Ad Disclosure
Now that the 2015 college football season is over, we can start thinking about next season.
And, while we do that, we can also look ahead to who some of the candidates might be for college football’s most prestigious award, the Heisman Trophy.
Here are a few players to watch in the race for the 2016 Heisman Trophy (assuming Alabama’s Derrick Henry isn’t coming back):
1. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU — Fournette was the favorite to win this year’s Heisman until he ran head-first into the Crimson Tide front seven. Even with that game, and LSU’s late-season offensive issues, he rushed for 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns, figures that would have led the nation were it not for the extra games both Henry and Christian McCaffrey played — and the one Fournette would have played in had it not been washed out. Fournettte is a monster, and the odds-on favorite for the award next fall.
2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford — If the Heisman Trophy voting were conducted after bowl games, McCaffrey may have been a bit closer to Henry for this year’s award. He turned the Iowa defense into extras on his own personal highlight video, piling up 368 all-purpose yards in the Rose Bowl. He led the nation in that stat, and was second nationally with 2,019 rushing yards. He’ll have to overcome the infamous “East Coast bias,” but he has the skills to do it.
3. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson — He spent the early part of 2015 deferring a bit on running the ball, allowing his surgically repaired knee to fully heal. Once it did, he exploded. He passed for 3,699 yards and 31 TDs while adding 1,032 yards and 12 more scores on the ground. There’s plenty of talent returning to the Clemson offense in 2016, and barring injury, Watson will get every chance to post impressive numbers once again.
4. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State — Cook dealt with some nagging injuries and inconsistent quarterback play in 2015, but still posted 1,691 yards and 19 TDs on the ground. His 7.4 yards-per-carry average was second in the nation among backs with at least 200 attempts, and if he stays healthy, he’ll get a few more carries for the Seminoles in 2016.
5. Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia — Chubb was right there statistically with Fournette and Henry until his knee injury on his first carry against Tennessee. He put up 747 yards and seven scores in five full games and was averaging more than 8 yards per carry. By all accounts, his rehab is going well. Assuming it does, and he comes all the way back, he’ll get plenty of chances to pile up yards under new coach Kirby Smart.
Other contenders: QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma; QB Seth Russell, Baylor; and QB Chad Kelly, Ole Miss
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
