Heisman Hunt – 2010!

By Razor Sharp Sports

Ok so last year was easy. We all knew that one of the BIG 3 Quarterbacks were going to take home the hardware. Heck, Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow were looking for their second Heisman and Colt McCoy may have had the best numbers of the three. So what happened?? Mark Ingram?? Who’s Mark Ingram? Alabama Running Back burst onto the scene and ran away with the top honor last year. He and his Crimson Tide surprised everyone with him winning the Heisman and Bama taking home the National Championship. So lets see, Ingram is back and all 3 of the big QB’s are in the NFL. So it is easy again this year, RIGHT? Should we start etching Mark Ingram’s name into this years top individual honor. In the word of ESPN College Guru Lee Corso, “Not So Fast There, My Friend”! Though Ingram is the odds on favorite to win this year’s Heisman again, there are still plenty of others in the hunt. Let’s take a look and see who will be the names fighting Ingram for the top honor.

First lets start with the Quarterback position. Here I see about 5 players that have a legit chance at the award this year. First let’s start off with the man with the numbers. Houston QB Case Keenum. The Cougars gunslinger plays in THAT offense. All they do is throw and Keenum can do that well. We saw it last year when he threw for almost 5700 yards with 44 TDs and just 15 ints in 700 attempts. Then we have a couple of very atletic QBs that can get it done with their arms and legs. First there is Ohio St QB Terrelle Pryor. Pryor has been the chosen one for the past two seasons and now it is time for him to step his game up to the next level. He has plenty of talent around him, which will also help. Secondly we have Miami’s Jacory Harris. Harris starts strong last year, but ended on a down not. He needs to return to form and he also has plenty of help around him. A pair of Pac-10 signal callers round out my top 5. Washington’s Jake Locker and Stanford’s Andrew Luck may not only be battling for the Heisman, but they also may be fighting to be the top pick in the 2011 draft. Both of these guys show plenty of potential to play on Sundays and experts have them both going early in the draft next year. Other QBs that you should keep an eye on would be Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett, Boise St. Kellen Moore and Georgia Tech’s Josh Nesbitt.

So we move to Running Back. Of course you have to put Ingram on top of the list here, but he isn’t the only one that you have to look out for. There are plenty of ball carriers of all shapes and sizes. I mean that literally. Lets start with the little speedy scat backs. A trio of them emerge to the forefront here. They are 5′8″ Pittsburgh Sophomore Dion Lewis, 5′7″ West Virginia speedster Noel Devine and 5′7″ Oresgon St Beaver Jacquizz Rodgers. On the other side of the spectrum we have 250 lb Wisconsin battering ram John Clay and 6′1″ 215 lb Penn St power runner Evan Royster. We also have to keep an eye on a couple guys that return from injury. Oklahoma’s DeMarco Murray and Miami’s Graig Cooper will look to comeback strong.

Last year we saw someone other than a QB or RB be in the hunt for the Heisman, when Nebraska’s DL Ndamakong Suh made a huge impact. This year, I don’t see someone like that right now though a pair of Wide Receivers ahve the potential to make some noise. Georgia’s A.J. Green and Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd are big play guys that could emerge with big games early and big numbers all season long. On the defensive side of the ball, North Carolina teammates DT Marvin Austin & DE Robert Quinn may have the biggest impact. Together they could really turn heads. I am also interested to watch Boston College LB Mark Herzlich who returns from a year off after battling cancer. The 2008 Big East Defensive Player of the Year will have plenty of support and would be great to see return to form. In the defensive backfield LSU’s Patrick Peterson is the best of the group and a real NFL prospect. Some are already comparing him to NY Jet’s Mr. Shut-down Derrelle Revis.

So there you have it, I know I haven’t givien you the answer to the question, who is going to win this year’s Heisman, but hopefully I have given you the places to look for him. If I had to step up and make a pick right now, I would have to go with Ohio St QB Terrelle Pryor. The Buckeye’s should again dominate in the Big-10 and the Heisman is voted on prior to the annual Buckeye meltdown in a BCS Championship game versus the SEC’s best. So I will take Pryor. Don’t forget, to get a free pick from me daily, whether it is baseball or soon to be football, go to www.freeplays.com and click on Razor Sharp Sports. Please feel free to also send your comments about this article. Let us know who you think will win the Heisman and if you agree or disagree with me. Good Luck!