The college football season is upon us, and it’s never too early to start the Heisman watch. Every performance from all of the top players will be scrutinized from here on out by fans and media alike as they try to predict and later vote on who will win college football’s most prestigious award.
Even without playing a down of football this fall, there are already some clear favorites. A lot of it comes down to projecting how these players will build off their previous seasons and who will be slightly more outstanding than the rest. As always, there is no shortage of talented players who should all be in the conversation when the trophy is handed out in December.
Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State
A running back hasn’t won the Heisman since Mark Ingram in 2009, but Elliott has a chance to change that. He might be the most dynamic runner in college football right now, and if his 2014 postseason was any indication, he should be in for a monster year.
In those three final games last season, Elliott averaged over nine yards a carry as he racked up 689 of his 1,883 rushing yards. According to Pro Football Focus, 989 of those 1,883 yards came after contact. He gets every yard he can from every single run, and with his offensive line returning four starters, he is in a great position to take his game to the next level on one of the best teams in the nation.
Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
Chubb began last season behind a Heisman candidate on the depth chart, and by the end of the year, he looked like a future contender himself. After Todd Gurley was suspended for four games, Chubb stepped into the starting role as a true freshman. Like Elliott, he also finished his season strong, averaging 8.32 yards per carry over his last six games.
He may be a slight step below Elliott as a rusher, but Chubb offers a bit more as a receiver. He has soft hands out of the backfield, and is extremely hard to bring down in the open field. His team might not be quite as talented as Elliott’s Buckeyes, but Chubb is right up there with him as one of the top backs in the country.
Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU
Boykin finished fourth in the Heisman voting last year, and the three players that finished ahead of him are all rookies in the NFL now. That opens the door for him to be the sixth-consecutive quarterback to win the award. The last five have all been dual-threat quarterbacks, like Boykin.
He doesn’t have pinpoint accuracy, but he can still make most throws. He amassed over 3,900 passing yards last season and added over 700 more with his legs, putting him behind only Marcus Mariota, the 2014 Heisman winner, for the most total yards in the nation. Boykin thrives in the electrifying TCU offense, and expectations for him are sky high in 2015.
J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State
It says a lot about Barrett that he’s considered a top candidate despite the fact that we don’t even know for sure if he will be the Buckeyes’ starter this season. That being said, he’s too dynamic of a player to not include him.
Barrett’s campaign was limited to the regular season, as he took over for the injured Braxton Miller before suffering an injury of his own, but he still finished fourth among quarterbacks in rushing yards and fifth in yards per carry. Like Boykin, he is still developing as a passer, but that didn’t keep him from finding the endzone 34 times through the air last season. He finished fifth in the Heisman vote last year, and he has a good chance to crack into the top three at the very least.
Cody Kessler, QB, USC
Kessler is nowhere near the explosive athlete that Barrett and Boykin are, but what he lacks in mobility, he more than makes up for with his arm. According to Pro Football Focus, he led all quarterbacks in the country with an 80.3 accuracy percentage on his throws. He has excellent touch on his deep balls, and is very poised in the pocket.
He is at a disadvantage because Heisman voters have tended to favor the mobile quarterbacks, but there is no denying Kessler’s arm talent. If he can maintain his efficiency and build off his experience, he will almost certainly remain in the conversation.
