Some years are more straightforward than others when it
comes to college football’s most prestigious award. There were arguments for
Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey over Derrick Henry, but the Alabama running back
was the overwhelming choice for last year’s Heisman Trophy. However, the race
to flash the pose gets interesting when a candidate who wasn’t highlighted in
the summer, bursts onto the scene. We saw this in 2012 when Johnny Manziel took
down Alabama in Tuscaloosa and ran away with the Heisman Trophy. Remember the
Cam Newton who was nearly expelled from the University of Florida and played a
season at Blinn College? No, but you remember his Heisman and National
Championship at Auburn.
Now, there’s another name that’s bursting onto the Heisman
scene and probably won’t go anywhere in the next three months. Louisville
sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson has thrown for 913 yards and rushed for 464
in three games this season. Both of those numbers are approximately half of
Jackson’s respective 2015 yardage totals through the air and on the ground. He
has accounted for 18 total touchdowns in three games this season. Last year, he
was responsible 23 touchdowns for the entire season.
Jackson, a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com in 2015,
attended Boynton Beach High School in Boynton Beach, Florida. He landed at
Louisville despite also visiting the University of Florida. Jackson also had a
Clemson offer on the table. Ironically, in three months, Jackson may find
himself in New York as a Heisman finalist where Clemson quarterback DeShaun
Watson may very well be in attendance as well.
There’s still tons of football left to be played. Next week,
Jackson and Watson will square off in South Carolina as Louisville travels to Clemson
for a game that will be pivotal for both teams’ chances to make the college
football playoff. But last week, college football fans across America watched
as Jackson led Louisville to a 63-20 blowout against No. 2 Florida State. His
initial coming out party was last year in the Music City Bowl against Texas
A&M when he threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns and added 226 rushing
yards and two more touchdowns. But, his name wasn’t mentioned much in preseason
Heisman talks that were led by Watson, Florida State running back Dalvin Cook, LSU running back Leonard Fournette, and
McCaffrey.
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| Jamie Rhodes/USA Today Sports Jackson toyed with Florida State to the tune of five total touchdowns and 366 total yards in Louisville's blowout victory last Saturday. |
After the Florida State game, Jackson is squarely on the
map. Manziel exploded as a redshirt freshman at Texas A&M four years ago.
Jackson, a true sophomore, is just as old as Manziel was in 2012. While
everyone got a glimpse of Jackson’s talent in last year’s Music City Bowl, last
week’s Florida State game was Jackson’s official arrival. Next week’s visit to
Clemson offers Jackson an opportunity to solidify himself as the Heisman
favorite. A late-season non-conference game against Houston will be another
contest worth highlighting for Jackson’s Heisman chances.
Jackson is by no means an underdog story. When you consider
he was a four-star recruit from Florida with several high major offers, and
started as a true freshman for an ACC school that went to a bowl game, in some
ways he’s just the opposite. So what’s surprising isn’t Jackson’s production,
but how quickly it’s coming. Despite his performance in the Music City Bowl,
one month ago, if you asked a college football fan who the best player in the
country is, Lamar Jackson wouldn’t be a name that popped up. Now, you’ll hear
his name is every debate. Stay tuned.
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