and Utah QB Devon Dampier.

Reed grabbed the nation’s attention over the weekend while leading the upstart Aggies to a 41-40 road upset of Notre Dame, throwing for 360 yards and two scores, including an 11-yard TD on fourth-and-goal with 13 seconds left. He also gained 37 yards rushing.

The folks at Saturday Blitz led off their latest Heisman Risers list with Reed, saying: “Nothing can help a Heisman Trophy campaign like putting together a great performance in a massive primetime game. Marcel Reed’s 4th and Goal game winning touchdown may be too early in the season to be considered a Heisman moment but, it’s certainly enough to make him a serious contender.”

Also on their Risers list is Mateer, Robertson, Missouri QB Beau Pribula and Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy.

Speaking of big-game moments, how about Stockton, who led Georgia to a 44-41 comeback win over host Tennessee, throwing for 304 yards and two scores, including a late fourth-quarter TD pass and conversion throw to force overtime.

Consider RGIII impressed, the Heisman great saying after: “This man went out there and brought his team back, throwing a TD to London Humphreys with one of the prettiest throws i’ve ever seen. He threw the ball picture perfect into the corner of the end zone. He should be on every analyst’s and pundit’s Heisman list this week.”

Bleacher Report certainly listened, plugging in Stockton at fourth on its latest Heisman Top 5 watch list. Mateer is first, followed by Beck, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Stockton and Smith.

While we’re here, let’s go over Mateer, the Oklahoma first-year QB who has the Sooners 3-0. He is seventh nationally in yards per game passing (314.7) with five TDs and three interceptions, completing 67.6% of his passes. He has also rushed for 161 yards and has scored four times on the ground.

Beck has the Hurricanes at 3-0 following a 49-12 with over No. 18 South Florida. Beck, the first-year transfer from Georgia, is averaging 271 yards passing with seven TDs and two interceptions.

Among some of the below the radar names — or at least even with the radar — we are tracking include USC’s Jayden Maiava, who leads the country in passing efficiency (215.53) and yards per attempt (14.1). He is fifth in passing yards per game (329.7) and has six TDs without an interception following the Trojans road win at Purdue, which included his second rushing score.

Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia won’t remain below the radar for long if he keeps leading the Commodores to big wins. Vandy, now 3-0, is coming off of a 31-7 win at South Carolina where Pavia threw a pair of TD passes. He has seven on the season.

Another signal-caller who helped lead his team to 3-0 is Haynes King of Georgia Tech, who orchestrated a 24-21 upset over No. 12 Clemson. King threw for 211 yards and also led all rushers with 103 yards and a score. In the Yellowjackets’ opener, he ran for 156 yards and three scores at Colorado.

You think we need another 3-0 QB here? OK we’ve got another. How about Cal freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who has led the Bears to wins over Oregon State, Texas Southern and Minnesota. From the same hometown in Hawai’i as 2018 Heisman finalist Tua Tagovailoa, Sagapolutele has passed for 780 yards and six TDs against one interception and has games against San Diego State, Boston College, Duke and North Carolina over the next month to keep his momentum going.

Among the above-the-radar crowd is Alabama QB Ty Simpson. Following a tough season-opening loss at Florida State, Alabama has won two in a row, including a 38-14 win over Wisconsin. Simpson asserted himself in the win over the Badgers with 382 yards passing on 24-of-29 attempts, including four TDs.

Oregon’s Moore is doing Duck QB-like things in leading the green and yellow (and white and black and silver, etc.) to 3-0. He has passed for 657 yards and seven TDs heading into the rivalry game with Oregon State this week. 

We could go on, with the likes of Hardy at Missouri, Julian Sayin at Ohio State and Drew Allar at Penn State, but we’ll wait one more week and look forward to more stars lighting up college football and the Heisman race.