The list of Heisman Hopefuls saw no changes this week. The race became a lot more competitive with Michigan State containing Denard Robinson. Also, several of the hopefuls had standout performances.
PLAYERS WHO STOOD OUT: Terrell Pryor had the best passing day of his career. He completed 80% of his 30 passes for 334 yards and 3 TD without an interception.
Taylor Martinez wanted everyone to know that he can run just as well as Denard Robinson. Martinez logged 241 yards on just 15 carries, and he scored on over 25% of those carries (4 TDs). He also added 128 passing yards on just 7 attempts to go along with the impressive run total.
Andrew Luck continued to improve not only his Heisman Trophy chances, but his NFL draft stock as well. He completed over 83% of his passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns.
Kellen Moore has been just as hot as Luck. Moore had his second consecutive game of a pass efficiency rating over 218. He is now the nation’s leader in efficiency with a 183.3 rating.
Cameron Newton had his own Robinson-esque game with 210 yards passing and 198 rushing, with 4 rushing scores.
Matt Barkley responded to my criticism for not having a 300 yard passing game by throwing for 390 yards against Stanford. He has played well enough the last two weeks to win, but the Trojan defense has allowed teams to kick last second field goals to steal the victories.
PLAYERS DROPPED: No players were dropped.
PLAYERS TOEING THE LINE: Ryan Mallett had a good enough game to remain a hopeful, but not good enough to get him removed from this section. Daniel Thomas laid an egg against Nebraska. He averaged less than three yards a carry on 22 rushes as the Wildcats were blown out 48-13.
PLAYERS ADDED: No one was added this week. Brandon Weedon (QB, Oklahoma State) is very, very close to being added. I will be watching him closely the next two weeks (Texas Tech and Nebraska) and make a decision on him after that. Fewer and fewer players will be added for the rest of the year as the lead pack solidifies itself. For example, I can’t justify adding any running backs unless they do something to show me they are better than LaMichael James. Even those other running backs on the list will be dropped soon if the distance between them and James continues to increase. This isn’t a list to recognize players having a good year. It is the Heisman Hopefuls.
LaMichael James, Oregon
2009: 230 rushes, 1546 yards, 14 TD
2010: 114 rushes, 848 yards, 9 TD
Last: 25 rushes, 136 yards, 2 TD
Daniel Thomas, Kansas State
2009: 249 rushes, 1,265 yards, 11 TD
2010: 127 rushes, 691 yards, 6 TD
Last: 22 rushes, 63 yards, 0 TD
Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State
2009: 89 rushes, 382 yards, 1 TD
2010: 110 rushes, 700 yards, 9 TD
Last: 28 rushes, 126 yards, 1 TD
Terrell Pryor, Ohio State
2009: 167-295 (56.6%), 2094 yards, 18 TD, 11 Int / 162 rushes, 779 yards, 7 TD
2010: 104-153 (68.0%), 1349 yards, 15 TD, 3 INT / 57 rushes, 354 yards, 3 TD
Last: 24-30 (80.0%), 334 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT / 3 rushes, -19 yards
Denard Robinson, Michigan
2009: 14-31 (45.4%), 188 yards, 2 TD, 4 Int
2010: 84-125 (67.2%), 1223 yards, 8 TD, 4 Int / 119 rushes, 991 yards, 9 TD
Last: 17-29 (58.6%), 215 yards, 1 TD, 3 Int / 21 rushes, 86 yards, 1 TD
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas
2009: 225-403 (55.8%), 3,627 yards, 30 TD, 7 Int
2010: 122-174 (69.3%), 1748 yards, 13 TD, 6 Int
Last: 27-38 (71.1%), 310 yards, 3 TD 1 Int
Taylor Martinez, Nebraska
2009: N/A
2010: 39-64 (60.9%), 660 yards, 3 TD, 3 Int / 68 rushes, 737 yards, 12 TD
Last: 5-7 (71.4%), 128 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int / 15 rushes, 241 yards, 4 TD
Matt Barkley, USC
2009: 211-352 (59.9%), 2,735 yards, 15 TD, 14 INT
2010: 113-174 (64.9%), 1517 yards, 15 TD, 4 Int
Last: 28-45 (62.2%), 390 yards, 3 TD, 0 Int
Andrew Luck, Stanford
2009: 162-288 (56.3%), 2575 yards, 13 TD, 4 Int
2010: 113-172 (65.7%), 1538 yards, 16 TD, 4 Int
Last: 20-24 (83.3%), 285 yards, 3 TD, 0 Int
Kellen Moore, Boise State
2009: 277-431 (64.3%), 3,536 yards, 39 TD, 3 INT
2010: 91-135 (67.4%), 1336 yards, 14 TD, 1 Int
Last: 16-22 (72.7%), 267 yards, 3 TD, 0 Int
Cameron Newton, Auburn
2009: Redshirted
2010: 70-108 (64.8%), 1138 yards, 12 TD, 5 Int / 104 rushes, 672 yards, 9 TD
Last: 13-21 (61.9%), 210 yards, 0 TD, 1 Int / 28 rush, 198 yards, 4 TD
ON THE RADAR: Ricky Stanzi, Iowa; Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State; Dan Persa, Northwestern, Vai Taua, Nevada, Kirk Cousins, Michigan State.
What about QB from Nevada?
ReplyDeleteColin Kaepernick is having a really good year. He is on pace for career highs in passing yards and rushing yards. His pass efficiency is way up, as well as his completion percentage.
ReplyDeleteHowever, just as I said, "I can’t justify adding any running backs unless they do something to show me they are better than LaMichael James," I can't justify adding Kaepernick.
His rushing yards are less than Cameron Newton, Denard Robinson, and Taylor Martinez. Kaepernick's pass efficiency is below every quarterback on this list, except Martinez. His passing yards are average.
By Nevada standards, he is very outstanding, but when put side by side with the other outstanding players in the country, Kaepernick isn't measuring up.
There still is time, maybe with a big game in an upset of Boise State he can work his way onto the list.
gotta be lamichael james, and i think robinson from mich deserves it, hes put up crazy numbers, yeah he has struggled the last couple weeks but if he bounces back and continues to put up those numbers he gets it. somesportsnews.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteSo? Is Colin Kaepernick worthy yet? I think so!!! You said "There still is time, maybe with a big game in an upset of Boise State he can work his way onto the list." Well, it was a massive upset. Kaepernick took mighty Boise down! Go Wolf Pack!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNevada did get the upset of Boise, but Colin Kaepernick didn't have a big game. You do have to give him credit, though. He ran for the first TD in the second half to kick start the comeback. He also threw the game tying TD with 13 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
ReplyDeleteKaepernick has quietly put up similar stats to Cam Newton (2,671 passing, 1,029 rushing vs. 2,254 and 1,336 for Newton). The big difference is TDs and Passer rating. Newton wins both (24 pass/18 rush to 20/17, and 185 to 154).
I would say Kaepernick is the second most outstanding QB this year, a distant second, however. As far as the actual vote goes, he might get a few third place votes from voters out West.
Everyone will have Newton and LaMichael James on their ballots, Andrew Luck from Stanford is another west coast player who will get local preference. I don't buy into Luck as a Heisman candidate, but many do.