Predicting Final Order of Finish for 2015 Heisman Trophy
As the 2015 college football season begins, itโs fun to take a look at the Heisman Trophyย preseason odds. While we think we know the elite players in the game, odds are weโll feel differently when the stiff-arm trophy is handed out in Manhattan in December.
Players will fall off the list due to injury or poor production, replaced by others who were well off the board when the season began. Think otherwise? Look at theย 2014 preseason odds, per Odds Shark.ย Players like Georgiaโs Todd Gurley, Auburnโs Nick Marshall and Oklahomaโs Trevor Knight were among the top contenders who didnโt sniff a trip to the Heisman ceremony.
The same will be the case this year, but that doesnโt mean we wonโt have fun trying to determine whoโll hoist the trophy even before the first Saturday of the season. Hereโs our best guess at the finishing order for the 2015 Heisman Trophy. Players were ranked by virtue of their expected 2015 performance, their skills flashed in prior seasons and how we expect the national scene to unfold this fall.ย
8. Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson
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Jeremy Johnson has started only two career games, but he is already drawing comparisons to another Auburn Heisman Trophy winner: Cam Newton. Johnson stands 6โ5โ and 240 pounds and possesses an enticing blend of deep-ball skills and the ability to run tacklers over on scrambles.
Last fall, he completed 28 of 37 passes (a 75.7 percent clip) for 436 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions while playing behind starter Nick Marshall. He started and excelled against Arkansas while Marshall served a suspension for marijuana possession, throwing for 243 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
Johnson is surrounded by a talented offense, including an excellent deep threat in wide receiver Dโhaquille Williams. If Auburnโs defense improves under new coordinator Will Muschamp and the Tigers contend for the SEC title, he could become a Heisman favorite.
7. Southern California QB Cody Kessler
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2015 could be a special season for Southern California. Since receiving serious NCAA sanctions that stripped 30 scholarships over three seasons in 2010, the Trojans are 44-21 with a pair of 10-win seasons. But that doesnโt match the high standards set by former coach Pete Carroll, who won an AP national title in 2003 and a BCS national championship in 2004.
But with sanctions easing and coach Steve Sarkisian in place, USC has the talent to return to the national spotlight this fall. If so, the Trojans will get there with a big assist from Cody Kessler. The senior quarterback, who stands 6โ1โ and 210 pounds, is one of college footballโs more underrated players.
Last fall, he threw an amazing 39 touchdowns against five interceptions. While he lost receiver Nelson Agholor to the NFL draft, the Trojan offense still has plenty of talent. Sophomore receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is an emerging star, and two-way player Adoreeโ Jackson can make an offensive impact, too. ย
If USC contends for the College Football Playoff, Kessler will reap the benefits in the national spotlight and earn a trip to New York City.
6. Clemson QB Deshaun Watson
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Clemson returns just five starters from a year ago, but head coachย Dabo Swinneyโs Tigers have high hopes of a College Football Playoff berth and contending for the programโs first national title since 1981.
There are many reasons why, but one of the biggest is sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson made just five starts as a freshman thanks to finger and knee injuries that truncated his season, but he flashed impressive skills when he was healthy. In his first career start, he tied an ACC record with six touchdowns and threw for 435 yards in a win over North Carolina.
On the season, he threw 1,466 yards with 14 touchdowns against two interceptions and combined excellent mobility with a strong arm. Are there concerns about his frame at 6โ2โ and 205 pounds? Sure.
But Watson is healthy now, and he has the skills to excel in an offense with one of the gameโs best receiving corps, including junior Mike Williams, sophomore Artavis Scott and freshmen Deon Cain and Ray-Ray McCloud.
If he stays upright behind a revamped offensive line, Clemsonโs offense will thrive, earning him a ticket to New York.
5. Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett
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This was a spot worth agonizing over given Ohio Stateโs ongoing quarterback battle pitting sophomore J.T. Barrett and junior Cardale Jones. No one, save perhaps head coachย Urban Meyer, knows whoโll run out for the first snap Monday night at Virginia Tech or if both quarterbacks will play. Co-offensive coordinator Tim Beck toldย USA Today's Nicole Auerbachย that the competition was like "two heavyweights going at it."
But thereโs no denying Barrettโs impact after he was thrown into the starting lineup last fall for the Buckeyes. Jones finished the run to the national title, but Ohio State wouldnโt have been there without Barrett. He threw for 2,834 yards with 34 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, adding 938 rushing yards and 11 scores on the ground.
Barrett can hurt defenses in a variety of ways, and heโll work with another loaded Ohio State offense this fall, including former starting quarterback Braxton Miller as an H-back/wide receiver. If he can shake off the rust from his season-ending broken ankle, heโll be a clear factor in the Heisman race for the nationโs best team.
4. LSU RB Leonard Fournette
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Entering his sophomore season, LSU tailback Leonard Fournette is poised to emerge as one of college footballโs truly elite players. The nationโs consensus 2014 top recruit,ย per 247Sports,ย got off to a slow start but flashed jaw-dropping skills in the seasonโs final stretch to finish with 1,034 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Fournette stands 6โ1โ and 230 pounds and has a blend of power and speed that frightens opposing linebackers. He should be even better with a winter in the weight room behind him, but the biggest factor will be Brandon Harrisโ development as LSUโs starting quarterback.
If Harris can take control of the offense and utilize a dangerous group of receivers, heโll take pressure off Fournette and increase his overall value. ESPNโs Joey Galloway toldย NOLA.comโs Jerit Roser that Fournette โabsolutely can winโ the Heisman.
โAs far as his ability and the kind of running back he is, if they can get the passing game goingโand they don't have to be really good, they just have to be able to make some playsโand he absolutely can win it," Galloway said.ย
We agree. Fournette is a special talent, and heโll flash it even more this season.
3. Georgia RB Nick Chubb
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A year ago, if you knew who Nick Chubb was, you were either a Georgia fan or a major college football recruiting aficionado. Now, if you donโt know who Chubb is, youโre just not paying attention. Last fall, Chubb emerged from Todd Gurleyโs considerable shadow to become one of college footballโs best tailbacks as a freshman.
He rushed for 1,547 yards with 14 touchdowns and racked up eight consecutive 100-yard rushing games. The last UGA player to turn that trick? None other than Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker. Chubbโs 266 yards in a Belk Bowl rout of Louisville was the second-highest rushing total in UGA history behind Walker, who ripped Vanderbilt for 283 yards in 1980.
At 5โ10โ and 228 pounds, Chubb is the kind of player opposing linebackers donโt want to see coming through the A-gap. He can run over and around defenders, breaking huge gains on the outside or running between the tackles.
He leads a deep Georgia backfield, and heโll get fed plenty by new starting quarterback Greyson Lambert, a graduate transfer from Virginia. If new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is smart, heโll lean on Chubb early and often and fuel the Bulldogsโ run to an SEC title and a College Football Playoff berth.
2. Ohio State RB Ezekiel Elliott
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With all the hubbub surrounding Ohio Stateโs quarterback situation, we havenโt heard much about tailback Ezekiel Elliott this season. Thatโs fine. Youโll hear his name plenty this fall. While Cardale Jones stole headlines, Elliott was one of the biggest reasons the Buckeyes claimed a national title last fall.
He had a breakout season, rushing for 1,878 yards and 18 touchdowns. And he got better as the season went along, ending the year with three consecutive 200-yard rushing efforts.
Elliott saved the best for last, rushing 36 times for 246 yards and four scores in Ohio Stateโs 42-20 national title game rout of Oregon.
At 6โ0โ and 225 pounds, Elliott has an appealing blend of power and speed, and his physicality helps him thrive in Ohio Stateโs fast-paced scheme. Heโs playing for the nationโs best team, and perhaps the only thing that could seriously hurt his candidacy is having potential votes cleaved away by the eventual winner of the Buckeyesโ quarterback derby.
1. TCU QB Trevone Boykin
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If you asked someone this timeย a year ago who the leading returning Heisman Trophy vote-getter would be in 2015, chances are that person would have gone through many, many names before settling on Trevone Boykin.
Yet thatโs exactly the case as the season begins. Boykin settled in full time at quarterback in TCUโs Air Raid offense last fall and was the nationโs biggest breakout star. He was the main reason the Horned Frogs improved from 4-8 in 2013 to 12-1 in 2014, just missing the College Football Playoff.
The onetime wide receiver did a little bit of everything last year, throwing for 3,901 yards with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and adding 707 rushing yards and eight touchdowns as a dual-threat quarterback.
He had a solid opener in No. 2 TCU's 23-17 win at Minnesota, completing 26 of 42 passes for 246 yards, a touchdown and an interception and adding 18 carries for 92 yards and a score as the Horned Frogs' leading rusher.
Boykin is mobile with a solid arm, and he leads an offense that returns 10 starters from the nationโs No. 2 scoring offense. TCU is one of the nationโs best teams, and the Horned Frogs will score and score often again this fall.
Quarterbacks have won 13 of the last 15 Heisman Trophies and the last five overall. Boykin will continue that trend on one of the nationโs best teams as TCU finishes the drill and makes the College Football Playoff.
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