By Harry King
LITTLE ROCK — Putting together the Heisman Trophy watch list should take two minutes, the man said in the e-mail. Just peruse the 80-plus names and check the 15 who should be on everybody’s preseason list, he said.
The first time through, 19 players had a positive mark. Reducing that number to 15 was easier said than done.
The list is loaded with quarterbacks. After all, eight quarterbacks have won the Heisman in the past 10 years. A recent column ranked, in order, Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor, Boise State’s Kellen Moore, Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett, Houston’s Case Keenum, Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Washington’s Jake Locker as the most likely to be All-American.
Those six are at the core of the watch list compiled for a Portland, Ore.- based website that has doted on projecting the Heisman vote in years past.
There are others at that position whose participation in the Heisman talk will be in direct proportion to the number of games won by their team.
Since 1990, only BYU’s Ty Detmer, Texas’ Ricky Williams and Florida’s Tim Tebow have won the Heisman while playing for a team that lost three games or more.
Those on teams with potential for national prominence includes Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, Alabama’s Greg McElroy, Florida’s John Brantley, Florida State’s Christian Ponder, Texas’ Garrett Gilbert, USC’s Matt Barkley, Virginia Tech’s Tyrod Taylor, Miami’s Jacory Harris and Auburn’s Cameron Newton.
Erroneously considered more game manager than quarterback, McElroy will be overshadowed by teammates. Running backs Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson are on StiffArmTrophy.com’s master list, along with wide receiver Julio Jones and defensive end Marcell Dareus.
Toss McElroy.
Next man out is Ponder, who missed the final three games of 2009 after separating his throwing shoulder when he rammed a Clemson defensive back. Ponder’s injury occurred after his fourth interception of the game and he said he regretted his loss of cool. He is supposed to help Jimbo Fisher return FSU to lofty heights, but that will take more than one season.
Harris’ inconsistency is troublesome and costs him a spot among the 15. Last year, he completed almost 60 percent, but he threw 17 interceptions and was sacked 34 times.
Jones, Brantley, Gilbert, Barkley and Taylor remain on the must-watch list because the Sooners, Gators, Longhorns, Trojans and Hokies should be around or above the 10-win threshold.
Newton is a personal darkhorse although he was almost dumped after a friend with spies throughout the SEC said Newton had been consistently inconsistent in practice. If Auburn is truly a contender in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference, it will be because of Newton. Supposedly, he is a dual threat and his abilities dovetail with the variety available in Gus Malzahn’s offense.
The only alternative is to scratch one of the four running backs — Ingram, Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers, Penn State’s Evan Royster and Wisconsin’s John Clay. Ingram won’t repeat, but it’s impossible to ignore a guy who already has a statue.
Clay is a super-sized ball carrier who was called on 287 times last year and will get plenty of opportunities for the team most likely to upset Ohio State in the Big Ten. Based on the excitement factor, Rodgers stays and Royster is out.
There you have it, 15 players to watch. Production, plus the W-L record, will reduce the viable number to a half-dozen by November.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
