Miami Football: Is Lamar Miller a Heisman Contender for the Hurricanes?

With the 2011 college football season just a hair over five months away (woo-hoo!), the Miami Hurricanes are working hard to adjust to a new regime led by new head coach Al Golden. This follows a dismal 7-6 campaign highlighted (or lowlighted) by the absurd number of interceptions thrown by QBs Jacory Harris and Stephen Morris.

To right what went painfully wrong, Coach Golden and OC Jedd Fisch are molding an offense together that will put more emphasis on Miami's RB corp, one of the deepest in the country.

The running back expected to be the premier back this season is the speedy Lamar Miller, who will be a redshirt sophomore. The former Miami-Kilian standout, one of the premier RBs in his recruiting class, turned many heads in the 2010 season, rushing for almost 700 yards and six TDs.

Pedestrian stats, until you realize that not only was he backup to starting RB Damien Berry, but he fought all season with fellow backs Mike James and Greg Cooper just to hold down that second spot.

It gets even more impressive when you realize he averaged a whopping 6.0 YPC. He's got 'Canes fans flashing back to the days of Willis McGahee, who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2002, second among RBs behind Penn State's Larry Johnson.

Could Miller follow suit and be the latest Heisman Trophy candidate for The U?

Let's take a look at the reasons Lamar Miller will and will not be a candidate for the coveted trophy.

Reasons For

Running/Receiving Abilities

 No one who watched Lamar Miller play in 2010 can even pretend that the kid doesn't have elite talent. His main problem was that, playing backup in such a deep backfield, he didn't get to show his talents as much as he should have.

Out of 436 total handoffs to Miami's RBs in 2010, Miller received just 108 of them, or just under a quarter. While he was still second on the team in that respect, many feel his number should've been closer to Damien Berry's number of 190.

This year, he will be the premier back almost definitely, and with more emphasis being put on the run game in 2011, don't be surprised to see him get upwards of 250 carries on the year. At 6.0 YPC, that would put him at a whopping 1,500 total rushing yards.

And don't ignore his abilities at receiver. He had nine catches for 96 yards in 2010, but expect that number to rise, as Miami loves dump-offs to RBs, as roughly one in five of the total completions in 2010 went to RBs.

He doesn't need massive numbers in the receiving game—Willis McGahee caught for 350 yards and no touchdowns en route to being a Heisman finalist—but a few hundred yards and a few TDs can go a long way towards helping his chances.

Return Ability

 If you don't think kick return numbers can help a player's Heisman candidacy, ask Charles Woodson or Desmond Howard. A large portion of their candidacy was due to their success as return men.

While early indications would seem to show that WR Travis Benjamin will be the starting return man in both aspects (punt and kick return) in 2011, don't be surprised to see Miller get a number of kick returns, as he is listed as the No. 2 kick returner on the latest spring depth chart. He's got great returning prowess; he took a kick back to the house on his first ever collegiate kick return, against Ohio State nonetheless.

If he can take even a couple kicks back for TDs in 2011, it will help his candidacy greatly.

Offensive Line

 One thing that gets lost in all the issues the Miami Hurricanes had in 2010 was the fantastic play of the offensive line, which turned out to be one of the best in the country. 'Canes fans can rejoice that the O-line will remain mostly the same, with the only loss being Orlando Franklin, who was inconsistent throughout last season after being switched from OG, his main position, to OT during the offseason.

This year's starting O-line will feature two possible future first-round draft picks in massive OT Seantrel Henderson, who will be switching from the right side to the left side, and breakout OG Brandon Washington, a 2010 All-ACC selection and one of the premier guards in college football. Mix in serviceable starters in C Tyler Horn and RT Jermaine Johnson, who saw extensive action in 2010, and potential future star Brandon Linder at LG, who had some great games in 2010, and this will be, once again, one of the premier O-lines in college football.

It will provide massive gaps for Miller to shoot through en route to hopefully many big runs and a possible trip to New York City as a Heisman finalist.

National Exposure

 Simply put, Miami is a ratings monster. Even though they haven't been relevant nationally for over half a decade now, one merely needs to look at some of the most-watched games of the past few years, which include the numerous Miami/FSU games, Miami/Ohio State in 2010 and the Sun Bowl just this past season between Miami and Notre Dame.

The Miami brand has been bigger over the last 30 years than any other school in all of college football. And history shows it's the big-name schools that produce the Heisman Trophy winners.

Since 2000, Heisman winners have come from Florida State, Nebraska, USC, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Florida, Alabama and Auburn. Not one name on that list is from an even slightly low-profile school. If Miami can even make a slight splash nationally in 2011, the Miami brand will grow even more, and people will notice Lamar Miller tearing up opposing defenses week in and week out.

Reasons Against

Deep Backfield

 If Lamar Miller doesn't have a monster season, the first two guys he has to blame are his fellow RBs Mike James and Storm Johnson. Miami will boast one of the deepest backfields in college football in 2011, with three players who are very capable of starting on the vast majority of college football rosters.

If James or Johnson prove to be almost as good as Miller, they may get enough carries so that Miller's numbers could take a dip.

On the other hand, with Miami turning into a run-first offense, maybe Miller can still get a massive number of carries while still splitting time with the other two. Could we see two 1,000-yard rushers? It's not likely, but the skill is definitely there for the possibility to exist. If Nevada can get three 1,000-yard rushers, why can't Miami (with much better talent) get two?

Quarterback Favoritism

 It's a sad fact that RBs don't get as much respect as QBs on the national stage. Since 2000, nine of the 11 Heisman Trophy winners have been QBs. So far this year, the vast majority of Heisman contenders are QBs. If Miller wants to receive the award, he's going to need to get through Andrew Luck, Kellen Moore, Landry Jones, Brandon Wheedon and other elite QBs to do so.

Barring a disappointing year for QBs, expect a tough fight from the signal-callers for Heisman votes. Still, a disappointing year seems unlikely, as any of the QBs listed above are almost guaranteed good years barring injuries.

The Miami Hurricanes

 Simply put, probably the biggest thing that could keep Miller out of the Heisman voting is the team itself. There are many doubts as to whether or not this team can be a national contender. Weaknesses in the defensive secondary and in the passing game could potentially result in a few losses in 2011, which would not bode well for Miller.

Since the inception of the BCS National Championship Game in 1998, nine of the 13 Heisman Trophy winners played in the title game, and two of the others played in BCS bowls. Only two Heisman Trophy winners (Ricky Williams in 1998 and Tim Tebow in 2007) did not play in BCS bowls that season, and both of those two mainly won because they had truly legendary seasons.

If the Hurricanes want to reward Miller's efforts, they're more than likely going to have to win the ACC, something that the 'Canes have never done since joining the conference in 2004. An at-large bid for a BCS bowl seems highly unlikely with a weak ACC. If the 'Canes continue their dry spell of BCS berths, Miller will need to have a legendary season (like Ricky Williams and Tim Tebow before him) if he wants to win the Heisman Trophy.

Judgment

Lamar Miller, for many reasons, has all of the makings of a Heisman Trophy contender. A blazing runner with feet as quick and sharp as they come, Miller has the potential to be a truly elite RB in all of college football in 2011. However, the reasons listed in the opposition to him are truly big reasons.

Between a strong QB class and a 'Canes team with almost as many questions as answers, Miller may just have too big of a hill to climb if he wants to win the coveted award. My final verdict is that Lamar Miller will not garner an invitation to the Heisman Trophy presentation in 2011, falling just short of being a finalist.

But college football better watch out in 2012, when it will truly be Miller Time.