There are guys – the Leonard Fournette’s and Trevone Boykin’s
of the world – who are definitely on pace to end up in New York City as a
Heisman Trophy finalist, and then we have a group of players just a little off
that pace, but still compiling seasons good enough to merit their inclusion on
the many Heisman watch lists. Here are four guys poised to really jump into the
race:
Will Fuller (Notre
Dame, Junior, Wide Receiver)
About the only guy on the Notre Dame squad who started the
season as a starter and hasn’t gone down with injury, Fuller has been the go-to
guy for big plays through the air, and his steady presence on the outside of
the field has certainly helped settle in new starting quarterback, sophomore
DeShone Kizer.
So far, Fuller has twenty receptions for 454 yards at an
average of 20.6 yards per catch. He’s also scored six touchdowns, including the
game-winner against Virginia on the road in Charlottesville. When Kizer needs a
big play through the air, Fuller is the guy he throws the football to, and,
more often than not, the six-foot receiver hauls it in.
Fuller has bailed out the Irish on a few notable occasions
already this season, and the only reason he hasn’t made it to my top 5 Heisman
candidate list is because of a comparatively quiet game against Massachusetts
last week, nabbing only four passes for just 57 yards. You look at that
compared to games against Texas (142 yards) and Georgia Tech (131 yards) and
you can see why I’ve dropped him down a little. Still, a big chance going
forward to vault back into serious Heisman contention.
Adoree’ Jackson
(Southern California, Sophomore, Wide Receiver/Cornerback/Returner)
The do-everything sophomore star for in Southern California,
Jackson, a native of Belleville, IL, is being heralded as the most exciting USC
player since Reggie Bush, and happens to be the first two-way player at
Southern Cal in two decades. Comparison to the now-controversial Bush is high praise
indeed, but deserved for Jackson, who seems to have an impact on the game every
time he touches the ball.
Saturday’s 42-14 USC victory over Arizona State in Tempe saw
Jackson catch three passes for 131 yards, and a touchdown. He also returned
three punts for a total of 53 yards, and did solid work as a lockdown corner in
what was easily the Trojans’ best defensive performance, after a bad one seven
days earlier.
At this point in time, it’s honestly hard to know whether he’s
a better offensive or defensive player at the moment, and USC coaches are
certainly giving everyone a chance to see him in all three phases of the game,
and as long as that continues, we’re going to all bear witness to Jackson
putting up huge numbers.
Jared Goff
(California, Junior, Quarterback)
Fairly quietly in the Pac-12, the Cal Golden Bears are 4-0
for the first time since 2007, and it’s mostly because of Goff, a
record-setting quarterback who is attracting NFL interest at the same time as
putting up giant numbers in Sonny Dykes’ offense. Oh, and he’s led Cal to road
wins at Washington and Texas. Sure, those two teams aren’t what they once were,
but, still, they’re good W’s to have on the resume. It just so helps that he’s
one of the more
Goff is throwing the football impressively once more in
2015, with a completion percentage that’s just a tick under 70%. He’s thrown
for 1240 yards in four games, and has eleven passing touchdowns to just three
interceptions. Turnovers is one of the key areas where Goff has really cleaned
up his game. He was always able to throw for a squillion yards and somewhere
around two dozen touchdowns – he recorded 35 last season, and is on pace for a
similar number in 2015 – but had issues with turnovers.
Not so much in season 2015. Some of that can be attributed
to not needing to throw in hope because the Cal defense is helping out Goff and
his weapons by not stinking up the show this year.
Much of the hype around Goff will fade if the Bears don’t play
well in what is a cutthroat schedule going forward: Utah, UCLA, USC and Oregon
between now and early November. If Cal can remain competitive down that
gauntlet, we’ll hear more about Goff’s Heisman chances.
Ezekiel Elliott (Ohio
State, Junior, Running Back)
One of the heroes of Ohio State’s somewhat improbable
National Championship run last January, Elliott hasn’t really gotten things
going this season. Much like the Buckeyes as a whole. He’s run for 455 yards at
5.9 a carry, and one long dash of 80 yards in the season-opener against
Virginia Tech, the first of his five scores on the year.
Not that Elliott has been exactly bad – his season numbers
are pretty solid, and he’s gone over 100 yards rushing now in nine straight
games – it’s just that his performances have seemed somewhat lacklustre. Big
Ten play opens for the Buckeyes this weekend against a 4-0 Indiana squad. We’ve
expected more from the entire team, and Elliott especially, after he dazzled us
over the last three games of the season.
I’m very interested to see what Elliott does now that the
real meat of the season is upon us. The Buckeyes are far too talented to be
just sneaking by MAC squads, and I expect that they’ll all click into gear, led
by Elliott himself, whilst the Ohio State quarterback situation sorts itself
out. At the moment, he’s just hovering beneath the top rung of the Heisman
ladder, but as we saw last year, he’s capable of stupendous play at the drop of
a hat, so October may become November with Zeke back in touch with the Heisman leaders.
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