2018 Preseason Award Projections: Heisman Trophy

By Charlie Campbell
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Heading into the 2018 college football season, WalterFootball.com has rolled out our projections for the nation’s leaders during the fall. The All-American teams always have some surprises, and the next fall’s stars could be the headline players next April for the 2019 NFL Draft. We also have projected the winners of the postseason awards that are given out to the best of college football. We conclude the series with the perhaps most storied and overrated award in sports, the Heisman Trophy.

The Heisman Trophy is given to the best player in college football, even though it never goes to lineman and has hardly ever gone to a defensive player. Four years ago, we were correct when we predicted Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota would win the Trophy. Last year, we predicted Baker Mayfield to win the Heisman, and he did in fact win the 2017 Heisman Trophy.

Heisman Trophy Finalists:

Bryce Love, RB, Stanford

I personally think the Heisman Trophy is a joke. The fact that it has hardly ever gone to a defensive player and doesn’t go to an offensive or defensive lineman is absurd. The hype around it is insane, but every year readers ask me for a prediction so here it is.

The Heisman has a tendency to favor running backs who carry their teams with a weak quarterback and that could be the case this year with Love at Stanford. Love easily could have won the Heisman last year, and was the runner-up, and I think Love was more deserving than the winner, Baker Mayfield. Mayfield played a weak schedule with tons of good talent around him that dominated the weak Big XII defenses. Love carried his team from start to finish, plus Stanford played a tougher schedule with much less talent around him.

With Christian McCaffrey in the NFL, Love took over in 2017, but there was no drop off for Stanford as Love was one of the best players in college football, even winning the Doak Walker Award. Love averaged a staggering 8.3 yards per carry for 2,118 yards with 19 touchdowns. A leg injury slowed him down late in the year, but Love gutted it out and continued to be productive despite the injury. Love could have been in contention to be a late first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but he decided to return to Stanford. Love will have defenses selling out to stop him in 2018, so I think his production could decline. Thus, it wouldn’t surprise me if Love is a finalist but not the Heisman Trophy winner.




Rodney Anderson, RB, Oklahoma

The 6-foot-1, 219-pound Anderson has a lot going for him to be a serious contender for the Heisman. Even though he has a build with size, Anderson shows impressive speed with first-step quickness and a burst to get to the second level. In the tackle box, he runs with nice knee bend to stay behind his pads and plow through contact. Anderson flashes an ability to run angry and charges hard downhill. When he gets to the open field, he stands up higher to run away from defenders. Anderson also displays superb receiving ability. He runs good routes, adjusts well to the ball, makes acrobatic catches, and has soft hands. While Anderson is not a burner back like Chris Johnson, Anderson possesses a combination of size, speed, and receiving ability that reminds this analyst of Arian Foster and DeMarco Murray. With Baker Mayfield in the NFL, I think Anderson is going to be the bell cow of the Oklahoma offense and put together a huge 2018 season for the Sooners.

The Heisman Trophy, however, rarely ever goes to the same program two years in a row. Since Archie Griffin won it twice in 1974-75, only once has the Heisman gone to the same program in back-to-back years. That happened in 2004-2005 with USC Trojan teammates Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush – Bush’s was vacated. With Mayfield winning the Heisman last year, I see Anderson as more of a Heisman finalist rather than the winner.




Drew Lock, QB, Missouri

Lock set the SEC single regular-season record for touchdown passes in 2017 with 43. He went on a tear in the last half of the year to lead Missouri to six straight wins after a 1-5 start. Lock completed 58 percent of his passes in 2017 for 3,964 yards with 44 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. I think the SEC will be more ready for him last year and the odds are higher that he will fall short of his 2017 production rather than matching it or exceeding it. Hence, I think Lock will be more of a contender rather than the winner.




Heisman Trophy Runner-Up:

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin

Taylor should produce a huge 2018 season and could easily be the most productive running back in college football. As usual, Wisconsin has an excellent offensive line that should run roughshod over a very easy schedule. With the Badgers’ ground-based offense, Taylor is sure to get many rushing opportunities, and it would not be surprising to me if Taylor puts his name in the program’s record book with a prolific year similar to Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball and Ron Dayne.

Taylor broke out in 2017 by averaging 6.6 yards per carry for 1,977 yards with 13 touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 216-pounder showed an overwhelming combination of size, quickness, and natural running skills. Taylor has good support around him beyond his offensive line, which has multiple future NFL competitors. Wisconsin also has a good defense that should get the ball back to Taylor, and head coach Paul Chryst always seems to engineer a passing attack. I think Taylor is going to have a massive 2018 season, but being a system running back could be held against him, as it was for Gordon and Ball after Dayne won the Heisman in 1999. Thus, I think Taylor could be the Heisman runner-up like Bryce Love was last year.




Heisman Trophy Winner:

Will Grier, QB, West Virginia

A lot of the same reasons that I picked Mayfield a year ago apply to my selection of Grier this year. While other quarterbacks are likely to be higher-graded NFL prospects, I think Grier could be the most prolific and deadly quarterback in college football during the 2018 season. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound Grier has a good arm and is a natural passer of the football. Additionally, Grier has good receiving talent to work with and more experience after starting in 2017. West Virginia has consistently fielded a point-machine offense under head coach Dana Holgorsen, and Grier should be more comfortable after starting last year. In 2017, Grier completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,490 yards with 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while missing time late in the year with an injury. If he had stayed healthy, he probably would have exceeded 4,000 yards and 40 touchdown passes.

Just like Mayfield, Grier plays in a conference that lacks defensive talent and has shootout games on a weekly basis. Grier’s own team fields a weak defense, so he is going to have to stay aggressive while racking up huge production. During the 2018 season, Grier is going to see a lot of weak defenses and should dominate the weak Big XII secondaries. It wouldn’t surprise me if Grier is the most prolific offensive player in college football this year and gets a lot of postseason honors, including winning the Heisman.

Honorable Mentions:

Offense: Oregon QB Justin Herbert, Michigan QB Shea Patterson, Ohio State RB J.K. dobbins, Ohio State RB Mike Weber, Alabama RB Damien Harris, Alabama RB Najee Harris, Kentucky RB Bennie Snell and Michigan State RB L.J. Scott.

Defense: Clemson DE Clelin Ferrell, Houston DT Ed Oliver, Alabama DT Raekwon Davis, Auburn DT Derrick Brown, Ohio State DE Nick Bosa, Mississippi State DT Jeff Simmons, LSU LB Devin White, Clemson DT Dexter Lawrence and LSU CB Greedy Williams.











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