Repeat isn’t likely for Jackson in ’17
Do not expect Lamar Jackson to join college football’s most exclusive club.
Jackson, Louisville’s sophomore quarterback and former Boynton Beach High standout, will be the 10th player to return to school after winning the Heisman Trophy since Archie Griffiffin became the only two-time winner in 1975.
Seven of those returning Heisman winners have come since 2003 and most have not even come close to repeating.
Billy Sims of Oklahoma won the Heisman in 1978 and then fifinished second behind Charles White of Southern California in 1979. Other than that, no Heisman winner has done better than third in the voting the following season.
So, taking Jackson out of the equation, who will be the next Heisman winner? Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfifield, who fifinished third Saturday night behind Jackson and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, probably will be the only other fifinalist to return to school next season. Mayfifield already has said he will not enter the NFL draft.
Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers, a junior, is waiting to make his decision on the NFL, but is likely to be a fifirst- round pick if he leaves early. Oklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook is a senior.
Among the other top-11 vote- getters, Washington sophomore qu ar terback Jake Browning, who came in sixth, is the only one guar- anteed to be back next season to challenge Jackson. Five more to watch: Quinton Flowers, QB, South Florida: The best season that nobody noticed in 2016 was turned in by the Bulls junior. The only quarterback to run for more yards than Flowers’ 1,425 was Jackson. New USF coach Charlie Strong would be wise not to mess with Flowers and the Gulf Coast offffense.
Shane Buechele, QB, Texas: Tom Herman takes over as coach, and he benefifits from Strong having left behind a talented quarterback. Buechele threw for 2,958 yards and 21 touchdowns as a freshman.
Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State: Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley will garner plenty of hype, but Barkley could be the best returning running back in the country. He played through injuries and still rushed for 1,302 yards and scored 19 touchdowns this season.
Sam Darnold, QB, Southern Cal: Darnold should enter next season as the most-hyped player in the Pac- 12. As a redshirt freshman, he became the starter in game four and passed for 2,633 yards and 26 TDs.
Jalen Hurts, QB, Alabama: Hurts is on his way to becoming the fifirst freshman quarterback to lead his team to the national championship since 1985. He is already a game-changing runner (841 yards and 12 touchdowns) and solid passer (2,592 yards and 65.3 completion percentage). TAMPA — Three weeks after being fifired by Texas, Charlie Strong was hired Sunday as coach at South Florida, returning to a region where he has deep roots and a conference where he has won championships.
Strong was fifired Nov. 26, the day after his fifinal game with the Longhorns. At No. 25 USF, he replaces Willie Taggart, who left to become coach at Oregon.
“Charlie is a tremendous leader and mentor for our student-athletes and a widely-respected coach with a r e s u me f u l l o f a c h i e v e - ments,” USF Athletic Director Mark Harlan said in a statement. “He combines a drive to win with great integrity and deep, long-standing connections in the state of Florida. The future of USF football is very bright under his direction.”
The Bulls went 10-2 this season and fifinished second in the American Athletic Conference East division to league champion Temple.
Strong was 16-21 with no winning seasons in three years at Texas. He was 37-15 in four years at Louisville (2010-13), including 23-3 in the fifinal two seasons.
The 56-year-old Strong has deep roots coaching in Florida. He did three stints covering 13 seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Florida under Steve Spurrier, Ron Zook and Urban Meyer, mostly as defensive coordinator. He was also defensive coordinator at South Carolina from 1999-2002.
“Some of the best football talent in the country is right here in the Bay Area and throughout the state of Florida, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with the young men in the USF football program and build on the strong foundation already in place,” Strong said in a statement.