The last few years the players in the race have been pretty clear from the start, this year it seems a little less so. Of course last years winner Mark Ingram of Alabama is the front runner for a 2nd, but as Tim Tebow will tell you it's not easy to win that 2nd Heisman. Other than Ingram, I think that Ohio States Terrell Pryor will start the year as a very strong candidate. The rest will depend a lot on how their teams play as well as how well they play, but will be talked about early as candidates. Ryan Mallett at Arkansas Dion Lewis at Pitt Case Kennum at Houston Jake Locker at Washington. Matt Barkley at USC Jerrod Johnson at A&M
There are some guys out there who could jump into the race . Garrett Gilbert at Texas could if he gets off to a great start and Texas beats OU and Neb. John Brantley at Florida certainly could jump into the race. Greg McElroy at Alabama could jump into the race ahead of his teammate if he can put up the passing stats, Bama is likely to be undefeated this season and that always helps a QB in the Heisman race.
Terry, Alabama is far from a shoe-in for undefeated after the second game of the year. McElroy is probably not going to be a Heisman candidate but he will continue to be a winner. Ingram may be the second best running back on the Alabama team this year. Richardson is a gamer. If McElroy has a good year, Julio Jones may be the Heisman candidate from Alabama.
ESPN Preseason Poll... Pryor no suprise, if OSU has an undefeated season he will win it, even if Bama is undefeated as well. Heisman Guys like John Brantley and Dayne Crist who were highly recruited QB's coming out of HS but are playing their first seasons as starters could jump into the race if they and their teams do well. Suprised that Jacoby Jones is not listed, yet another reason we should all let Scott have his wish!
I agree that Brantley could jump in there out of nowhere similar to what Ingram did last year but UF has to win at Alabama I think for that to have even a chance of happening. Otherwise I think Ingram is going to be hurt by Richardson's carries and vice versa. Julio would be my pick from Bama this year and possibly McElroy but they will be saddled with that must win situation also. If Arky could pull the upset the week before Bama takes on UF then I like Mallet's chances if has a great season otherwise.....and I have to agree also that Pryor is a strong candidate if he keeps his wits about him this year....all season long.
More likely the case, these guys would have the opportunity to establish their names for future consideration.....I just can't see voters vaulting these guys to the top of the heap so early in their careers....Ingram did set the Bama freshman scoring record, rush for almost 1000 yards and was on the SEC all-frosh team so it's not like last year was his first year. If VY, oops I mean TP, has the year I hope for, he'll be tough to beat.....that said, he will be under the microscope and he is just as capable of laying an egg as he is being brilliant - another year under his belt has to help decision making....we'll see.
It's always hard to handicap this race, leaders can fall by the wayside with one bad game. Some guys won't get enough publicity due to playing in the Northwest and likely not being on a team that will have a gaudy record. As far as newcomers, in Colt's freshman year he had a run there where he made it into the top 5 in the straw polls before he was injured vs KState. But certainly guys like Crist and Brantley will be most likely establishing their creds this year if they can, UT QB Garrett Gilbert is another one who could jump into the race. Right now, it's Pryors to lose, IMHO. First chance to lose it will be vs a good Miami team in the Shoe.
The list is evolving. Currently the ESPN Insider has these guys 1. Kellen Moore BSU 2. Pryor OSU 3. LaMichael James Ore 4. Cam Newton Aub 5. Denard Robinson UM 6. Oliver Luck Stan 7. Taylor Martinez Neb I'd say pretty QB heavy this year at least so far. It's not too late for Ingram to get back into the list he does have a number of big games left where he could impress voters. That kid from So. Car could get some support even though he's a true freshman. I don't think there is any RB in the B12 who could get support and I can't think of one from the 12Pac either. College football has certainly become QB centric with regards to offense.
I think Pryor if OSU keeps winning. The voters may wait to see who has the most impact in a W between Pryor and Robinson in the UM-OSU game. I like Martinez as well and the kid from SC but they will have to wait a year.
Well after this weekend, I'd say... Cam Newton and Kellen Moore are on top, maybe LaMichael James. Martinez is out, Denard Robinson is on life support. Pryor is waiting around, he has more opportunity to slip back into the leaders position, same thing for Oliver Luck...Stanford needs to win a lot more games and he needs big stats.
TP will need to get healthy before he can throw up big numbers and/or perform his magic in a high profile game in front of a big TV audience and get back in the hunt....as we saw Saturday -v- Wisky, he is still very tentative with his legs and the uncertainty is affecting his mechanics as well missing some very easy throws.....hopefully we'll get to the real TP again before the end of the year.
Watching that Wisconsin game I would not have guessed that Pryor was less than 100%, but then I rarely see him play so I have no frame of reference. During the 3rd qtr he looked great to me, he ran the ball extremely well. He looked fluid and just strided by the Wisc defenders, like most guys his size VY included don't look fast as they go by you but they are fast. But if he is not 100% and could do what he did Sat night, he will have his opportunities down the road. I really thought that the game was not lost because of Pryor, I thought it was lost on the LOS where the Wisc OL and RB's just dominated the OSU front 7 at critical times.
Agreed 100% TOK, we didn't match their intensity early up front and they kicked our ass because of it until we grew a sack and manned up to make a game of it... My comments on TP were more related to his decisiveness/explosiveness and his throwing mechanics.....many times when his downfield receivers were covered, he was not as decisive as he typically would be in getting upfield and I believe that was a result of his confidence. In addition, many of his option runs were very tentative -v- attacking and I could see his frustration mount as the game wore on leading him to press and his throwing mechanics went downhill fast....that was far and away the worst throwing game he has had since pre-Rose Bowl last year....his mechanics have come a long way, but under pressure/worn out they deteriorated badly it showed he is nowhere near a finished product....but we'll keep him and he will continue to get better. 8)