New Bowman Chrome U Release has Heisman favorites

With the release of 2025 Bowman Chrome University Football set for Friday, we wanted to look at how the Heisman race might shape the perception of the checklist. With a 200-card base set a lot of the big names will be in the set, but a few key underclassmen will be missing as well. Thankfully, most of the Heisman contenders are in the set with a mix of Bowman 1st's and returning players.

Looking at some of the top returning players to the set, Alabama QB Ty Simpson and Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed, both have been in previous editions. A little further down the board, Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby, Oregon QB Dante Moore, and USC QB Jayden Maiava have all already had Bowman 1st's as well.

The Heisman Front-Runner: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza

In addition to being the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, Mendoza is also the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Indiana is currently No. 2 in the nation and coming off a 50-6 win over a hot UCLA team that had won three in a row. This set is coming out at the perfect time as Indiana is putting up a lot of points and will continue to do so with Maryland on the schedule next. Mendoza should be one of the main chases in the product as he'll have his Bowman 1st base card, three chances at autographs (including a Big Kahuna multi-case hit autograph), and will feature in the 1955 Bowman insert. Looking at the posted pick-your-player breaks online, he is far and away the highest-priced player.

The Heisman Hopeful: Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia

The market on Pavia would have been a lot colder had this come out two weeks ago, but after back-to-back wins over No. 10 LSU and No. 15 Missouri, Vanderbilt is up to No. 9 in the country. Things don't get any easier for the Commodores and their Heisman hopeful, as they head to Austin to take on the No. 20 Longhorns this week. Pavia will feature a little more heavily on the checklist as he'll have a Bowman 1st base and base variation on the checklist. In addition, he'll have the base and base variation autographs, a Big Kahuna autograph, a 1955 Bowman autograph, plus three inserts. Pavia is a character and should have a large collector base outside of just Vanderbilt fans. While he isn't going for as much as Mendoza in PYP breaks, he is one of the more expensive players you can target.

The Former Heisman Front-Runner: Oklahoma QB John Mateer

Had this product come out before John Mateer's injury, I feel quite confident he would have been the biggest chase in the product. He's still one of the big chases, to be clear, but the shine has worn off a bit as Oklahoma dropped the Red River Rivalry and then fell to Ole Miss in their last game. Mateer also hasn't looked healthy the last few weeks, which has not helped his case. You can tell Mateer was expected to be one of the players carrying the product as he features 13 times across the base, autographs, and inserts. Given how often he appears in the checklist and how highly he was thought of before the injury, I'm a bit shocked some spots have Mateer below some receivers in the product and on par with Georgia Tech QB Haynes King (although both should probably be higher-priced).

Who Isn't In The Product?

We've gone through some of the top players in the product, but a few key names are missing. Starting in the Heisman conversation Ohio State QB Julian Sayin and WR Jeremiah Smith are both missing from the product, but have been seen in Panini products before. Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love had a Bowman 1st last year you can chase. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss is a D2 transfer that didn't even start the first few weeks, so I think we can forgive Topps for not seeing this one coming.

A few names I'm surprised didn't make it are Washington QB Demond Williams, Maryland QB Malik Washington, Cal QB Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele, and Miami WR Malachi Toney. Williams has Leaf cards, but the others are three of the top freshmen in the country. Meanwhile, other freshmen made the checklist (like top-prospect Michigan QB Bryce Underwood), it is strange to see Washington (No. 5 QB) and Keawe-Sagapolutele (No. 7 QB) not on the checklist, as both were expected to start even from the spring. It could be as simple as exclusivity somewhere else, but still a bit disappointing.