Every offseason, a group of elite college football players are predicted to compete for the Heisman Trophy, and just about year at least two of them fail to live up to the hype.
A few of this year’s obvious players who could compete for the coveted hardware are quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama), Jake Fromm (Georgia) and Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), and running back Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin).
But what about the guys who are not such obvious selections? The Johnny Maziels, RG3s, Cam Newtons or Lamar Jacksons of the game?
This preseason, CollegeFootballNews.com took a stab at predicting some not-so-obvious preseason Heisman candidates and Georgia running back D’Andre Swift was included in the top-five, at No. 4.
Other players included on the list are Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond (No. 5), Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger (No. 3), Clemson ball carrier Travis Etienne (No. 2) and Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez (No. 1).
Regarding Swift at No. 4, Pete Fiutak of CFN had this to say of the junior back:
Georgia will be national title-caliber team, and the opportunities will be there for someone to take the spotlight – and that’s where D’Andre Swift steps in. He doesn’t have to carry the offense with Fromm at the helm, but he might.
He averaged 6.4 yards per carry with 1,049 yards and ten scores despite splitting time with Elijah Holyfield. With good hands, he caught 32 passes with three scores, and he’s poised and ready to do even more.
With Vanderbilt, Murray State and Arkansas State to start, Swift can build up the numbers, and then comes the showdown against Notre Dame. There are more than enough big SEC games after that to make a push.
Fiutak also acknowledged that Fromm has all the tools to bring the Trophy home to Athens, but could see him not putting up the eye-popping numbers that traditional trophy winners produce. And that’s a fair expectation, especially with how heavily Georgia relies on the run. Look for Swift to have a monster season, especially now that the backfield is a little less deep than it has been in years past.
