Kaidon Salter Heisman Predictions: Exploring Colorado QB’s chances for CFB’s most prestigious individual award

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Kaidon Salter is preparing for what will be a transition, yet important year for the program led by Deion Sanders. After two years of having Shedeur Sanders as their starting quarterback, the Buffaloes have turned to Salter, who has transferred from Liberty to lead them in 2025.

Many analysts are expecting the Buffaloes not to be as good as they were last year, but Salter will want to prove those critics wrong. A strong season for the player could put him in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy.

Before the season begins, let's examine his chances of winning the biggest individual award in college football.

Kaidon Salter 2025 Heisman Odds: Where he stands now

Presently, Kaidon Salter is seen as an outsider to win the Heisman Trophy in 2025 in the eyes of the bookmakers. For example, Bet MGM gives odds of +8000 for Salter to win the trophy. This figure is similar to the odds provided by other bookmakers, such as Bet365.

Around Salter in the bookmakers' rankings are other quarterbacks from similar programs (mid-tier Power Four programs). These include the Baylor Bears' Sawyer Robinson, California Golden Bears' Fernando Mendoza and Kansas Jayhawks QB Jalon Daniels.

Colorado’s Heisman History: Can Kaidon Salter join the list?

The Colorado Buffaloes have won the Heisman Trophy on two occasions. The more well-known player is the most recent to win the award.

Travis Hunter won the award in 2024, after a strong season playing as both a wide receiver and as a cornerback. His partnership with Shedeur Sanders was a key reason as to why the 2024 Colorado Buffaloes were able to be successful, making their first bowl game in nearly 10 years.

Their first Heisman Trophy winner may be unknown to some. Running back Rashaam Salaam won the award in 1994. His junior season that year is seen as one of the best in college football history for a running back

He would record 2,055 rushing yards and score 24 touchdowns on his way to the trophy, becoming one of the few running backs to record more than 2000 yards. He would be drafted by the Chicago Bears as the 21st pick of the 1995 NFL draft, and would run for more than 1,000 yards in his rookie year

However, a mixture of injuries and off-field issues meant that Salaam never lived up to his rookie season.

Kaidon Salter's top competitors for Heisman Trophy 2025

Kaidon Salter is not expected to challenge for the Heisman Trophy this year. However, the winner of the award is likely to be a quarterback.

The favorite is Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning. He is closely followed by a selection of experienced quarterbacks at some of the biggest programs in college football. This includes Garrett Nussmeier (LSU Tigers) and Drew Allar (Penn State Nittany Lions).

About the author

Ben Tredinnick is a journalist who covers college football and college basketball at Sportskeeda who is currently studying for a masters in Data Science. His degree in Psychology has helped him gain an in-depth understanding of the minds of coaches.

Ben has been involved in sports writing since 2022 and covered the NFL previously. His strengths include providing in-depth profiles of athletes and coaches, with a particular focus on development, and looking at which teams could be in the hunt for today's college stars.

Ben enjoys following college sports more than the NBA or NFL because there is more variation in terms of playstyles. The tournaments are often more competitive than the major leagues, and due to the constant turnover of players, there are rarely any "superteams" in college sports.

He prioritizes research, looks at multiple sources and publications to make sure he gets the full picture of the story before writing. He tries not to write from a one-sided perspective to allow the reader to be able to make their mind up on their own.

A Texas Longhorns fan, as well as a massive New York Giants fan, some of his favorite college players of all time are Arch Manning, Tim Tebow and Reggie Bush.

When he is not working, Ben enjoys watching films (especially Godzilla) and spending time with his cat.

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Edited by Akshay Saraswat