RBs headline Heisman hopefuls
Count FSU’s Cook among front-runners
A strong group of running backs, including FSU’s Dalvin Cook, LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, lead the early top candidates for the 2016 Heisman Trophy.
Another strong group of running backs headlines the top 10 potential candidates for the 2016 Heisman Trophy. J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State
The Buzz: After a recordsetting season during which he won 2014 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors, Barrett saw his numbers dramatically dip last season as Ohio State went with a two-quarterback system. Despite the battle for playing time, Barrett’s touchdown-to-interception ratio (3.21) is one of the best in the country. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
The Buzz: Derrick Henry snapped a five-year winless streak for running backs in the Heisman Trophy race, clearing a path for players like Cook this season. However, the ACC has typically not fared well overall when it comes to the award, with just two winners since 2000 – Chris Weinke (2000) and Jameis Winston (2013) – both from Florida State. Cook rushed for 1,691 yards despite battling injuries. With an offensive line that returns all five starters, it’s hard not to imagine the junior making a big push for the award as the Seminoles contend for a College Football Playoff semifinal spot. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU The Buzz: Southeastern Conference players had a slight competitive advantage in the Heisman race during the BCS era, winning the award four times since 2000. It seems to have carried over into the College Football Playoff era with Henry’s win last season. Fournette led the nation with 163 yards per game, but
close to 70 percent of his 1,953 yards came the first two months of the season – largely versus unranked teams. Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss
The Buzz: Kelly directed one of the most prolific offenses in the country last season and Ole Miss was one of 15 teams to average more than 500 yards of total offense per game. The Clemson transfer finished as the SEC’s top offensive player with 4,542 total yards of offense, including a 3-1 record against teams ranked in the top 25. His touchdown-to-interception ratio (2.38) is one of the best in the conference and will get tested with a schedule that’s one of the toughest in the country. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford The Buzz: McCaffrey set the single-season all-purpose mark after accounting for 3,864 yards last season for the Cardinal as he finished second in the Heisman voting. Even more impressively, 829 of those yards came in Stanford’s wins in the Pac-12 championship and the Rose Bowl, making the case as possibly the best overall player in college football rather than the runner-up. But history isn’t on the junior’s side. It has been more than three decades since a runner-up has gone on to win the award the following season. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
The Buzz: Mayfield earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors last season after recording more than 4,000 yards of total offense with 43 touchdowns while leading Oklahoma to its first outright conference championship since 2010 and a coveted spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals. He’s looking to become the third Sooners quarterback to win the coveted award since 2000 and the sixth player from the Big 12 to take home the honor since 1990. Seth Russell, QB, Baylor The Buzz: Since Robert Griffin III captured the Heisman Trophy in 2011, a Baylor quarterback has found his way into the voting process two of the next four seasons and Russell was on pace to make it three out of four if not for a neck injury midway through the 2015 season. In seven games last year, the Bears quarterback had 2,506 yards of total offense with 35 total touchdowns. His touchdown-to-interception ratio (40-to-10) is one of the best in the country, and he should be able to deliver strong numbers in 2016 despite a coaching change. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
The Buzz: Watson made his case to be an early favorite for the 2016 Heisman Trophy after recording more than 1,200 of his 5,209 total yards of offense during Clemson’s final three games: the ACC championship, a playoff semifinal and the national championship game. He is back leading a Tigers offense that could be better than last year, with eight returning starters including Mike Williams, Artavis Scott, Hunter Renfrow and Wayne Gallman. Barring an injury, it’s hard to imagine not seeing Watson’s name among the leaders for the award much of the season.