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Choosing a potential Heisman candidate differs from simply selecting a team’s best player.
For example, prior to suffering a neck injury this spring that ended his 2016 season before it could get started, Skai Moore was arguably South Carolina’s top athlete. However, there’s little to zero chance the committee hands out their annual hardware to a linebacker, regardless.
It just doesn’t happen.
Dating back to the trophy’s inception at the New York City’s Downtown Athletic Club in 1935, the honor has been bestowed 81 times to 76 players that played either quarterback, running back or some form of both.
That said, there are always exceptions to the rule, which makes prognostication fun.
Here’s an early look at the potential Heisman candidate from each SEC team entering the 2016 campaign.
WR CALVIN RIDLEY, ALABAMA
With question marks and untested talent at quarterback and out of the backfield, it’s tantalizing to list Eddie Jackson in this spot. Jackson led the SEC with six interceptions in 2015. By comparison, Charles Woodson picked off seven passes during his Heisman-winning campaign in 1997. But the Michigan cornerback had other intangibles working in his favor, such as returning punts — which Jackson does not. Also working against Jackson is that a safety has never won the award.
Calvin Ridley will need to form a quick rapport with whoever Nick Saban names his starting quarterback. However, the to-be-named signal-caller will benefit greatly from Ridley’s presence lining up wide. The rising sophomore hauled in 1,045 yards last year to break Amari Cooper’s Alabama freshman receiving record to go along with seven touchdowns.
Ridley has drawn plenty of comparisons to Cooper, the man he replaced by earning Second-Team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press. The talent is there if Alabama can get him the ball.
WR KEON HATCHER, ARKANSAS
Keon Hatcher was en route to a big senior season until a broken foot shelved the Arkansas wide receiver two games into the 2015 campaign. In his brief time on the field last year, the Razorbacks’ leading receiver in 2014 caught 13 passes for 198 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In his absence, wide receivers Drew Morgan and Dominique Reed as well as tight end Jeremy Sprinkle all enjoyed career years. The trio returns to The Hill in 2016, but it’s Hatcher’s talent and experience that provide him with the biggest upside over all of them, provided his foot has healed. The fifth-year senior who received a medical redshirt last season had surgery after the spring to reinforce the injury and is expected back in June or July. He could be a vital asset for new Hogs quarterback Austin Allen.
RB JOVON ROBINSON, AUBURN
With Peyton Barber off to the NFL and Roc Thomas transferring to Jacksonville State, the stage is set for Jovon Robinson to live up to the potential that made him the No. 1 junior college transfer … perhaps ever after setting single season JUCO marks for rushing yards (2,387), touchdowns (34) and points scored (204) at Georgia Military College. Now a senior, Robinson should be able to vastly expand upon his 639 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2015 he recorded while splitting carries with Barber and Thomas. If he can return to his JUCO form, defenses could be in trouble against Auburn.
WR ANTONIO CALLAWAY, FLORIDA
This one comes with an asterisk. If Antonio Callaway is on the Florida Gators’ roster come Week 1, the sophomore is the most dangerous man in orange and blue. However, that’s a big “if.” Head coach Jim McElwain suspended the sophomore indefinitely in March for a violation of school policy. That Callaway isn’t enrolled in summer classes isn’t an encouraging sign, either. Callaway had a prolific freshman year, leading the SEC in average yards per catch (19.4) on 35 catches for 678 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also finished third in the conference in punt return yards (435) while taking two of his kicks to the house. Callaway is as dynamic as they come in the conference, but getting him on the field could be a problem.
RB NICK CHUBB, GEORGIA
Last we saw Nick Chubb, he was sitting on the Georgia sideline with a glum look on his face, the result of a devastating knee injury that would ultimately cost him the final seven games in 2015. Reports vary concerning the health of the running back’s knee and his availability come Week 1. Still, that’s not preventing pundits from predicting, not just a full recovery, but a stellar junior season. After all, Chubb had tied Herschel Walker’s Georgia record with 13 consecutive 100-yard games prior to going down with the injury in Week 6 against Tennessee. If the knee is healthy, Chubb could, in theory, find himself on the dais in New York come December.
RB STANLEY “BOOM” WILLIAMS, KENTUCKY
Only four other running backs return more yards to the SEC in 2016 than Stanley “Boom” Williams’ 855 rushing yards (6 TDs) last season. The Kentucky tailback finished runner-up in the conference in yards per rush behind LSU’s Derrius Guice with 7.07 yards per rush. The junior still has to recover from the elbow injury that cost him a game-plus in 2015 and kept him out of spring drills. But when healthy, Williams is arguably the most consistent option that Mark Stoops has in his offensive arsenal. Perhaps Boom can catch lightning in a bottle and have a breakout season. However, the Wildcats first have to address several holes on the offense if that’s going to happen.
RB LEONARD FOURNETTE, LSU
This one is a no-brainer. Leonard Fournette is among the presumptive favorites to compete for the Heisman. The LSU running back will be looking to defend his national rushing title (162.8 YPG) after posting 1,953 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns as a sophomore. Only Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson has better odds when it comes to claiming the award according to many sports books, including Bovada.
WR FRED ROSS, MISSISSIPPI STATE
Not many people are more bummed than Fred Ross when they looked around the Mississippi State locker room this spring and didn’t see Dak Prescott. The quarterback and Ross connected for 1,611 yards via the air over the last three seasons, 1,007 of them as a junior last year. Even with a new quarterback under center, Ross — who finished ranked No. 4 in the SEC in receiving yards — still figures to put up big numbers in Dan Mullen’s offense. Ross led the conference in receptions per game (6.8) and did so while battling a groin injury that required offseason surgery. Assuming he’s healthy and is the No. 1 option in an offense that loses leading receiver De’Runnya Wilson, Ross has a chance to be among the best in the SEC. Whether it’s enough to merit inclusion with wide receivers who have won the Heisman such as Notre Dame’s Tim Brown and Desmond Howard of Michigan, remains to be seen.
DE CHARLES HARRIS, MISSOURI
Missouri has a dearth of promising stars on offense. However, if anyone from the SEC is going to be considered for the Heisman from the defensive side of the ball, it could be a Missouri player. The Tigers return a loaded defense, headed up by defensive end Charles Harris and strong safety Anthony Sherrils. Harris finished second in the SEC in tackles for loss (18.5), while Sherrils tallied the third-most tackles on the team (64.0) while returning kicks. Harris is a beast but a long shot to take home the hardware, though, considering a defensive end has never earned the designation as the nation’s top player.
QB CHAD KELLY, OLE MISS
Chad Kelly silenced critics in his first season in Oxford, leading Ole Miss with an SEC-high 4,042 passing yards and 31 scoring tosses. As a result, the Rebels quarterback is widely considered among the early favorites among quarterbacks to compete for Heisman honors, along with Ohio State’s JT Barrett, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, the man Kelly would have been competing for a job with had Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney not dismissed Kelly after spring drills in 2014. Ole Miss has weapons at receiver and perhaps an improved running game, all of which could set up Kelly and the Rebels for a big year.
QB BRANDON McILWAIN, SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina has its share of holes on offense in first-year head coach Will Muschamp’s inaugural season in Columbia. Among them is finding a quarterback as neither Perry Orth nor Lorenzo Nuñez truly seized the position in 2015. Both sat out the spring with injuries (collarbone and knee, respectively), opening the door for Brandon McIlwain to get some valuable experience. The four-star prospect and No. 2 overall dual-threat signal-caller in the 2016 recruiting class has a skill set that could make him a star at quarterback-starved South Carolina.
McIlwain flashed plenty of athleticism and a big arm this spring and could be asked to do a lot in the Gamecocks offense as Muschamp breaks in a new backfield and tries to replace the team’s top pass-catchers in WR Pharoh Cooper and TE Jerell Adams.
Do we envision McIlwain or touted, incoming running back Rico Dowdle actually sitting among the nation’s elite come December? No. But the Gamecocks could have the foundation of their offense for years to come, if Muschamp plays his cards right.
QB JOSH DOBBS, TENNESSEE
Tennessee has a gluttony of talent at the traditional “Heisman” positions. Jalen Hurd could challenge among the top running backs in the SEC and beyond this year. Hurd tows 2,184 career rushing yards and 17 touchdowns into his junior season on Rocky Top. He’s followed closely by backfield partner Alvin Kamara, a redshirt junior who notched 1,098 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns — 7 rushing, 3 receiving, and one of them of the punt-return variety.
But it’s Josh Dobbs who truly makes the Tennessee offense run. The senior threw the fewest amount of interceptions (five in 2015) in a Vols uniform since Peyton Manning was picked four times in 1995, but it’s his wheels that make the aerospace engineering major dangerous, courtesy of 671 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.
Dobbs joined former Heisman winners Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M and Florida’s Tim Tebow as the only quarterbacks to throw for 300 yards and rush for another 100 in a single game, accomplishing the feat versus both Georgia (2015) and South Carolina (2014).
The Bovado sports book lists Dobbs among the top eight quarterbacks on its current roster of 15 early-season Heisman prospects. He and Tennessee could be in for a special year.
WR CHRISTIAN KIRK, TEXAS A&M
Christian Kirk burst onto the SEC scene as a true freshman in 2015, scorching opposing defenses for 1,789 total yards, third-best in the conference. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native is the SEC’s leading returning receiver with 77.6 yards per game in 2015 in addition to his seven touchdowns, and he’ll be part of a stacked Texas A&M wide receiving corps. If Oklahoma graduate transfer Trevor Knight proves to be a savvy veteran presence under center for the Aggies, the explosive Kirk — who also returns kickoffs — could be the biggest benefactor.
RB RALPH WEBB, VANDERBILT
Ralph Webb is the third-best running back in terms of rushing yards returning to the SEC in 2016, having quietly garnered 2,059 yards over the course of this underclassman years. If the redshirt junior can add to his touchdown totals (five in 2015, four in 2014), he could go down in Commodore lore. Especially given that he needs only 1,085 yards to supplant Zac Stacy as the program’s all-time rushing leader. Webb set Vanderbilt records for rushing attempts as well as rushing yards as a sophomore (1,152 yards), having already owned the school’s freshman rushing mark (907 yards). It stands to argue that Webb could be in for one of the best rushing performances in Commodores history.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
