Urban Meyer does not hold back on naming his Heisman Trophy winner for 2023 CFB season

Urban Meyer, if anyone, should know all about which player should win the Heisman Trophy. And he's had his say on the subject as the 2023 college football season closes on us.

The former head coach of the Florida Gators is throwing his weight behind USC quarterback Caleb Williams to retain the prestigious bronze statuette.

Williams is coming off an impressive season that ended with him claiming the Heisman Trophy and being named the AP Player of the Year. But the former Ohio State Buckeyes coach is tipping him to achieve something that has been virtually impossible in college football for five decades.

Williams was instrumental to the Trojans' 11-2 record last season while amassing 4,537 passing yards and 42 touchdowns with 66.6% pass completion. Going into the new season, he's projected to maintain the same intensity and complete a back-to-back Heisman Trophy win.

Archie Griffin, Ohio State's running back from 1972-75, was the first and only player to achieve a double Heisman Trophy win back to back. However, Urban Meyer believes the time has come for that record to be broken, placing his bet on Williams.

Speaking with On3's Sam Gillenwater, Meyer said:

“Archie is a great friend of mine. I think he's in jeopardy every year. Heisman Trophy winners? There's no seniors anymore. Seniors don't win Heismans because seniors are gone. There's not many seniors in power football anymore because they leave early for draft. Williams is really good, so, yes, he's in jeopardy of losing it.”

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Urban Meyer's coaching career and Heisman Trophy success

Urban Meyer has himself produced a Heisman Trophy winner before. He was the Florida Gators coach when Tim Tebow won the prestigious award in 2007. Before his time at Florida, Meyer was head coach at Bowling Green and later at Utah.

At Florida, he established himself as a coach of national relevance by leading the Gators to two national championship title wins. Meyer coached the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2012 to 2018 and became one of the few coaches to win the national championship with two schools.

After the 2018 college football season, Meyer retired from college football coaching and worked briefly as an assistant athletic director at Ohio State.

Meyer is one of college football's most successful coaches. But success for him doesn't come at an easy cost. The latest episode of the Netflix docuseries "Untold: Swamp Kings" tells the story of his strict methods as the Gators coach.