College Football Predictions: Top 10 Favorites for Heisman Memorial Trophy
The Heisman Trophy is one of the most famous awards in all of sports, and the hype begins long before the winner walks the aisle in venue New York in December.
Through the spring and summer before the season begins, fans talk up the best players from their schools as candidates for the trophy. Players even flash the Heisman sign during big plays, staking their claim as the best player in the country. We have seen preseason favorites, such as Tim Tebow, remain on top the whole season to collect the award at the end, and we have witnessed players like Cam Newton come out of absolutely nowhere to etch their names in the history books.
What is a common denominator, however, is what type of player receives the award. Most of the time the winner of the Heisman is on a top-five team and plays one of the main skill positions (QB, RB, WR). This will likely be the case in 2011, but you never know who can have an incredible season and buck that trend.
We are a long way from the Labor Day kickoff to the season, but it’s never too early to discuss this award.
Here are, in my opinion, the top 10 candidates to take home the 77th Heisman Memorial Trophy.
Feel free to comment, probably in the form of “this player should be on the list because you don’t know what you're talking about.”
10. Tyler Wilson, Arkansas
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Nationally, not many know who Tyler Wilson is at this point but that will certainly change over the course of the season. Now that Ryan Mallett has departed to the NFL, Wilson will be given the reigns to a top-10 talented team. The 6’3”, 220-pound junior has got one of the deepest receiving corps in the country to throw to and an offensive genius in Bobby Petrino calling the plays.
He is certainly an outside darkhorse to win the trophy, but it appears he has the ability (see game vs. Auburn) to make a lot of the throws and should blossom with more experience.
He certainly has the confidence to be a leader and is looking forward to his first season as starter: "We believe this year can be a special year," Wilson said, "and we can do things that we haven't done here before."
I would not be surprised if this guy wound up in New York.
9. Brandon Jenkins, Florida State
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This is the one slide that I give love to a defensive player. If anyone on that side of the ball is going to win the Heisman, it is this guy.
Now more than ever, the odds are really against a d-man winning the award. The sport is so offensively geared that players are putting up stats at an amazing rate. This not only overshadows some of the great defensive players in the game, it virtually assures that the offensive guys are going to win the major awards.
Brandon Jenkins is one of said incredible defensive talents. He racked up 56 tackles and 13.5 sacks as a sophomore for an improving Florida State Seminoles squad that has high hopes in 2011. He is too small to be a defensive end at the next level, but his strength, athleticism and speed make him one of the best defensive players in the country.
If he can put up a monster junior season, Brandon Jenkins could be a surprise Heisman finalist.
8. Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina
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Remember when a sophomore winning the Heisman Trophy was blasphemy? Well now it’s the new hit apparently, so don’t count out South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore as a dark horse in this thing.
The former top HS recruit burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2010 with over 1,600 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns in the rugged SEC. His Gamecocks surprised many by usurping Florida in the Eastern division (courtesy of a 200 yard rushing performance by Lattimore) before falling to the Cam Newton machine in Atlanta.
Hopes are high in Columbia that this could be the year they make some noise nationally. With a few solid recruiting classes on the field and an excellent veteran coach in Steve Spurrier, Lattimore may have an outside shot to the win.
Despite their limited football history, A South Carolina player has won the Heisman before. Running back George Rodgers took home the trophy by leading the nation with 1,781 rushing yards, so there is a bit of a precedent to aim for with Lattimore.
If South Carolina somehow won the SEC Championship in 2011, Lattimore would get serious consideration with a big season. Other than that, his chances are rather slim.
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7. Kellen Moore, Boise State
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Another guy with an outside chance to win the Heisman in 2011 is Boise State’s QB Kellen Moore.
Moore now has to face life without two of his favorite targets, Austin Pettis and Titus Young. Because of this, his stock was slightly higher going into last year than this, but if the Broncos can dodge a few tough games and finish the season undefeated, Moore will be in the news enough to have a legitimate shot at winning the Heisman. However, being in a non-power conference will probably be what dooms the Prosser, Washington native.
He could be a finalist if he backs up last year’s nation leading QB rating of 182.6 and 35:6 TD/INT ratio. However, the year before he had 39:3 and didn’t even make the trip to Manhattan. It seems playing in a small conference will doom Moore no matter what he does this season.
6. Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State
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OK. Well, a receiver hasn’t won the Heisman trophy since 1991, so odds are against the best wideout in the country. But if anyone can stop that drought, it’s Justin Blackmon.
First, he plays on an Oklahoma State team that constantly throws the football, which leads to some good numbers. Quaterback Brandon Weeden was sixth in the nation in pass attempts last year and the duo shouldn’t miss a beat as they continue to develop their chemistry.
The problem for Blackmon is that he wasn’t invited to last year's ceremony after putting up monster numbers (111 catches for 1,782 yards and 20 TDs as a sophomore, mind you), which begs the question: What will it take for him to win the award? 150 catches? 2,000 yards? 25 touchdowns?
The funny part is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he hit these numbers. He did miss a game in 2010, so it will be interesting to see where he does stats wise. He’s so skillful in space and has amazing hands. He is a man among boys and should be considered a threat to take home the trophy.
5. Denard Robinson, Michigan
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I’m not the biggest fan of Denard Robinson, but he does have a decent chance of coming from the back of the pack to take home the Heisman Trophy in 2011.
The Heisman has now become a cross between a best stats and a MVP award. The latter may not apply to Michigan QB Denard Robinson, but the former certainly does.
The speedy runner burst onto the scene in 2010 with some incredible performances to lead the Wolverines to a 5-0 start. As usual with Michigan, their defensive frailties caught up to them and they lost five out of their last seven games.
Despite this, Robinson put up some impressive numbers. His passing stats were not spectacular (18 TD, 11 INT) but he ran for over 1,702 yards, good for second in the country and a full 230 yards more than Cam Newton.
Of course, what doomed the sophomore (wow, that keeps coming up) is the weaknesses of the players around him. This year, Michigan rolls the dice with a new defensive coordinator. Considering the defense cannot be any worse, they should win more games, which will put the attention on the star quarterback.
4. Darron Thomas
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The next two stars on this list have a realistic chance to win the Heisman. They are also teammates.
The Oregon Ducks were one of the biggest surprises during the 2010 college football season. Their undefeated run to the National Championship game was largely due to their explosive, fast-paced offense that was nearly impossible to prepare on defense.
One of the leaders of this offense was quarterback Darron Thomas. Many believe that Thomas was simply a scrambling type that ran the ball out of a spread formation for easy yards. In fact, most of the option reads called by coach Chip Kelly went to their outstanding pair of running backs, and Thomas ran quite infrequently.
He was very underrated as a passer a year ago because of the running style of the offense, but he has proved he is one of the best dual-threat guys in the country. He passed for 30 touchdowns to just nine interceptions (not bad for a sophomore). The only major knocks on Thomas are his thin stature and his tendency to be careless when carrying the football.
If Thomas leads the Ducks to another undefeated season in 2011, expect him to be right at the top of the ballot when it comes time to vote for the Heisman.
3. LaMichael James, Oregon
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The other half of Oregon’s incredibly talented backfield consists of a man who already knows how to get to New York City.
LaMichael James was a finalist in 2010 trophy, after running for 1,731 yards by averaging nearly six yards a carry and finding the end zone 21 times on the ground. He didn’t come out of nowhere however, as his freshman was even more impressive (6.7 ypc on 230 attempts)!
He established himself as the workhorse for the offense last year, and virtually carried the Ducks to an undefeated season. After the warm-up games against New Mexico, Tennessee and Portland State, James carried the ball at least 20 times in every regular season game.
Unfortunately for James, and Thomas, the Ducks’ offense stalled by the time the National Championship Game rolled around, and a 19-point effort against Auburn was not good enough to give the pair their first title.
James has a great chance to crash the party and win the Heisman Trophy in 2011. If either of the top two contenders struggle, or if their teams struggle. This guy can become the favorite very early in the season. Right now, he is a heavy favorite to at least make it to the showcase in Manhattan.
2. Andrew Luck
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Many people believe that Andrew Luck is the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman in 2011.
But as Lee Corso would say: Not so fast, my friend!
Overhaul is never a good thing for a program. Stanford’s rise to the top has been incredibly fast, but the fall may be just as rapid.
The man largely responsible for building up the team, Jim Harbaugh, is now with the San Francisco 49ers. A slew of offensive linemen are also gone, which may put last year’s Heisman runner-up under more pressure than he is used to.
That said, Luck is one of the best college quarterbacks in the last 10 years and has to be considered a heavy favorite to go to Manhattan. He is the most accurate QB in the nation and is an underrated scrambler (8.2 ypc in 55 attempts in 2010). He surprisingly returned for his senior season to lead the Cardinal to a National Championship, and will have to use all of his abilities to do so.
Luck is an incredibly smart kid who should be able to adapt to his new surroundings and deliver a Heisman-caliber season. Whether or not that wins it for him will largely depend on what happens elsewhere with the major contenders.
1. Landry Jones
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There are few that argue that Landry Jones is the favorite to win the Heisman at this point. He fits all of the main criteria of a the perfect candidate: He plays quarterback, he is on the consensus preseason No. 1 team and he’s actually pretty good.
Jones has taken his lumps in his Sooner career. After Sam Bradford’s Game 1 injury in 2009 that thrust him into the spotlight far earlier than he expected as a freshman, he bounced back with an excellent sophomore season, throwing for almost 5,000 yards with 38 touchdowns. We all know his favorite target is Ryan Broyles and the two have a chemistry that is unmatched by any duo in the country.
A lot of pressure is on the Oklahoma Sooners to run the table this season. The last few years have been littered with disappointing losses that have derailed National Championship aspirations. Jones has to be flawless for the entire season for his club. If he does so, he will have a great chance to take home the Heisman.
Jones will likely leave the collegiate ranks after this season, so this season is his only chance to win the coveted Heisman Trophy. He has got to be the favorite at this early point.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
