Which players have the best chance to come out of nowhere and become legitimate Heisman candidates this year? By this I mean not actually winning the award, but garnering some buzz and maybe some votes as well.
Here’s my list:
Jake Locker, Washington–This guy is a spectacular player. He’s not called ‘Tim Tebow West’ for nothing. His play this year could determine Ty Willingham’s future at Washington.
Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan–As profiled by HP, this is another player in the Tebow mold who does it all for his team. The only player besides Vince Young to throw for 3,000 and rush for 1,000. And he did it as a sophomore.
John Parker Wilson, Alabama–Second year in the system for Wilson, who has shown flashes of brilliance. If he puts it all together his senior year and leads the Tide to a good record, he’ll get some mention.
Keiland Williams, LSU–Okay, this guy should’ve been getting the ball a LOT more last season. He’s a first-round talent who is primed for a big year if he gets enough carries in a crowded Tiger backfield.
Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State–Yet another multi-threat quarterback (seems to be a few of them these days, right?). Was close to being a 3,000/1,000 guy in his own right.
Mike Goodson, Texas A&M–With the Aggies returning to a more orthodox offense and Javorskie Lane moving to fullback, the talented Goodson should get a lot more carries, which means more yards and touchdowns.
Matt Grothe, South Florida–If Phil Steele is right and USF has an even better year than last, Grothe could be another one of those dual-threat quarterbacks to get Heisman attention.
Max Hall, BYU–He could be this year’s Alex Smith, leading his team to an undefeated season and a BCS bowl bid.
Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame–Is it possible for a Notre Dame quarterback to be a dark horse? Well, in this case, yes. Things were so bad for the Irish last year that any kind of major rebound behind some solid quarterbacking will get some notice. Clausen has some talent, that’s for sure. If he can get some help, he might put together a nice season.
If I’m missing anyone, please post in the comments section.
Don’t count him out just yet
One of the reason I would put Juice up there is because he’ll probably put up some amazing stats against 70% of the Big10 teams. Might take a beating against Penn State and the Ohio State who’ll both be looking for revenge and he’ll probably have trouble doing much against Michigan and Wisconsin unless Illinois has a breakout tailback hidden.
I still think Beanie Wells only needs to have a marginally better year than last year and the trophy will be his.
What no Brian Johsnon from Utah. The QB should finally be healthy and has talent around him at receivers. Plus with spread/run option the Utes run and the athlete he is, Johnson should put up huge numbers. If he showcases his skills at the Michigan game, who knows.
Jeremiah Masoli from Oregon, he is more explosive than tim tebow on the run and trucks players harder than tebow at the end of his runs, and he has also shown that he can post some pretty good passing numbers towards th end of last season. this year he more than likley be posting 300+ yards a game passing, and 100+yards a game rushing. Masoli for heisman