Top 5 Heisman Trophy Candidates for 2012

The 2011 Heisman Trophy race has come to a close with Baylor Quarterback Robert Griffin III winning the award. Now it is time to talk about the early favorites for the 2012 Heisman Trophy which will not include Oregon Running back LaMichael James or raining Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III due to the possibility of both of them entering the 2012 NFL draft.

5. Michigan QB Denard Robinson, who was one of my favorites heading into the 2011 Heisman Trophy race. Robinson finished the 2011 regular season passing for 2056 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also rushed the ball 208 times for 1163 yards with 16 going for scores. Robinson will need to cut down on mistakes next season ( 14 interceptions in 2011) if he wants to be a legitimate Heisman contender past October.

Photo by Sam Wolson | The Michigan Daily and from http://www.annarbor.com/

4. Georgia QB Aaron Murray. I know that this sounds like a stretch but hear me out; Murray passed for 2698 yards and 32 touchdown passes after losing his top receiver last season AJ Green to the NFL. Murray was able to have a solid season with young receivers that were adjusting to the speed of college football playing in the best conference in college football the SEC. Murray has all the tools around him to have an outstanding season next year and could also get mentioned as a top pick in the 2013 NFL  draft.

Photo by Paul Abell/US Presswire and from http://espn.go.com

3. Clemson QB Tajh Boyd who had an outstanding season for the ACC champs. Boyd passed 3578 yards and 31 touchdowns in his first year as starting QB which lead to a resurgence of Clemson football. Boyd should have a great season next year because he now has the entire off-season to develop more chemistry with his amazing freshman All-American receiver Sammy Watkins which should lead to even more success next year.

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America)

2. USC QB Matt Barkley had an exceptional season even though his team could not participate in post season play. Barkley led the Pac-12 in passing touchdowns with 39. Barkley finished the regular season passing for 3528 yards and a 70 a completion percentage. Barkley is projected to be the top pick in the 2013 NFL Draft  and should be an early Heisman Trophy favorite.

Photo from SI.Com

1. South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore was having an incredible season until he injured his knee in the 7th game in the season. Lattimore had rushed for over 800 yards and 10 TDs while having to deal with the tough defenses of the SEC which made him a Heisman Trophy favorite. Lattimore should be fully recovered from his knee injury and will the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy for the 2012 season.

Photo: Jim Dedmon/Icon SMI and from http://www.sikids.com/photos/33341/heisman-watch-week-3/9

Also check these two sites for other Heisman Trophy news

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/981239-breaking-down-espns-way-too-early-2012-top-heisman-contenders-list 

http://heismanpundit.com/2011/12/13/an-early-look-at-the-2012-heisman-contenders/

Robert Griffin III wins the Heisman Trophy

Baylor Quarterback Robert Griffin III has won the 79th annual Heisman Trophy. Griffin had an outstanding season statistically and was able to lead Baylor to a 9-3 record this season with big wins against TCU, Oklahoma, and Texas. I would like to congratulate Robert Griffin III on winning the Heisman and I look forward to watching him play next season ether at Baylor or the NFL. Griffin threw for 3998 yards and 36 td while maintaining a completion percentage over 70 percent. I would also like say there was no Billy Sims sightings this year.

Heisman Trophy prediction

Tonight marks the 78th annual Heisman Trophy presentation and is prehaps the most anticipated presentation ever. Each one of these finalists are deserving of this award but like most things there can be only one winner. After months of watching these outstanding student athletes make their case to win the Heisman Trophy I have determined who I think should take home the Heisman Trophy. The player that I have picked to win the 2011 Heisman Trophy is……

1. Baylor Quarterback Robert Griffin III

2. Stanford Quarterback Andrew Luck

3. Alabama Running Back Trent Richardson

4. LSU Defensive Back Tryann Mathieu

5. Wisconsin Running Back Montee Ball

Heisman Trophy finalist Robert Griffin III

If I said at the start of this college football season that Baylor Quarterback Robert Griffin III would be the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy people would have called it crazy. Well I guess i should have been a little crazy because Robert Griffin III deserves to win the Heisman Trophy this season. Griffin is having an amazing season passing for 3998 yards, 72.4 completion percentage, 36 touchdown passes, and 9 rushing tds. Griffin is a world-class athlete that has developed into a great QB. Griffin had a season filled with Heisman moments but none was bigger than his performance in the waning moment in his game against Oklahoma.

Reasons why Robert Griffin III should win the Heisman Trophy 

1. Best player in college football this season

2. The only reason why Baylor was ever talked about this season

3. Baylor would have probably won only 5 games if Griffin wasn’t their QB

4. Big game player

5. Had multiple Heisman moments this year.

6. Team leader that can inspire his teammates.

Reasons why Robert Griffin III should not win the Heisman Trophy 

1. He plays for Baylor which is the only thing that could cost him the Heisman Trophy

Heisman Trophy finalists 2011

The 2011 Heisman Trophy finalists are

Montee Ball RB Wisconsin

Tyrann (Honey Badger) Mathieu CB LSU

Andrew Luck QB Stanford

Robert Griffin III QB Baylor

Trent Richardson RB Alabama

Top 5 Heisman candidates through week 13

5. Montee Ball RB Wisconsin

Ball is approaching Barry Sanders single season TD record of 39 during Sanders Heisman winning season of 1988. Ball has 35 total TD through 12 games and has two games remaining to break the record. Ball also has over 1600 rushing yards.

4. Case Keenum QB Houston

Keenum owns every passing record in NCAA history and is having a tremendous season. Keenum has passed for 4726, 43 TD passes, and only 3 interceptions while leading the Cougars to a 12-0 record with Houston being ranked 6th in the BCS standings.

3b. Andrew Luck QB Stanford

Luck has been having outstanding season this year passing for 3170 yards and 35 TD passes. But Luck has lacked the gunslinger mentality durning key moments in games that have required him to fire the ball to his receivers and that is why he has slipped to 3rd in the the Heisman Trophy race.

3a. Matt Barkley QB USC

Barkley is one of the most underrated players in college football this season. Barkley has passed for 3528 yards and 39 TD passes while playing for a team that is not allowed to play in a bowl game this season. Barkley is being off many Heisman voter’s ballots because of the Reggie Bush scandal. Barkley has shown the true characteristics of a Heisman Trophy winner this season and if i had i ballot he would be on mine.

2. Robert Griffin III QB Baylor

Griffin has been have a magical season this year and has been the single reason why Baylor is relevant this season. Griffin has passed for 3678 yards and 34 TD passes with only 5 interceptions. Griffin has fallen off many voters radars because Baylor has lost too many games this season and is not a National Title contender. If I could pick the Heisman Trophy winner my choose would be Robert Griffin III.

1. Trent Richardson RB Alabama

Richardson has been Alabama’s only true offensive threat this season. Richardson has rushed for 1583 yards and 20 TD this season while being keyed on by every opposing defenses this season. Richardson has been picked by many experts to be the next Heisman Trophy winner. I think Richardson has been one of the best players in college this season and would be a worthy winner of the Heisman Trophy.

Heisman Trophy race; Players that have fallen out of the

As the college football season has progressed many of the early Heisman favorites have fallen out of contention due to the fact that they have played themselves out of the race or their teams have lost too many games.

The first player that has fallen out of the Heisman race was Baylor QB Robert Griffin III, who has fallen out of the race only because his team has lost too many games. Griffin is still putting up outstanding numbers this season with 2781 passing yards, 26 td passes, and a staggering 74 completion percentage. If Baylor had not lost 3 games so early in the season Griffin would still be a Heisman frontrunner.

Taken from http://petruciian.com/hot-news/baylor.

The second player that has fallen out of Heisman contention is Michigan QB Denard Robinson. At the start of the season Robinson was my Heisman frontrunner because of his dual threat ability and now had a stable coaching situation. And for the first 6 games of the season Robinson was living up to my expectations. Then came the game against Michigan State where Robinson laid an egg. After looking at Robinson’s stats closely, I was not all that impressed by the amount of turnovers that he has had. Robinson has played himself out of the Heisman race due to his erratic play and vast amount of turnovers.

Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson is another player who has lost position in the Heisman Trophy race due to that fact that his team has lost too many games and his teammate Montee Ball has put up monstrous numbers. Wilson has played outstanding football so far this season and currently leads all of college football with a passing efficiency of 196.7. He also passed for 21 td and only been intercepted 3 times the entire season. If not for his team’s back to back losses against Michigan State and Ohio State, Wilson would still be in the Heisman Hunt this season.

Top 5 Heisman candidates through week 8

My top 5 candidates through 8 weeks

5. Tajh Boyd QB Clemson

4. Landry Jones QB Oklahoma

3. Kellen Moore QB Boise State

2. Robert Griffin III QB Baylor

1b. Andrew Luck QB Stanford

1a. Trent Richardson RB Alabama

photo taken from http://www.muscleprodigy.com/trent-richardson-workout-arcl-1737.html

 

My little brother Anthony’s Heisman pick is

 

Also check out the this link for other Heisman top 5