Heisman Trophy
1. C.J. Stroud
2. Caleb Williams
3. Max Duggan

Most view the Heisman as a narrative award — the player with the most significant ‘moment’ or the player whose team ended the season the best tends to win, but that’s not the way it should be. Stroud, over the season’s full body of work, was the best of these quarterbacks, leading the way in quarterback rating, and tied with Williams for the lead, among those on my ballot, for passing touchdowns. Additionally, Stroud’s Buckeyes were better than Williams’ Trojans, a key factor in my decision. Placing Duggan third on my ballot wasn’t easy, but no other players stood out. Plus, the TCU signal-caller led the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoff, which is no small feat.

Maxwell Award
C.J. Stroud

Walter Camp Award
C.J. Stroud

Coach of the Year
Kirby Smart

Sonny Dykes and perhaps a few others may be sexier picks, but Smart, in coaching and recruiting his Bulldogs to a No. 1 ranking, deserves this honor. After all, some, if not most, would take Smart over any other coach in the country if building a team.

Davey O’Brien Award
C.J. Stroud

Doak Walker Award
Bijan Robinson

It was hard to resist choosing Blake Corum, an engine in Michigan’s rampage to the College Football Playoff, but Robinson edges him as an overall back, especially in the passing game. Also, Texas wasn’t a bad team by any means, as most metrics rated the Longhorns among the nation’s 10 best squads.

Fred Biltenikoff Award
Marvin Harrison Jr.

Harrison Jr. is the best talent at wide receiver in the country — no doubt about it. With that said, selecting Jalin Hyatt for this honor was awfully tempting. Hyatt produced better stats than Harrison Jr. in arguably a better offense, but talent, as it should, wins out here. In a decade, it would look silly to give Hyatt this honor over Harrison Jr.

John Mackey Award
Dalton Kincaid

Kincaid, shockingly, wasn’t even a finalist for this award, but the Utah tight end played for a good team, and produced the best numbers among all players at his position. Sure, Brock Bowers is tremendous, and Michael Mayer was extremely valuable for Notre Dame, but Kincaid deserves this trophy.

Outland Trophy
Peter Skoronski

Skoronski was dominant all year for Northwestern, and should be selected in the front nine of the first round in next April’s draft.

Rimington Trophy
Olusegun Oluwatimi

Michigan possessed one of the nation’s best offensive lines in 2022, and Oluwatimi was a big reason for that.

Chuck Bednarik Award
Will Anderson

Anderson’s campaign this year wasn’t as good as his 2021 output, but he was still the country’s top defender. 10.0 sacks is nothing to turn one’s nose at, and he led a good Crimson Tide defense to a No. 5 ranking.

Bronko Nagurski Award
Will Anderson

Dick Butkus Award
Jack Campbell

Campbell’s Iowa team had arguably the nation’s best defense this season, and the senior linebacker added 115 tackles for good measure. A worthy selection among a deep pool of candidates, including Tommy Eichenberg, Ivan Pace, and Trenton Simpson.

Jim Thorpe Award
Clark Phillips

Phillips was phenomenal for a stout Utah defense all season, recording six interceptions and two defensive touchdowns. Phillips has tons of ability, and should be selected in one of the first two rounds in the 2023 Draft.

Lou Groza Award
Jake Moody

Ray Guy Award
Bryce Baringer