Heisman Trophy Watch: Montee Ball and More Players with Rising Stocks

Before the season started, the Heisman Trophy was Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck’s to lose. However, with the stellar play by a player like Wisconsin’s running back Montee Ball, it seems like Luck’s stranglehold on the trophy could have lessened.  

Ball’s play over the last five weeks can be described in just one word: dominating.  

In those five games, Ball has 14 rushing touchdowns with another three receiving touchdowns. It’s no surprise that Wisconsin has rattled off five straight wins during Ball’s stellar play. To go with Ball’s 17 total touchdowns, he has gained a total of 941 yards of offense, with 906 of those being rushing yards.  

For the year, Ball leads the NCAA in rushing yards with 1,759 and touchdowns with 32. These stats put him ahead of another Heisman candidate, Alabama’s Trent Richardson, by 176 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.  

As teammate Aaron Henry said about Ball, when I asked Montee if he should be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy: 

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“He is a Heisman candidate no matter how you look at it. For him to be—I mean he should be going there, pretty much. I don’t know if he should win it or not. We’ve got some great finalists, but this guy’s one of the best backs in the country, hands down.”

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Baylor Quarterback, Robert Griffin III  

Griffin III has led this Baylor Bears team, not only to a rare bowl game, but finishing their year with the best record in the school’s history: 9-3. He led Baylor to huge victories over a number of ranked teams this year like TCU, Oklahoma and Texas.  

However, he did it not by using his legs, even though, if need be, he can scramble with the best quarterbacks, but by unleashing a dangerous aerial attack.  

Griffin III led this Baylor offense to the fifth-best passing offense in the NCAA averaging 356 yards per game. The passing offense opened up a rushing game that finished at 18th averaging 215 yards per game. Overall, the offense finished in the Top 10 averaging 44 points per game.  

Griffin III’s stats have him finishing within the Top 10 of quarterbacks in the NCAA in passing yards with 3,998, first in average yards per attempt with 10.8 and fourth in touchdowns with 36. 

Oklahoma State Wide Receiver, Justin Blackmon 

Blackmon did not have the big push to end his season on a high note. However, that should not dismiss the great season that Blackmon had this year.  

His final stat line of 113 receptions, 1,336 yards and 15 touchdowns put the Oklahoma State receiver in the Top 10 in all of those categories. However, he has been the main target for quarterback Brandon Weeden in this second-ranked passing offense.  

Blackmon has had six games where he has had 10 or more receptions. He’s also had six games of 100 receiving yards or more, with two of those games being 170 yards or more. And Blackmon has scored in every game except two this year. He has had five games of two receiving touchdowns to go towards his 15 total scores. 

These three great college football players all have led their teams to great finishes. It will be very interesting to see if all three of these great players make New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. 

Follow @tjmcaloon.