The Heisman Trophy candidates were announced on Tuesday night and there are two obvious frontrunners: the Colorado Buffaloes’ two-way standout, Travis Hunter, and the Boise State Broncos’ running back, Ashton Jeanty.
The other two candidates are Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward and Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel. But those two candidates are just here for the formality of it. Everyone paying attention to college football knows this is a two-horse race.
What stands out about Jeanty are his crazy stats. He has 344 carries for 2,497 yards – which leads the nation by a 800 yards – and 29 touchdowns, which is tied for the lead.
What is most impressive about Jeanty is that every team he plays knows he is going to get the ball almost every play – and he still gets 7.3 yards a carry. He has also single-handedly carried Boise State to a first-round bye in the College football playoffs.
On the other hand, Hunter is also a once-in-a-generation type of player.
Hunter has hauled in 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns, which would cement him as a top 5 receiver in the nation. But he may be an even better corner: He has tallied 11 pass deflections and four interceptions.
He plays a nation leading 120.25 snaps per game, so he is always on the field and making plays.
The two quarterback candidates have been unreal this year as well.
Gabriel, from Oregon, is top 10 in the nation in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. He is an all-around field general who takes care of the ball and can make any throw look easy. Gabriel has also led Oregon to an undefeated season, with a Big 10 championship and a number one overall seed in the playoffs.
Ward is a similar player to Gabriel in terms of the ability to take care of the ball and lead an explosive offense. Ward led the top team offense in the nation, with 538.3 total yards of offense per game. Ward also leads college football in touchdowns and is second in the nation in passing yards, only behind Kyle McCord from the Syracuse Orange, the team that ultimately knocked Miami out of playoff contention.
Although Hunter has been arguably top five in two positions this year, the Heisman should go to Jeanty due to his insane stats and how he has single-handedly carried his team to the playoffs.
