Michigan Football: Will The Wolverines have a Heisman Contender?

Michigan football has a handful of elite playmakers, but will any of them be at the Heisman ceremony in December?

Under Jim Harbaugh, Michigan football has had a number of players look to compete for the Heisman. The most notable of the group are Jabrill Peppers and Aidan Hutchinson, who actually made it to the ceremony.

The closest player to winning it, however, may have been Blake Corum in 2022. Corum was squarely in the mix for the Heisman, and had he not gotten injured he would’ve had a legitimate shot at winning it. Some even say he would’ve been the favorite.

In 2023, Michigan football appears to have three contenders for the trophy. Quarterback JJ McCarthy and running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards could all realistically win the trophy if given the chance. But will any of them make it to New York? Here are my thoughts.

J.J. McCarthy has the best shot at the Heisman Trophy for Michigan football

While this may seem like a shocker, I think that J.J. McCarthy has the best chance to represent Michigan football at the Heisman ceremony. Why not a running back? Well, Michigan has two elite running backs. Edwards is going to be even better this year, so his workload should increase.

I expect that Edwards and Corum will have close to a 50-50 or 60-40 split for carries, with Edwards getting more of the receiving work. This would make it very unlikely that either back gets the necessary stat-padding to make it to New York.

I think that both will surpass 1000 yards on the ground, but in today’s game, a running back would probably need closer to 2000 rushing yards to have a real case. The Heisman is unfortunately mostly a quarterback award nowadays.

This brings us to J.J. McCarthy, who is hands down the most talented quarterback that Michigan football has had since Denard Robinson. He’s a true dual threat and has elite arm talent. Michigan is not going to run with McCarthy until they play elite opponents, but I do think they’ll give him the opportunity to air it out against lesser opponents early in the year.

Through the first three games of the year, it’s not that unrealistic to expect JJ to have over 1000 yards passing. Michigan football should be able to do whatever it wants offensively, and they’re definitely going to want to limit the wear and tear on Corum and Edwards.

In a strange, anti-Michigan way, I think we could see the Wolverines lean on the pass more to avoid any injury risk in the backfield. McCarthy very easily could be a Heisman frontrunner through the first third of the season.

The question then, is how much Sherrone Moore will opt to pass it during Big Ten play. I expect JJ to average between 25 and 30 throws a game, which would give him the chance to go for close to 300 yards each game.

For McCarthy, I think 4000 yards is the magic number to make it to New York. It’s expected to be a relatively weak year on the Heisman end, with last year’s winner Caleb Williams as the only real frontrunner.

I’m going to make a bold prediction and say J.J. McCarthy will be in New York for the Heisman ceremony after some huge performances against Penn State and Ohio State. A Heisman-level quarterback is exactly what Michigan needs this year, and I think they’ll have it. Go Blue!