Top Five Heisman Candidates and Five Others You Should Care About

2. Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech: News flash, Graham Harrell will throw for 5,000 yards passing. The question will be will his defense help him out. If his defense does not perform this season as many people are predicting it will, then his time on the list will be short lived. He will put up some great numbers, just like his offense does every year, but will it be enough to win games? 

3. Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia: Stafford's WRs will have to improve this season to make him a contender. His WRs were not dependable last season which led to a low completion percentage.

Also, the style of offense Georgia runs does not lend itself to gaudy numbers for its QBs. Also, there is this other guy in the backfield named Knowshon Moreno who will take a lot of the Heisman spotlight.

4. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia: Noel Devine, not Pat White will be the Mountaineer possibility for the Heisman trophy. White will not put up the numbers at QB to compete, but Devine who is an excellent return man and RB should be able to put up the numbers to allow for his addition to the Heisman list.

He will rush for over 1,500 yards this season. But because he is playing lesser competition than RBs like Wells and Moreno, West Virginia will need to go undefeated for Devine to have a shot at the Heisman.

5. T.J. Yates, QB, North Carolina: This is my sleeper pick for Heisman or even Heisman candidate. Yates threw for over 2,500 yards last season for a 4-8 UNC team which lost six games by a touchdown or less. Look for the Tar Heels and all of their returning starters including T.J. Yates to turn some of those Ls into Ws.

If North Carolina is able to win the Coastal, Yates will be a major part of the equation. Whether he will out shine Cullen Harper, Clemson, and Sean Glennon, Virginia Tech, remains to be seen. But look for Yates and the Heels to make this an interesting season for the ACC and a record breaking year for him at UNC.

NOTE: Rudy Carpenter makes the list because I don't want to hear BabyTate complain about how great he is, and how he is so much better than Matthew Stafford.

Also, no one from Clemson is on this list because they will all take away from one another. Both backs will have 1,000 yard seasons, and Harper will throw for over 2,500 yards making him a possible addition to the list.

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