COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS BACK BABY. And with the tailgates, all-day Saturday watch parties, and bemoaning the SEC bias of the CFP committee comes the Heisman watch. The Heisman Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in American sports and it's always one of the biggest storylines of the season.
So, we here at TSE are bringing back our most popular series to closely monitor this year's Heisman campaign. Not to toot our own horn too much, but TSE's record at picking the correct Heisman winner at the end of the season is 4 out of 4. Will our perfect record continue this year? There's only one way to find out.
This post is not a real watch but more of an assessment of the top ten contenders. Of course, this is not a complete list as that would take hours to compile. Honorable mentions include David Sills V of West Virginia, Brandon Wimbush of Notre Dame, Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State, Dexter Williams of Notre Dame, Shea Patterson of Michigan, Justin Herbert of Oregon, Nick Fitzgerald of Mississippi State, and Drew Lock of Missouri.
10. J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State- There's a chance that at some point down the line Dobbins will be outshone by QB Dwayne Haskins and defensive star Nick Bosa, but right now all of the focus is on Dobbins. Last year he ran for 1,403 yards while picking up an average of more than 7 yards per carry and catching 22 passes for 135 yards. Now that Haskins has taken over for J.T. Barrett, Dobbins role should increase more, as Barrett also ran quite a bit.
9. Kelly Bryant, Clemson- A lot of people thought that freshman phenom Trevor Lawrence would get the starting job over Bryant, but the man who started every game for the Tigers last year and led them to the semi-finals of the College Football Playoffs held him off. Still, Bryant is on a short leash. Lawrence will no doubt get some playing time in blowout wins. In fact, we'll probably see him in Week 1 against Furman. If Bryant struggles at all during the season, it probably won't take much for head coach Dabo Swinney to put Lawrence. But, if Bryant is successful, he'll probably be a Heisman contender. Last year he was a fringe contender in the middle of the season and finished with 2,802 passing yards and 13 passing touchdowns.
8. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama- It feels weird to list someone as a top Heisman candidate without them being an out-right starter, yet here we are. As a true freshman last year, Tagovailoa backed up Jalen Hurts and led Alabama to a comeback in the national title game. Of course, Tagovailoa's candidacy rides on him being named the starter or at least getting plenty of playing time. Out of the two QBs, Tua is definitely the better passer and that should mean he'll be playing in close games.
7. Ed Oliver, Houston- There's a reason Oliver is the only defensive player on this list. A true defensive player hasn't been named college football's most outstanding player since 1997 when Charles Woodson of Michigan took home the trophy. Players like Manti Te'o, Jabrill Peppers, and Tyrann Mathieu have come close, but to no avail. The Houston Cougar has tallied 39.5 career tackles for loss and has already announced his entry in the 2019 NFL draft, where he'll almost certainly be a top five pick.
6. Will Grier, West Virginia- College football expert Pat Forde is on record saying that West Virginia will start off the season 7-1 or 8-0 and they'll be the talk of the college football world. He also said that there was no way Grier would win the Heisman. And while I hate to disagree with someone with the expertise of Forde, I have to do it. The Mountaineer threw for 36 TDs last year while completing 64.4% of his passes. If West Virginia does indeed get off to the start Forde projects, he'll be an early Heisman contender for sure.
5. Trace McSorley, Penn State- McSorley was my trendy Heisman outsider for much of last season. Unfortunately for him, his exploits were often overshadowed by some guy named Saquon Barkley (don't know if you've heard of him). Last year McSorley threw for 28 scores and completed 66.5% of his matches while also running for 491 yards and 11 scores. This may be crazy, but I think McSorley has a good chance at entering his name into the best QB convo.
4. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin- As a freshman, Taylor electrified the nation and brought Wisconsin on the verge of making the College Football Playoffs. The bar is certainly high, but Taylor has what it takes to do it again. It certainly helps that Wisconsin has arguably the best O-line in the nation and many, Forde included, have them penciled in to win the Big 10 and be national title contenders.
3. Bryce Love, Stanford- A running back not from Alabama hasn't won the Heisman since Ron Dayne in 1999 (sorry Reggie Bush). Still, if any RB this year has a shot, it's love. His stat line (which included 2,118 rushing yards & 19 rushing scores) last year quickly helped Palo Alto forget about Christian McCaffrey. A number of Stanford players over the last decade or so have been serious Heisman candidates, including Love, McCaffrey, Andrew Luck, and Owen Marecic, but none of them have won. Could Love be the one to break this spell?
2. Jake Fromm, Georgia- I'll admit, I've probably underrated Fromm for a while now. For most of last season, I held the belief that the Bulldogs were winning because of Roquan Smith and their phenomenal defense, not Fromm. In fact, I thought Fromm was holding them back. I finally was won over by his performance against Auburn in the SEC title game. Then, I became utterly enamored with new recruit Justin Fields and his very obvious potential. Regardless, Fromm is still the Georgia starter and it is looking extremely likely that UGA will be in the national title picture again this year.
1. Khalil Tate, Arizona- You might not have been paying attention last year, but Tate was quietly amassing stellar stats last year. The Inglewood, CA native passed for 1,591 yards, 1,411 rushing yards, and 26 total scores last year. However, he emerged too late on the national scene last season to be a serious Heisman contender, especially since by that point Baker Mayfield had locked it up. Now, Khalil Tate is our preseason pick to win the Heisman Trophy.
Thanks for reading everyone.
So, we here at TSE are bringing back our most popular series to closely monitor this year's Heisman campaign. Not to toot our own horn too much, but TSE's record at picking the correct Heisman winner at the end of the season is 4 out of 4. Will our perfect record continue this year? There's only one way to find out.
This post is not a real watch but more of an assessment of the top ten contenders. Of course, this is not a complete list as that would take hours to compile. Honorable mentions include David Sills V of West Virginia, Brandon Wimbush of Notre Dame, Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State, Dexter Williams of Notre Dame, Shea Patterson of Michigan, Justin Herbert of Oregon, Nick Fitzgerald of Mississippi State, and Drew Lock of Missouri.
10. J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State- There's a chance that at some point down the line Dobbins will be outshone by QB Dwayne Haskins and defensive star Nick Bosa, but right now all of the focus is on Dobbins. Last year he ran for 1,403 yards while picking up an average of more than 7 yards per carry and catching 22 passes for 135 yards. Now that Haskins has taken over for J.T. Barrett, Dobbins role should increase more, as Barrett also ran quite a bit.
9. Kelly Bryant, Clemson- A lot of people thought that freshman phenom Trevor Lawrence would get the starting job over Bryant, but the man who started every game for the Tigers last year and led them to the semi-finals of the College Football Playoffs held him off. Still, Bryant is on a short leash. Lawrence will no doubt get some playing time in blowout wins. In fact, we'll probably see him in Week 1 against Furman. If Bryant struggles at all during the season, it probably won't take much for head coach Dabo Swinney to put Lawrence. But, if Bryant is successful, he'll probably be a Heisman contender. Last year he was a fringe contender in the middle of the season and finished with 2,802 passing yards and 13 passing touchdowns.
8. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama- It feels weird to list someone as a top Heisman candidate without them being an out-right starter, yet here we are. As a true freshman last year, Tagovailoa backed up Jalen Hurts and led Alabama to a comeback in the national title game. Of course, Tagovailoa's candidacy rides on him being named the starter or at least getting plenty of playing time. Out of the two QBs, Tua is definitely the better passer and that should mean he'll be playing in close games.
7. Ed Oliver, Houston- There's a reason Oliver is the only defensive player on this list. A true defensive player hasn't been named college football's most outstanding player since 1997 when Charles Woodson of Michigan took home the trophy. Players like Manti Te'o, Jabrill Peppers, and Tyrann Mathieu have come close, but to no avail. The Houston Cougar has tallied 39.5 career tackles for loss and has already announced his entry in the 2019 NFL draft, where he'll almost certainly be a top five pick.
6. Will Grier, West Virginia- College football expert Pat Forde is on record saying that West Virginia will start off the season 7-1 or 8-0 and they'll be the talk of the college football world. He also said that there was no way Grier would win the Heisman. And while I hate to disagree with someone with the expertise of Forde, I have to do it. The Mountaineer threw for 36 TDs last year while completing 64.4% of his passes. If West Virginia does indeed get off to the start Forde projects, he'll be an early Heisman contender for sure.
5. Trace McSorley, Penn State- McSorley was my trendy Heisman outsider for much of last season. Unfortunately for him, his exploits were often overshadowed by some guy named Saquon Barkley (don't know if you've heard of him). Last year McSorley threw for 28 scores and completed 66.5% of his matches while also running for 491 yards and 11 scores. This may be crazy, but I think McSorley has a good chance at entering his name into the best QB convo.
4. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin- As a freshman, Taylor electrified the nation and brought Wisconsin on the verge of making the College Football Playoffs. The bar is certainly high, but Taylor has what it takes to do it again. It certainly helps that Wisconsin has arguably the best O-line in the nation and many, Forde included, have them penciled in to win the Big 10 and be national title contenders.
3. Bryce Love, Stanford- A running back not from Alabama hasn't won the Heisman since Ron Dayne in 1999 (sorry Reggie Bush). Still, if any RB this year has a shot, it's love. His stat line (which included 2,118 rushing yards & 19 rushing scores) last year quickly helped Palo Alto forget about Christian McCaffrey. A number of Stanford players over the last decade or so have been serious Heisman candidates, including Love, McCaffrey, Andrew Luck, and Owen Marecic, but none of them have won. Could Love be the one to break this spell?
2. Jake Fromm, Georgia- I'll admit, I've probably underrated Fromm for a while now. For most of last season, I held the belief that the Bulldogs were winning because of Roquan Smith and their phenomenal defense, not Fromm. In fact, I thought Fromm was holding them back. I finally was won over by his performance against Auburn in the SEC title game. Then, I became utterly enamored with new recruit Justin Fields and his very obvious potential. Regardless, Fromm is still the Georgia starter and it is looking extremely likely that UGA will be in the national title picture again this year.
1. Khalil Tate, Arizona- You might not have been paying attention last year, but Tate was quietly amassing stellar stats last year. The Inglewood, CA native passed for 1,591 yards, 1,411 rushing yards, and 26 total scores last year. However, he emerged too late on the national scene last season to be a serious Heisman contender, especially since by that point Baker Mayfield had locked it up. Now, Khalil Tate is our preseason pick to win the Heisman Trophy.
Thanks for reading everyone.
