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Heading into the 2021 college football season, WalterFootball.com has rolled out its projection for the nation’s leaders for perhaps the 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 a lineman and has hardly ever gone to a defensive player. Seven years ago, we were correct when we predicted Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota would win the Heisman Trophy. Four years ago, we predicted Baker Mayfield to win the Heisman, and he did in fact win the 2017 Heisman Trophy. Last year’s winner was Alabama wide receive DeVonta Smith, who we had projected as an honorable mention.
Heisman Trophy Finalists:
Sam Howell, North Carolina Howell has opened his collegiate career by producing two prolific seasons for the Tar Heels. As a freshman, he completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 3,641 yards, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He then completed 68.1 percent of his passes in 2020 for 3,586 yards, 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The 2021 NFL Draft gutted Howell’s supporting cast, depriving the Tar Heels of their dominant running back tandem and two top receivers. Hence, I think Howell will be more of a Heisman contender rather than the winner.
Kedon Slovis, QB, USC Slovis had an excellent freshman season for USC in 2019, completing 72 percent of his passes for 3,502 yards with 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He showed a quality arm with accuracy and impressive poise. Slovis did not play as well in 2020, but the Trojans had lost some important players to the NFL in left tackle Austin Jackson and No. 1 wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. In the weird and shortened pandemic six-game season, Slovis completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,921 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Slovis could bounce back in 2021 because USC is returning some talent around him, including playmakers at wide receiver, led by the dynamic Drake London. I definitely could see Slovis having a massive junior campaign and being a top candidate for the Heisman Trophy.
Bryce Young, QB, Alabama The Heisman never went to an underclassman before Tim Tebow broke the barrier, but its happened five other times since then, so Young definitely has a shot while playing for a dynasty program. Some NFL sources who have watched Young in practice told WalterFootball.com that they believe Young is a special player with a style of play similar to Kyler Murray. The 6-foot, 195-pound Young is a dual-threat quarterback who is said to be a tremendous playmaker and bursting with upside. Of course as one can expect with a signal-caller at Alabama, Young has a superb supporting cast. The Crimson Tide have a talented offensive linemen with future NFL players up front along with a dynamic group of receivers. It would not be surprising if Young breaks out in 2021 season and makes himself a top Heisman contender.
Heisman Trophy Runner-Up:
D.J. Uiagalelei, Clemson The Heisman Trophy favors quarterbacks, so Spencer Rattler and Uiagalelei were my top two considerations. Uiagalelei was very impressive in 2020 as the backup to Trevor Lawrence. Uiagalelei almost beat Notre Dame on the road in his third start, taking the Fighting Irish to double overtime in a 47-40 loss, and Uiagalelei showed dual-threat talent with a live arm, good size, and running ability. In 2020, he completed 67 percent of his passes for 914 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also ran for two scores.
Uiagalelei could potentially explode in 2021. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder possesses excellent size to go along with arm talent and athleticism. On top of his special skill set, Uiagalelei has an excellent supporting cast with perhaps the most dangerous mismatch receiver in college football with Justyn Ross. Clemson also overmatches the ACC, so Uiagalelei will not face a challenging conference slate. It would not surprise me at all if he is a top Heisman contender or wins the next Heisman Trophy.
Heisman Trophy Winner:
Spencer Rattler, QB, Oklahoma Under head coach Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma has been a factory for quarterback talent. Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray were back-to-back No. 1-overall picks – 2018 and 2019 – after each winning the Heisman Trophy in their final season with the Sooners. With Jalen Hurts off to the NFL for 2020, the highly rated recruit Rattler took over as the Sooners’ starting quarterback. The first-year starter flashed his skill set and potential in 2020, completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,031 yards and 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also added six touchdowns on the ground.
After an early-season losses to Kansas State and Iowa State, over which he threw four interceptions, Rattler rebounded to lead Oklahoma to a quadruple-overtime win over rival Texas. Rattler ran the table for the rest of the regular season and beat Iowa State in a rematch before blowing out the Florida Gators’ backups in the Cotton Bowl.
Barring an injury, Rattler should produce a huge stat line in 2021 thanks to Oklahoma’s loaded offense against the Big XII’s struggles to play defense. The Sooners have a very easy schedule in 2021. They are clearly the top team in their conference, and Rattler should produce some numbers against the weak Big XII defenses. The early-season non-conference opponents, Tulane, Western Carolina and Nebraska are also overmatched compared to Oklahoma’s point machine offense. The Sooners have quality offensive line talent as well, and Rattler has some talented receivers in Marvin Mims, Jadon Haselwood and Theo Wease. Rattler could dominate college football in 2021, and I think he is the most likely player to win the Heisman Trophy this December.
Honorable Mentions:
Offense: Clemson WR Justyn Ross, Texas A&M RB Isaiah Spiller, Liberty QB Malik Willis, Texas Tech QB Tyler Shough, Iowa State QB Brock Purdy, and Georgia QB J.T. Daniels.
Defense: Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, Georgia DE Adam Anderson, Michigan DE Aidan Hutchinson, Penn State LB Brandon Smith, LSU CB Derek Stingley, Notre Dame S Kyle Hamilton, and Penn State CB Tariq Castro-Fields.
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