Saturday Spotlight- The 2017 Heisman Preview
1. Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma)- When he got his first start under Bob Stoops a few years back, I knew he’d be their permanent starter for the rest of his collegiate career. When I first watched him play, I was so impressed with him and he became my favorite player in the country. He plays the quarterback position with a lot of grit, toughness, he has a high motor and he brings out the best in everyone around him. He has a tremendous vision of the entire field and nobody this year was better at selling the play-action fake than Baker Mayfield. He’s the complete quarterback. He’s able to throw the football strong from the pocket, he can move within the pocket, move it and make a throw on the run, he finds the open receiver and he spreads the football around to the open guy. He can move into the pocket and make a pass down the field. He also has the wheels to be mobile and score touchdowns with his legs as well. A few weeks ago, I compared him to Drew Brees because of his ability to find the open receiver, read defensive coverages and how he’s able to make the perfect pass down the field.
2. Lamar Jackson (Louisville)- He was the talk of college football last year and wowed us all with his skillset on the field. Coming into the year, we wondered what he could as an encore from last season and clearly, he did just enough because he’s back in New York City as a finalist for the second straight year and he’s looking to become only the second two-time winner and first since Archie Griffin. I wondered how he’d come out as a passer because, after a full year, teams were studying up on how to take away his running lanes and make him throw from the pocket more. He passed that test and he still used his legs some. At six-foot-three and 211 pounds, his feet are never on the ground. He’s either making a throw on the run or in the air. He was still one of the most electriyfing players in the nation this year and a big reason why Louisville was able to win football games this year. I was very impressed with him this year with the way he was able to mix things up and keep defenses guessing. He had more faith in his arm this year than he did all of last year when he won the Heisman.
3. Bryce Love (Stanford)- Quite a few running backs could’ve received the invitation to New York City this year. Saquon Barkley was the front-runner for a good chunk of the year, Josh Adams put together a really stellar year, either one of the three backs from Alabama or even the fantastic duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel would’ve been nice but nope, Bryce Love got it and rightfully so. This was a year where he was replacing a popular player at Stanford in Christian McCaffrey and he’s definitely out his shadow. He has the shiftiness of a finesse back with the running of a power back. Vision is also a very important part of playing the position of running back and his vision to be a college player is out of this world. He’ll let the holes open up and then he attacks. He’s a strong runner and has no problem with running the ball straight up the middle. He steps on the field with a big play mindset each time because once the football is in his hands, he has the ability to score.
Prediction: Baker Mayfield is my choice to receive the 2017 Heisman Trophy. Let’s look at it like this: The Oklahoma Sooners don’t win the games they did, win the Big-12 title game nor are they the two seed in the College Football Playoff without number six on the field. He’s accounted for 46 touchdowns this season (41 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns) and he threw for 4340 yards passing this year. I always state that each player has their “MVP or Heisman moment” and his moment was Bedlam when they played Oklahoma State. He threw for 598 yards and demolished one of the better defenses in the country in Oklahoma State and a few weeks late, he beats a then fifth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs team. He had an unbelievable and without him, the Oklahoma Sooners aren’t the title contender they are without Baker on the field.
