Admittedly, the college football season has kind of snuck up on me. Last year I did a preview of each conference, but this year I haven't really written anything about it. This has been for a couple of reasons... one, I am kinda lazy. Two, for some reason I have been a lot more excited about the start of the NFL season.But anyway, it's time to end by NCAA Drought and give my top 5 Heisman candidates heading into the year. But first, some of the guys left off:
Ian Johnson (Boise St.) - After his performance against Oklahoma last year would get a lot of support if Boise St. comes close to repeating their undefeated season.
Ray Rice (Rutgers) - Rice was one of the biggest reasons for Rutgers' success last year, but he might have a tougher go of it with Brian Leonard gone.
Mike Hart (Michigan) - Should put up good numbers once again but will be overshadowed by Chad Henne.
Brian Brohm (Louisville) - He'll have to settle for being the #1 pick next April.
Percy Harvin (Florida) - He'll probably be the most exciting player in the nation, but not the Heisman.
Finally, my top 5...
5. Colt Brennan (Hawaii) - Brennan is coming off of a monster year where he threw for somewhere around 2.5 million yards. He kinda strikes me as the guy that we have every year that puts up big number in a smaller conference against mediocre competition, and gets placed on the final Heisman ballot with no real chance of winning. That's what I see happening.
4. Chad Henne (Michigan) - It seems like Henne has been the Michigan QB forever. He'll be in his 4th(!) year of starting, leaving him with plenty of name recognition and familiarity with the offense. With lots of offensive weapons around him, Henne should have a big year for a good Michigan team, putting him in the thick of the Heisman race.
3. Steve Slaton (West Virginia) - May be overshadowed a bit by Pat White, but Slaton is the key cog in the offense, and should put up huge numbers once again in this offense. He'll also be helped by a relatively easy schedule which should put the Mountaineers in the National Title hunt.
2. Darren McFadden - A lot of people are predicting Arkansas to drop a little bit this year, and that could mean that McFadden stays right where he was... 2nd in the Heisman ballot. He's still the best RB in the nation and should be very productive. That's a tough SEC schedule though.
1. John David Booty (USC) - Could Booty be the 3rd USC QB to be the Heisman in 6 years? I think so. For one, he's going to be on a great team, which always helps. But he's very accurate, and should just be able to distribute the ball to the wide variety of playmakers that Pete Carroll has assembled. Great team plus great numbers means that Booty will be a strong contender, and he's my preseason pick for the Heisman.
Who do you think will win the Heisman?