Oklahoma is tied with two other schools for the most Heisman Trophy winners with seven. Four of those recipients of the prized award as the best player in college football were Sooner quarterbacks, hence the OU designation as "Quarterback U."
In addition to four Heisman winners, the Sooners have also had two quarterbacks (Josh Heupel in 2000 and Jalen Hurts in 2019) voted Heisman runners-up in the last two decades.
And that's not all. Caleb Williams, a member of the Sooners' 2021 recruiting class before transferring to USC along with his former OU head coach Lincoln Riley, is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
Oklahoma introduces a new starting quarterback for 2024 as the Sooners enter their first season as a member of the formidable SEC. Sophomore Jackson Arnold, a former five-star recruit and Gatorade National Player of the Year, takes the reigns this season, replacing the departed Dillon Gabriel, who transferred to Oregon after last season.
To be fair, Oklahoma believed Gabriel would declare for the NFL Draft after the 2023 season despite having one more year of eligibility. Gabriel, however, withdrew his name from draft consideration ostensibly because of a lower than expected draft grade. He also was keenly aware that Arnold was recruited and groomed as Gabriel's backup last season as the Sooners QB of the future designee.
Had Gabriel elected to remain at OU for his final collegiate season, there was a good likelihood Arnold might have opted for the transfer portal. Recognizing this and wanting to stay another year at the collegiate level to hopefully improve his draft stock, Gabriel chose to transfer after two outstanding seasons at Oklahoma.
The addition of the veteran Gabriel immediately projected Oregon as a 2024 preseason top-10 team and national title contender. Last season at OU, Gabriel threw for 3,660 passing yards and 30 touchdowns with six interceptions. He ranked sixth among FBS teams with a passing efficiency rating of 171.99.
Gabriel not surprisingly is on the 2024 Heisman Watch list and his odds of winning the trophy this season have been getting better in recent weeks. One sportsbook this past week elevated the Oregon Duck quarterback as the favorite to win the Heisman. ESPN BET has Gabriel at +750, passing QBs Carson Beck of Georgia and Quinn Ewers of Texas, who have held the top two spots since February. The left-handed Gabriel had been as long as 14-1 odds back in the spring.
Of the 89 winners of the Heisman Trophy since the award was first presented in 1935, 40 have been quarterbacks, including four each from Oklahoma and Notre Dame, the most of any school.
If you were to include former Oklahoma Sooners at the position, though, the number would be a nation-best five, and if Gabriel were to reach that lofty pinnacle this coming season, the number would grow to six.
What was once a halfback or running back-dominated award has dramatically shifted since 2000 to favor quarterbacks. Since 2000, for example 20 different quarterbacks have been awarded the Heisman Trophy.