Spring Preview 2009
The 20 Big Questions ...
No. 2
By
Pete
Fiutak
With
spring ball underway, here are the 20 Big Questions to start off the
offseason.
2. Ten Heisman candidates besides the Big Three.
Tim Tebow might be the odds on
favorite to give his current Heisman a friend, Colt McCoy might be the
winner if he can lead Texas to the national title game, and Sam Bradford
will likely be a finalist, even if it’ll take something extraordinary to
win his second straight award. However, there’s a great chance someone
else will crash the party in New York in early December and be in the
finalist mix. Here are the top Heisman candidates besides the Big Three.
Dez Bryant, WR Oklahoma State
Michael Crabtree couldn’t
break the Heisman barrier and get to New York even though he was a
two-time Biletnikoff winner and put up ungodly numbers. So how does Dez
Bryant stand a chance to be in the Heisman race? It’s a long shot, but
he had a far better yard-per-catch average than Crabtree (17.01 yards to
12.01), finished third in yards per game (behind BYU’s Austin Collie and
Rutgers’ Kenny Britt, who both left early for the pros), and tied
Crabtree and was second behind Rice’s Jarett Dillard in touchdown grabs
with 19. If he can catch 87 passes for 1,480 yards and 19 touchdowns
again, and do it on a big stage, he’ll be on several Heisman ballots.
Jahvid Best, RB California
J.J. Arrington ran for 2,000 yards
and didn’t come within 500 miles of the Heisman hunt. Marshawn Lynch was
one of the best running backs in the nation and he wasn’t a blip on the
radar. Will Jahvid Best finally give Cal and the Pac 10 some long
overdue respect? Step one will be to stay healthy, and step two will be
to produce when the spotlight is on in early games against Maryland, at
Oregon and USC. If he rocks in those three games, the nation’s leading
returning rusher will be the media darling in the Heisman chase. Last
year he ran for 1,580 yards and 15 touchdowns, highlighted by a
311-yard, four score day against Washington. However, he was held to 30
yards by USC and 25 by Maryland. The sure-thing top 15 draft pick will
get his chances to get into the race, and even though he’ll be keyed on,
he should produce.
Daryll Clark, QB Penn State
The
numbers won’t be there without all the star receivers he had last
season, but Clark’s worth goes beyond statistics. He’s a tremendous
leader who might be the Big Ten’s version of Tim Tebow with ten rushing
touchdowns last season to go along with an ultra-efficient passing
season. He should be able to lead the Nittany Lions to a huge start and
a top five spot (assuming others start to fall by the wayside) with a
relatively easy schedule until November. Going to Illinois won’t be a
walk in the park, but Penn State should be 9-0 if it plays up to its
talent level. And then comes the home game against Ohio State with all
the world watching. Clark got knocked out of last year’s win over the
Buckeyes, with Pat Devlin needing to lead the way for the victory in the
fourth quarter, but he’ll be the third man on everyone’s ballot if he
can carry the offense and the team to another huge season.
Jimmy Clausen, QB Notre Dame
Brady Quinn was a fringe Heisman
candidate, but he was never really a threat to win the award even after
all the team’s success. Clausen might not be Quinn, but he’ll have the
Notre Dame spotlight and the receiving corps to put up the numbers and
the wins to be in the hunt for the big prize. He showed in the 22-of-26,
401-yard, five touchdown win over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl that the
offense has the potential to blow up, but the only chance of being in
the Heisman hunt will be to come up with big wins. That means a big day
at Michigan, a home victory over Michigan State, and most importantly, a
tremendous performance against USC on October 17. Last year, Clausen
completed 11-of-22 passes for 41 yards with two interceptions in the
embarrassing loss to the Trojans, and he didn’t play against them in
2007. It’s not a stretch to say Clausen is the key to the future of
Notre Dame football and the job status of Charlie Weis. Now he’ll get to
show whether or not he’s worthy of all the hype.
Max Hall, QB
BYU
September 5 vs. Oklahoma. That’s it. That’s the Ty Detmer vs.
Miami moment to start the season that could kickstart a Heisman
campaign. If Hall struggles like he did against Utah and Arizona to
close out last season, and/or if BYU loses, then move along with the
Heisman discussion. If Hall is the Hall of the non-TCU first 11 games of
2008, and if BYU beats Oklahoma, then things could get interesting. BYU
will be a huge underdog and isn’t good enough to pull off the win, but
if Hall comes up with a huge game and comes up with the upset, BYU will
get the campaign rolling.
Mitch Mustain/Aaron Corp/Matt
Barkley, QB USC
John David Booty and Mark Sanchez were never in
the Heisman hunt during their years, so it might not be a lock to assume
the USC starting quarterback, whomever it is, will be an automatic
candidate. That could all change on September 12th when the
Trojans go to Columbus to play Ohio State. It’ll be a tough road to get
to New York with back-to-back road games against Cal and Notre Dame, and
another road date against Oregon, but the Trojans will almost certainly
be the favorite in every game. Big stats would be nice, but just leading
the way to an unbeaten season will likely mean a spot in New York for …
? That’ll be the big question at USC this off-season with Mustain, Corp
and top-recruit Berkeley all fighting for the job.
Terrelle
Pryor, QB Ohio State
There’s a reason the guy was the subject of
all the scrutiny of the 2008 recruiting season. Pryor doesn’t have his
top receivers (Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline) to throw to and he
doesn’t have Beanie Wells to hand off to, but that should only mean he
gets the chances to do more on his own. He’ll get more room to
free-lance, even for a Jim Tressel team, and he’ll get to run even more.
Expect plenty of highlight moments and plenty of face time on
SportsCenter, but as it is with all Heisman candidates, it’s all about
what he’ll do in the big moments. If he’s great against USC on September
12th and leads the way to a win, then it’s Heisman spotlight
time. He’ll have one other huge national spotlight moment in early
November at Penn State.
Todd Reesing, QB Kansas
With
so much turnover in the Big 12 North, with Missouri and Kansas State
rebuilding, Colorado still trying to find its way, and Iowa State
starting over again, the division’s spotlight game will be Nebraska at
Kansas on November 14th. By then, Todd Reesing and the
Jayhawks will have already played Oklahoma at home and will have gone on
the road to face Texas Tech, and there will still be games against Texas
and Missouri to follow. In other words, Reesing will have plenty of big
chances to make a Heisman statement and put up the big numbers needed to
get in the race. With Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier returning after
combining for 189 catches for 2,452 yards and 23 touchdowns, this should
be a huge year for the KU passing game even with the killer schedule.
Jevan Snead, QB Ole Miss
Ole Miss will have a great record
and will be high in the rankings all year long. The best player on the
team might be DE Greg Hardy, who’ll lead a defensive line that should be
the primary reason for all the success, but the Heisman is about the top
quarterbacks and running backs. Jevan Snead threw way too many
interceptions last year (13) and his numbers weren’t all that great, but
he led the way to wins over Florida, LSU and Texas Tech. This year, his
stats should be solid but his record will be phenomenal because of the
schedule: at Memphis, SE Louisiana, at South Carolina, at Vanderbilt,
Alabama, UAB, Arkansas, at Auburn (who’s still reloading), Northern
Arizona, Tennessee, LSU, and Mississippi State. Almost all the tough
games are at home, and there will be just enough nationally televised
moments for Snead to shine.
C.J. Spiller, RB Clemson
This will be the longest of long shots considering backs like Knowshon
Moreno and Javon Ringer weren’t even a thought in the in the Heisman
race last year, but with James Davis off to the NFL, Spiller has the
Clemson backfield all to himself and could come up with a massive
season. He was hurt last year and was held to just 629 yards and seven
touchdowns (with three against Citadel), but when he was right, he was a
difference maker. The offensive line is suspect, there’s a new starting
quarterback, and Spiller has to prove he can stay through a full season,
but there’s a shot he could make a Ringer-like jump up in production. If
nothing else, he’ll be considered among the top backs, and the top
players, for the 2010 NFL Draft.