New Heisman Voting Systems Allow Fans to Vote on Prestigious College Football Award

The Heisman Trophy is launching the Heisman Hopefuls platform this season, per ESPN's Bill Connelly, which will allow fans to track player data and vote on their choice for the award.

According to that report, "The winner of the fan vote will be unveiled live on ESPN on the weekend of conference championship games. The players ranking first, second and third will be logged as the first official Heisman ballot."

Fans will be allowed to vote daily.

"We're creating a methodology to dynamically weight fan votes based on data observed throughout the season," the director of the Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Center's Ron Yurko told Connelly. "While fans will be allowed to vote each day throughout the season, CMSAC's data-driven approach will guide how much weight to give votes each week."

Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez won last year's fan vote, followed by Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson in second and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza—who ultimately won the Heisman—finishing third.

"Every player who steps onto the field this fall begins the season as a Heisman Hopeful with the chance to earn the award on the field of play," Price said. "This platform, working hand in hand with the schools, helps us shine a light on those players and bring their stories forward all season long."

Among the Heisman favorites heading into the 2026 season are Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and Texas quarterback Arch Manning, among others.