Back To The Heisman

One of the best things about the start of football season is the sudden influx of football talk.  Television networks everywhere begin to roll out their coverage and a solid chunk of sports fandom breathes a collective sigh of relief.  At the Bleachers, there's no ill-will towards Major League Baseball or the Premier League, who dominate the second half of the summer, but they don't call the months prior to football training camps the dry season for nothing.

With college football stepping up to the starters block, analysts everywhere are giving you their impressions on which schools have the best shot at being crowned national champions, what schools are flying under the radar and who are the frontrunners for the Heisman trophy.  We're no different, so, without further ado, Heisman Finalist predictions I'm 86% sure you can take to the bank.

Let's begin with the incumbent, Mark Ingram.  The Alabama running back rushed for 1,658 yards, 4th highest total in the nation, and 17 touchdowns as a sophomore in the best conference in college football.  Ingram was also challenged with the unenviable task of being the go to option for an offense that had to break in a new Quarterback and Left Tackle.  Despite this, the greater the challenge Ingram faced the better he performed racking up 941 yards and 8 touchdowns in 6 games against Top 25 opponents.

What Ingram doesn't have on his side is history, there has only been one two time winner of the Heisman Trophy.  If the Flint, MI native recovers fully from his arthroscopic knee surgery and sees production comprable to his totals from a year ago, solid showings against Penn St., LSU, Auburn, Florida and Arkansas should be enough to garner him his second consecutive invite to New York.

We head up north to the land of cheese for our second finalist.  Wisconsin running back John Clay has rushed for 2,401 yards and scored 27 touchdowns in his two seasons at Camp Randall.  He also has the privilege of running behind what could be arguably the best offensive line in the country.  The Big 10 is full of talent on the defensive line this year, but the Badgers big uglies up front will pave the way to a very successful year for Clay. 

His biggest weapon in pursuit of a Heisman invite will be LT Gabe Carimi.  Carimi could be the first tackle selected in the 2011 NFL Draft and will neutralize the three biggest obstacles Clay has to face; OSU's Cameron Heyward, Iowa's Adrian Clayborn and Purdue's Paul Kerrigan.  Senior Guard John Moffit should also help get an extra push up the middle against OSU's Dexter Larimore and MSU's Greg Jones.  

Oregon's LaMichael James represents the third and final running back invited to the Heisman ceremony.  After a freshman season that saw James run for 1,546 yards and 14 touchdowns amidst controvesry, the sophomore is primed to be one of college footballs most electrifying athletes in 2010.

Oregon head coach Chip Kelly is also entering his second year in Eugene and knows exactly what his one man highlight reel is capable of.  Kelly will utilize James at nearly every position on the field to maximize his touches and create offensive mismatches.  Combine this with a schedule that features only one respectable defensive match-up in Tennessee, a school learning a new scheme, and it doesn't take much to envision a very big year for the Ducks number one threat.

This Heisman list would be incomplete without a few quarterbacks mixed into the fold, the first of which is Boise State's Kellen Moore.  In two years as a starter for the Broncos, Moore has amassed over 7,000 yards passing while throwing for 64 touchdowns.  He also dropped his interception total from 10 in '08 to only 3 last year in Boise's high octane offense.

Most importantly, BSU is 16-1 with Moore under center.   The only collegiate loss of his career came against fellow mid-major powerhouse TCU in the 2008 San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, a loss that was avenged a year later in the 2010 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.  Should the junior continue his progression as a player; 4,000 yards, 40 touchdowns and another undefeated season (including a possible BCS championship birth) should be more than enough to merit Heisman consideration.

Washington's Jake Locker is the last invite to the Bleachers Heisman party.  Locker has only served two full seasons as the Huskies starting quarterback but the improvement between his freshman and junior year was impressive.  His passing yards, completion percentage, touchdowns and passer rating all took major leaps from where they were in 2007.

With another year under Steve Sarkisian, a 3,000 yard 30 touchdown season is within Locker's grasp.  Those stats should be enough to garner an invite considering this years weak quarterback class.  Locker's challenge is whether or not the Senior can do enough to make the Huskies a contender in the Pac10.  At the end of the day Locker is simply an NFL caliber arm on a bad team.  If he has any hope of winning this years Heisman, he'll need to turn a 6-6 team into a New Year's bowl contender.

Although these are the five names the Bleachers are staking its reputation on this fall, one slight concession needs to be allowed, a couple of replacement picks in case of injury.  Should Moore or Locker find themselves missing significant time due to injury, don't be surprised if Florida's John Brantley fills their shoes.

The Gators are again ranked in the Top 5 of the AP pre-season poll despite losing nearly half of it's starters from a year ago.  Brantley should have a smooth transition and prove that his predecessor, a magnetic player to say the least, was a product of Urban Meyer and a consistently amazing Florida recruiting class year after year.

Should any of the running backs find themselves hurt I offer up a replacement that some may consider slightly out of left field.  Last years Heisman race featured an all-world Defensive Tackle out of Nebraska, don't be too shocked if the voters try to find another fashionable nominee from the defensive side of the ball.  If that player exists, it's North Carolina's Robert Quinn. 

This Defensive End is an absolute monster that can not be stopped playing man to man.  The problem, however, is you can't double team him either.  UNC features a "pick your own poison" defense that can beat you from anywhere on the field.  You can't run up the middle with Marvin Austin clogging up the lanes, Quan Sturdivant can be lined up at Line Backer opposite of Quinn to create another defensive mismatch and you can't count on throwing the ball against a Tar Heel secondary that features four NFL caliber players.  As long as this UNC eligibility fiasco blows over realitvely quickly, Quinn could sack himself an invite to the Heisman Ceremony.