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Phil Steele's top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates college football 2015
Editor's note: This article was adapted from Phil Steele's college football preview magazine, which is available here.
Predicting who will win the Heisman Trophy is a tough task, even with a few weeks left in the regular season. There is always plenty of debate. Naturally, it is even tougher predicting the winner four months prior to the season.
Here is how I rank the top 10 contenders to win the Heisman heading into the 2015 season:
1. QB Cody Kessler, USC Trojans
The previous five Heisman Trophy winners were all quarterbacks. If you average out their Heisman-winning seasons, they threw for about 300 yards per game and had a 68.9 completion percentage with a 36-7 TD-to-INT ratio. Kessler's numbers last season were: 294 ypg, 69.7 percent with a 39-5 ratio. It also doesn't hurt to have all five starting offensive linemen back, as well as several weapons at receiver and tight end.
2. QB Trevone Boykin, TCU Horned Frogs
How do you get to be the preseason favorite to win the Heisman Trophy? You start all 13 games, lead your team to 12 wins, have the No. 2 scoring offense and the No. 5 overall offense and -- oh, by the way -- your team returns a total of nine offensive players.
3. RB Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State Buckeyes
Elliott became a household name after averaging 232 yards and adding eight TDs combined vs. Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon to end the season. He will be the bell cow for an Ohio State team that returns four starting offensive linemen and figures to be in College Football Playoff contention throughout the season, which is a good recipe for a Heisman winner.
4. RB Derrick Henry, Alabama Crimson Tide
Given the great wealth of talent at Alabama, Henry has split carries over his first two years in Tuscaloosa, primarily with T.J. Yeldon. Alabama will be relying on an inexperienced QB this year, however, and Yeldon has departed for the NFL, so Henry will have the stage to himself. He can use his devastating power to build on his 990-yard, 11-TD campaign of 2014.
5. RB Nick Chubb, Georgia Bulldogs
It didn't take long for Chubb to carry on the proud tradition of tailbacks at UGA. As a true freshman, Chubb rushed for 1,547 yards and 16 TDs in only eight games, impressing former Bulldog great and Heisman winner Herschel Walker in the process. With a full season of work, Chubb is poised to pile up the statistics again in 2015 under new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
6. RB Leonard Fournette, LSU Tigers
Thought it might have been premature for Fournette to strike a Heisman pose after a TD against Sam Houston State last season, he is clearly capable of a serious Heisman run in 2015. LSU eased Fournette into the mix as a true freshman, but he emerged as a physical, explosive talent as his workload increased, capped with 143 rushing yards and a 100-yard, kickoff-return TD in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl against Notre Dame.
7. RB Paul Perkins, UCLA Bruins
While his high school teammate Brett Hundley received most of the headlines for the Bruins last season, Perkins quietly put together a tremendous season at tailback. Perkins rushed for 1,575 yards and nine TDs, along with 26 catches and a pair of TDs out of the backfield. With Hundley off to the NFL, look for UCLA to lean heavily on Perkins to carry the offensive load, which should lead to gaudy statistics again.
8. QB Dak Prescott, Mississippi State Bulldogs
With four of the past eight Heisman winners coming from the SEC, Prescott's appearance on this list shouldn't be a shock. Prescott threw for 3,449 yards last season and also added 986 rushing yards and 14 TDs on the ground. His 27-11 TD-to-INT ratio must improve, as SEC defenses won't get worse; seven of his picks were thrown vs. Arkansas, Auburn and Alabama.
9. RB Samaje Perine, Oklahoma Sooners
Perine, an unheralded true freshman who was third on the Sooners' depth chart to start last season, burst onto the scene in a big way. He surpassed the NCAA single-game rushing record -- set one week prior by Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon -- with 427 yards against Kansas and eventually finished with 1,713 yards for the season. Look for another big year from Perine, as quarterback play remains a question mark for the Sooners.
10. Ohio State Buckeyes Quarterbacks
Cardale Jones has the best odds to win the Heisman Trophy, but I think J.T. Barrett will win the starting-QB job. We are better off waiting to see who actually is named the starter in the fall.
Editor's note: This article was adapted from Phil Steele's college football preview magazine, which is available here.
Predicting who will win the Heisman Trophy is a tough task, even with a few weeks left in the regular season. There is always plenty of debate. Naturally, it is even tougher predicting the winner four months prior to the season.
Here is how I rank the top 10 contenders to win the Heisman heading into the 2015 season:
1. QB Cody Kessler, USC Trojans
The previous five Heisman Trophy winners were all quarterbacks. If you average out their Heisman-winning seasons, they threw for about 300 yards per game and had a 68.9 completion percentage with a 36-7 TD-to-INT ratio. Kessler's numbers last season were: 294 ypg, 69.7 percent with a 39-5 ratio. It also doesn't hurt to have all five starting offensive linemen back, as well as several weapons at receiver and tight end.
2. QB Trevone Boykin, TCU Horned Frogs
How do you get to be the preseason favorite to win the Heisman Trophy? You start all 13 games, lead your team to 12 wins, have the No. 2 scoring offense and the No. 5 overall offense and -- oh, by the way -- your team returns a total of nine offensive players.
3. RB Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State Buckeyes
Elliott became a household name after averaging 232 yards and adding eight TDs combined vs. Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon to end the season. He will be the bell cow for an Ohio State team that returns four starting offensive linemen and figures to be in College Football Playoff contention throughout the season, which is a good recipe for a Heisman winner.
4. RB Derrick Henry, Alabama Crimson Tide
Given the great wealth of talent at Alabama, Henry has split carries over his first two years in Tuscaloosa, primarily with T.J. Yeldon. Alabama will be relying on an inexperienced QB this year, however, and Yeldon has departed for the NFL, so Henry will have the stage to himself. He can use his devastating power to build on his 990-yard, 11-TD campaign of 2014.
5. RB Nick Chubb, Georgia Bulldogs
It didn't take long for Chubb to carry on the proud tradition of tailbacks at UGA. As a true freshman, Chubb rushed for 1,547 yards and 16 TDs in only eight games, impressing former Bulldog great and Heisman winner Herschel Walker in the process. With a full season of work, Chubb is poised to pile up the statistics again in 2015 under new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
6. RB Leonard Fournette, LSU Tigers
Thought it might have been premature for Fournette to strike a Heisman pose after a TD against Sam Houston State last season, he is clearly capable of a serious Heisman run in 2015. LSU eased Fournette into the mix as a true freshman, but he emerged as a physical, explosive talent as his workload increased, capped with 143 rushing yards and a 100-yard, kickoff-return TD in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl against Notre Dame.
7. RB Paul Perkins, UCLA Bruins
While his high school teammate Brett Hundley received most of the headlines for the Bruins last season, Perkins quietly put together a tremendous season at tailback. Perkins rushed for 1,575 yards and nine TDs, along with 26 catches and a pair of TDs out of the backfield. With Hundley off to the NFL, look for UCLA to lean heavily on Perkins to carry the offensive load, which should lead to gaudy statistics again.
8. QB Dak Prescott, Mississippi State Bulldogs
With four of the past eight Heisman winners coming from the SEC, Prescott's appearance on this list shouldn't be a shock. Prescott threw for 3,449 yards last season and also added 986 rushing yards and 14 TDs on the ground. His 27-11 TD-to-INT ratio must improve, as SEC defenses won't get worse; seven of his picks were thrown vs. Arkansas, Auburn and Alabama.
9. RB Samaje Perine, Oklahoma Sooners
Perine, an unheralded true freshman who was third on the Sooners' depth chart to start last season, burst onto the scene in a big way. He surpassed the NCAA single-game rushing record -- set one week prior by Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon -- with 427 yards against Kansas and eventually finished with 1,713 yards for the season. Look for another big year from Perine, as quarterback play remains a question mark for the Sooners.
10. Ohio State Buckeyes Quarterbacks
Cardale Jones has the best odds to win the Heisman Trophy, but I think J.T. Barrett will win the starting-QB job. We are better off waiting to see who actually is named the starter in the fall.
