CFN in 60 Video: Top Non-Obvious Heisman Candidates
20 for 2020: 20 key college football offseason topics: Who are the top Heisman candidates … besides the obvious stars?
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20 for 2020 Offseason Topics
20. Best Teams To Not Make CFP
19: Teams That Will Rebound Big
18. Teams That Will Fall Back
17: Every Power 5 Team’s Letdown Game
16. Top 5 Instant Impact New Head Coaches
15. 2nd Year Coaches Who’ll Be Better
14. Power 5 Hot Seat Coach Rankings
13. Key Transfers You Forgot About
12. Five Big Power 5 Upset Alerts
11. Great Players About To Go Nuclear
10. Group of 5 Teams In New Year’s Six Chase
9. Power 5 Sleeper Teams
8. Most Interesting Quarterback Battles
7. 5 Teams That Might Disappoint
6. 5 Teams That Might Surprise
5. Group of Five Conference Ranking
4. Power 5 Conference Ranking
We’ll keep on doing what we do whether or not there’s a season, but all thoughts go out to those suffering and struggling, and to all the health care workers battling above and beyond the call. Please … stay safe.
It’s really, really, really hard to win the Heisman.
After what Joe Burrow did last year, and with Chase Young making a push, it’s really, really, really hard to pick who’s going to be in the race, too.
Last year we totally whiffed on just about all of the calls, but they all came with a caveat that they had to hit at least two of the three parts of the puzzle.
To even be in the mix, a player needs to 1) put up ridiculous numbers, 2) do it when everyone is watching in at least one or two big games, and/or 3) preferably be the reason a team is in a conference title chase and possibly in the mix for the College Football Playoff.
Only two players this year are easy choice for the preseason call – Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State QB Justin Fields. The odds are strong that one of them will win it, but that’s boring.
Here are the five who might just be this year’s Burrow, and the alternative choice at each spot just in case they’re not.
5. QB Sam Ehlinger, Texas
The same reasons why he was on last year’s list all apply here.
He’s a veteran star of a power program, he’s able to crank up the stats on the ground as well as through the air, and he’s got the big games on the massive stages to stand out.
Joe Burrow didn’t win the Heisman in last year’s big LSU win over Texas, but he put himself on the map. The same went for Jalen Hurts, who ran for 131 yards and a score – to go along with three touchdown passes – in Oklahoma’s win over UT.
Flip it around this time.
Ehlinger and the Longhorns have to go to Baton Rouge to face the defending national champs, and as always, they get Oklahoma in Dallas in the Big 12 game of the year.
If he struggles in either one of those two games, forget it, but he’ll have the opportunities, he’ll be deep in the Heisman hunt if Texas is in the College Football Playoff hunt, and he’ll have the stats.
With Washington State’s Anthony Gordon, Burrow, and Hurts all gone, Ehlinger is the nation’s leading returning total offense leader. He’ll have the pats around him, the team should be stronger, and he certainly knows what he’s doing.
Alternative: Another veteran QB who could take that big step up
QB Kellen Mond, Texas A&M
He’s going into what seems like his 14th season with the Aggies, and he’s got the receiving corps to work with for a massive statistical year. He’ll run well, he’ll be the unquestioned leader of the team, and he’ll have plenty of big games and moments to shine in.
NEXT: No. 4 Not Obvious Heisman Candidate
4. QB Jamie Newman, Georgia
There are a few problems with this.
First, Jake Fromm wasn’t able to do enough last year to get anywhere near the Heisman, but the Georgia receiving corps should be a bit stronger.
Second, the running game will be strong enough to keep the Dawgs from bombing away, and finally, he might not have the gig.
Will D’Wan Mathis be too good to keep off the field? Head coach Kirby Smart didn’t have a problem making the call of Fromm over Justin Fields and Jacob Eason, and he’ll go with the best option no matter what.
But Newman is the veteran who should take the Dawg O to another level.
The 6-4, 230-pound Wake Forest transfer was mobile enough to run for 574 yards and six scores last year, threw 26 touchdown passes, and was a spark for an offense that blew up, especially over the first half of the season.
His accuracy was way off in the second half of the year – he failed to hit 50% of his passes in four of the last five games – but now he has Georgia talent around him.
Alternative: Another QB who’ll get the keys to the kingdom
QB Mac Jones, Alabama
Like the starting quarterback for Georgia, the starter for Alabama will be the head man for a national championship-level team with the spotlight on every week. They’ll both have NFL talent to work with and elite offenses to run. Like Newman’s situation with Mathis waiting in the wings, Jones has a young superstar to hold off, too.
Bryce Young is the best quarterback on the Bama roster, but he’s just a true freshman and Jones threw for well over 900 yards with ten touchdowns in the last three games last season.
NEXT: No. 3 Not Obvious Heisman Candidate
3. RB Najee Harris, Alabama
He’s been on a few of our offseason lists already, and there’s a reason.
Talent-wise, he might just be the best running back in college football.
He would’ve gone after the first wave of backs in this year’s draft had he come out early, but the former superstar recruit has the combination of size, athleticism, and all-around talent to be everything Bama got out of Mark Ingram in 2009 and Derrick Henry in 2015.
The 6-2, 230-pound Harris came on late in the year when Tua Tagovailoa went down, finishing with 1,224 yards and 13 touchdown runs with seven touchdown catches.
It took a little bit for the switch to be flipped, but he ran for 12 of his scores in the last seven games as he started to run with a purpose. It seemed like he was turning it on in salary-drive time for the NFL, but nope – he’s around for another year.
Alternative: Another RB who won’t get enough love for a QB award
RB Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State
The nation’s leading rusher is back after winning for 2,094 years and 21 touchdowns for the Cowboys. Seemingly ready to go off to the next level, he shockingly chose to come back for one more year for what should be another powerhouse of a statistical season.
So why isn’t he on the list of the Top Five Not Obvious candidates? 1) He was amazing last year and didn’t get a whiff of the Heisman – he was eighth. 2) OSU likely won’t be in the CFP chase, and 3) there aren’t a whole slew of huge games to get excited about. But if he blows up against Oklahoma and Texas …
NEXT: No. 2 Not Obvious Heisman Candidate
2. QB D’Eriq King, Miami
This might seem like a bit of a call considering how miserable the Miami offense was throughout last season – closing out with a shutout loss to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl – and that’s where Rhett Lashlee comes in.
The former SMU offensive coordinator is in charge of ramping up the Hurricane passing attack and making the O as a whole more explosive, and he’s got the triggerman to do it.
D’Eriq King was special for Houston in 2018.
The do-it-all talent was electric in the open field – running for 674 yards and 14 touchdowns – and he hit 64% of his passes for close to 3,000 yards and 36 touchdowns with just six picks.
The Cougar offense didn’t work all that well to start last season and the passing game didn’t get going, but King threw for six scores and ran for six more in the first four games before taking the regular season off to preserve a year of eligibliity.
If all goes according to plan, King will be King and the stats will be there. It’ll help that the schedule isn’t all that hard – Miami should put up a much stronger season – and eight of the top ten receivers of last year are expected to be back.
Alternative: Another big-time transfer who’ll put up massive numbers
QB KJ Costello, Mississippi State
This is strictly a shot-for-the-stars statistical projection. Mississippi State isn’t going to win the SEC West, but the Mike Leach offense will wing the ball all around the yard, Costello has the NFL tools and talent to rise up and be special – if he can stay healthy – and the chances will be there to bomb away again several fantastic teams.
NEXT: No. 1 Not Obvious Heisman Candidate
1. QB Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma
After the last three Oklahoma starting quarterbacks being Heisman-worthy – Jalen Hurts actually had a stronger all-around 2019 than Baker Mayfield did in 2017 – it’s probably time to assume that Lincoln Riley has this thing figured out.
But can this offense work with a real, live, Oklahoma recruit?
The last three Sooner quarterbacks were all transfers, but Spencer Rattler was a hand-picked prospect who fits exactly what Riley is looking for.
Rattler isn’t all that big – around 6-0 and 190 pounds – he’s got a live arm, can move, and now he has a year in the system.
He has to first beat out fellow redshirt freshman Tanner Mordecai for the job, but Oklahoma always does that – Hurts wasn’t guaranteed the job going into last season, and Kyler Murray had to fend off Austin Kendall – but whatever.
Be shocked if Rattler isn’t the next statistical superstar in the Sooner system, especially with another group of special young receivers about to rise up.
Alternative: Another quarterback who has to take over for a legend
QB Myles Brennan, LSU
No pressure, my man, but all you have to do is replace the guy who came up with the single greatest all-around quarterbacking season in the history of college football. No one’s going to think Brennan can be another Joe Burrow – especially with so many key parts gone, including passing game coordinator Joe Brady – but he’s a big bomber with a live arm and a great receiving corps to work with.
