Heisman Trophy front-runners
Stanford RB Bryce Love was 2017 runner-up
Any preseason Heisman Trophy list must start with Stanford senior Bryce Love, the reigning runner-up for the award after rushing for more than 2,000 yards for the Cardinal in 2017. Love sits in the driver’s seat heading into September, but beware: It’s hard to find examples of wire-to-wire Heisman winners in recent history.
At least three or four entrenched, big-name starters are nipping at Love’s heels, including stars from Penn State, Alabama and elsewhere. There’s at least one sleeper across the Football Bowl Subdivision who will throw his hat in the ring with a torrid start to September. There might even be a defensive player who makes a case too strong to ignore.
Here’s the USA TODAY list of the leading Heisman contenders.
❚ RB Bryce Love, Stanford (Sr.): There are any number of ways to quantify how impressive Love was as a junior. For example: His 13 carries of 50 or more yards set a single-season record and exceeded the total of every team in the country but one. After averaging more than 8 yards per carry last fall, Love deserves to be seen as the preseason Heisman favorite.
❚ QB Trace McSorley, Penn State (Sr.): Look for McSorley to take advantage of the spotlight now splashed on the Penn State senior with running back Saquon Barkley’s leap to the NFL. Like Baker Mayfield before him, McSorley should set a number of school records as a passer and create enough highlight-reel moments with his arms and legs to draw eyeballs to the Nittany Lions. Also like Mayfield, however, McSorley needs to keep Penn State in the mix for a Big Ten Conference title and spot in a College Football Playoff national semifinal.
❚ RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin (So.): What can he do after putting together the most productive freshman season by a back in FBS history? He’ll make a run at 2,000 yards, thanks in no small part to the group up front — Wisconsin’s offensive line is second to none in college football. Taylor will also benefit from the preseason hype after spending a good portion of last year under the ra- dar.
❚ QB Will Grier, West Virginia (Sr.): Grier is the perfect fit for Dana Holgorsen’s offense and has the weapons on the outside to score at will in Big 12 play. But the numbers aren’t in doubt; what’s unknown is whether WVU will meet expectations and make a run at a league championship. A combination of both will make Grier a leading contender for the award.
❚ QB McKenzie Milton, Central Florida (Jr.): As a team, it might be hard for UCF to match last year’s run to a New Year’s Six bowl as the program transitions from coach Scott Frost to Josh Heupel. On an individual level, however, it’s equally hard to see Milton’s numbers taking a step back in a slightly tweaked offensive system. Pound for pound one of the nation’s best, Milton is capable of leading all FBS quarterbacks in the major categories — yards per attempt, touchdowns and efficiency rating — and remaining a Heisman factor.
❚ QB Justin Herbert, Oregon (Jr.): When healthy, he’s as good a passer as you’ll find in the FBS. A bigger and stronger Herbert could put up jaw-dropping numbers and lead the Ducks to a national ranking, which might be enough to earn him a trip to Manhattan as a Heisman finalist.
❚ QB Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama (So.): Tagovailoa’s essentially a household name despite not starting a game as a true freshman. He had a pretty good game in January, though. While not yet the starter, all signs point to Tagovailoa replacing Jalen Hurts and taking center stage for what again looks like the best team in the country.
❚ DT Ed Oliver, Houston (Jr.): Oliver is the wild card for a reason: He’s perhaps the best player in the country regardless of position. And in former Nebraska star Ndamukong Suh, there’s some precedence for a dominant interior lineman factoring into the mix, meaning Oliver needs to replicate Suh’s senior season, which would entail dominating every opponent put in the Cougars’ path. He can do just that.
❚ QB Khalil Tate, Arizona (Jr.): Tate took college football by storm in October and built the sort of name recognition a player in his situation needs to be a Heisman factor. Arizona will be a solid team but not a great one, so Tate’s hopes hinge on his ability to put up numbers worthy of being considered the best player in the country. It’s intriguing to imagine how he’ll fare playing for Kevin Sumlin, who has crafted offenses in the past suited for a player with Tate’s skill set.
❚ QB Jake Browning, Washington (Sr.): His candidacy rests on Washington’s status as the best team in the Pac-12 and one of the leading preseason contenders for the Playoff. Successful Heisman campaigns have been built on less. But Browning needs to recapture at least part of his 2016 form, which saw the senior toss more than 40 touchdown passes in leading the Huskies into a national semifinal.