Ah, July – the air is hot and humid. Football fans all over the country are starting to get that itch….the same one that rolls around every July. The playoffs are over. The draft has passed. We’re basically crawling towards the start of a new season.
So, why not take a moment to whet our appetites a bit? Let’s start up some hearty football discussion. There’s no better place to start than with college football’s highest individual honor: the Heisman Trophy.
Here’s the SoBros Network’s Heisman watch list:
10. Royce Freeman – With 1,836 yards in 2015, Freeman was knocking on the door of 2,000 rushing yards. Factor in his receiving yards, and the Oregon Ducks running back did eclipse the 2,000 total yard mark. Given the potency of the Oregon offense, such gaudy numbers aren’t out of the realm of possibility in 2016. The thing he needs to happen is for his Ducks to not lose to Utah and Washington State this season.
9. Brad Kaaya – Let’s make things interesting right off the bat here. Kaaya is my dark horse Heisman contender for 2016. NFL scouts are calling him the best pure passer (presumably) coming out in next year’s draft. He’s working under new head coach Mark Richt, a man who’s fielded some pretty good quarterbacks during his days at Georgia. All of the pieces are in place for Miami to start winning in 2016. Whether or not they do remains to be seen. For now, though, Kaaya is worth watching.
8. Greg Ward, Jr. – If this guy didn’t play for Houston, he’d be on every pundit in America’s Heisman watch list. He’s a versatile dual threat quarterback in an offense capable of hanging 70 points on every opponent. If Houston continues to win, Ward will be in the Heisman hunt.
7. Joshua Dobbs – I don’t know if there’s another player in the SEC that means as much to his team as Dobbs does to the Tennessee Vols. Like Ward, Dobbs is a lethal dual-threat quarterback. If he can get Tennessee into the College Football Playoff picture, he’ll undoubtedly be a Heisman contender. The question is whether or not he, his coach, and his team can stand up under the tremendous amount of pressure Knoxville and the rest of the country is putting on them.
6. J.T. Barrett – I hear your arguments. Ohio State is basically shipping in an entirely new team this season after losing so many players. Lest we forget, Urban Meyer doesn’t rebuild. He reloads…..and he cheats….or something like that. This is all setting up to give Barrett the opportunity to have a monster 2016. He has all the tools and is every bit the leader that Cardale Jones wasn’t.
5. Baker Mayfield – Boy, the Oklahoma hype train derailed in last year’s Orange Bowl, didn’t it? Still, there’s no reason to discount the efforts of Mayfield and a potent Sooners offense. If that hype train is able to fire up the engines again this season, Mayfield may find himself in the discussion for the Heisman.
4. DeShaun Watson – Sure, Clemson lost a lot of defensive talent. But, they happen to have a guy who could arguably be the best player in all of college football at quarterback: Watson. He’s a freak of nature who is capable of putting up video game numbers. If Clemson is able to win in 2016 like they did in 2015, expect Watson to get the call to New York in December.
3. Dalvin Cook – Florida State is a dangerous team this season. They’re heavily favored to win the ACC and find themselves in contention for a College Football Playoff spot come December. If that’s to happen, it’ll likely be behind the stud running back, Cook.
2. Christian McCaffrey – McCaffrey has to be considered one of the preseason favorite by simple virtue of playing against Pac-12 defenses and doing it all for his team. He’s a running back, wide receiver, and kick/punt returner. He’s pretty damn good at it, too. Many expect Stanford to take a step back this season, but I see no reason to doubt what David Shaw is capable of. It should be another big year for Stanford, and if so, another big year for McCaffrey, too.
1. Leonard Fournette – How often do running backs string together all-time great seasons? Not often. Sure, these great seasons come few and far between, but let’s be real here – Fournette is an absolute freak of nature. He damn near single-handedly took the LSU Tigers to the College Football Playoff before Alabama derailed his momentum completely. That Crimson Tide run defense lost A’Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, and Reggie Ragland to the NFL, so it’s not like he’ll be facing that unit again. If that game didn’t happen, Fournette likely would’ve won the Heisman. That game won’t happen this year. The 2016 Heisman is Fournette’s to lose.
Stoney Keeley is the editor of the SoBros Network, Tennessee Titans Featured Analyst for Pro Football Spot, and covers the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley,@PFSpot, @WrestlingNewsCo
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