An early look at the Heisman candidates

An early look at the Heisman candidates

Fans have yet to see the first snap of the 2008 NCAA college football season and yet it falls on the shoulders of prognosticators to identify the most likely candidates to win the Heisman Trophy following the upcoming season.

The analysis has to begin with the incumbent - the current trophy-winner - Florida's quarterback, Tim Tebow. Before, 2007, no SEC player had ever rushed for 23 touchdowns. Tebow did (after rushing for 895 yards). Oh, he also threw for 3,286 yards and 32 more scores. Some scoffed at a sophomore winning the trophy but those critics simply failed to grasp the sheer magnitude of what Tebow accomplished in what is perennially one of the nation's toughest conferences.

Can Tebow defend his crown? He already has 299 career carries at Florida and, while fans tend to place super-human expectations on his young shoulders, the fact is that even Tim Tebow's health may start to crack if he continues to be used as the Gators' feature back in SEC match-ups this season (he had 16 or more carries in eight games last year). Still, his prowess as a passer seems unappreciated, which is strange considering he was the nation's 2nd-most efficient passer last year (67% completion rate; 14 yard average per-completion; 32 touchdowns and only six interceptions). With only four road games on Florida's schedule this year (Tennessee, Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Florida State), the schedule could help Tebow's quest to win consecutive Heisman Trophies.

Oklahoma's Sam Bradford was the only quarterback who beat Tebow's efficiency numbers last year. Bradford completed an amazing 69.5% of his 341 passes for 3,121 yards, 36 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Of course, his most lethal receiving threat, Malcolm Kelly, is now a Redskin and the Sooners but, collectively, overcome the emotional hangover of two consecutive bowl-losses. Still, Bradford's leading receiver is back and there is plenty of talent at tailback to keep pressure from being placed squarely on his back this season.

Besides the nation's 5th-leading rusher last season, Kent State's Eugene Jarvis (1,669 yards; 10 touchdowns in '07), Ohio State's Chris "Beanie" Wells is the only returning tailback from the nation's top eleven rushers last season. Given that Ohio State returns so many starters and has strong odds of playing in its third-consecutive BCS bowl game, Wells' candidacy seems much more substantive than Javis'.  If the Buckeyes do, in fact, make it to Miami on January 8th, Wells will most likely be a substantial reason for the team's success and voters will love casting their lots for a kid with a nickname like, "Beanie."

A fourth candidate to consider is Texas Tech's Graham Harrell. Harrell will become the first third-year starter in Mike Leach's career at Tech. Last year, the Red Raider gunslinger completed 72% of his 713 passes (remember, Bradford and Tebow threw 341 and 350, respectively) for 5,705 yards, 48 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions. Nearly 1/3rd of the team's passing yardage was accounted for by then-true-freshman receiver, Michael Crabtree, who led the nation after collecting an amazing 134 passes for 1,962 yards and 22 scores. Simply put, Harrell and Crabtree will cannibalize each other's votes but their accomplishments in 2008 are likely to be atomic.

As a darkhorse candidate, consider Pittsburgh's LeSean McCoy. A true freshman in 2007, he was the nation's 21st leading rusher with 1,328 yards and 14 touchdowns. Those numbers came despite few carries in two of his first four games and the absence of a bowl game to further pad his stats. Pitt could very well challenge for what will be a chaotic season in the Big East. If the Panthers prevail, you can bet that McCoy's running had a lot to do with the result.

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