There is no way around it. Josh Hoover has some massive shoes to fill. He is leaving a great situation for himself at TCU to potentially better his NFL Draft stock to close out his college football career at Indiana. He may be a three-year starter for Sonny Dykes, but he has to replace the greatest player in IU history in Fernando Mendoza. Does Hoover have what it takes to win IU back-to-back Heismans?
Here is every player's Heisman Trophy odds that are +1500 or better over on FanDuel Sportsbook.
- Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning: +750
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr: +750
- Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Josh Hoover: +1000
- Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith: +1300
- Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin: +1300
- Miami Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah: +1500
- Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton: +1500
- LSU Tigers quarterback Sam Leavitt: +1500
- Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore: +1500
Where things stand now, the only players with better odds to win the 2026 Heisman Trophy than Hoover does would be Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning and Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr. Both of whom are at +750. Hoover is just off their tail at +1000. Six other players have at least +1500 odds or better of winning the Heisman Trophy in the wake of those three leaders.
For as great as Hoover's Heisman Trophy odds are coming in, this does not feel like the safest of bets.
Josh Hoover's Heisman odds are inflated because of Fernando Mendoza
Ask yourself this. How much of an outlier is Hoover among these list of candidates? Julian Sayin is the only returning Heisman Trophy finalist from this past season, and he is only at +1300 odds. This could have something to do with him potentially splitting the Ohio State vote with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who is also listed at +1300. Every other player on his is a more well-known entity.
Removing Sayin and Smith from the equation, the college football world knows all about Manning, Gunner Stockton, and Dante Moore from last year's heroics. For as great of a transfer portal pickup as Hoover was for IU, Sam Leavitt leaving Arizona State for LSU and definitely Darian Mensah leaving Duke for Miami were more high-profile moves. CJ Carr also happens to play for IU rival Notre Dame.
So what we are getting at is this... Hoover is an accomplished player in his own right, but his accomplishments at TCU pale in comparison to what many of these other early Heisman contenders have already put forth. In short, he is getting a big boost in Heisman odds because of the team he is playing for, as well as who he is replacing. Hoover may win it, but let's wait for better odds than +1000.
At this time, anticipate there being an expected dip in his odds before wagering on Hoover for this.