No one ever won the Heisman Trophy in the season’s first week, but it never hurts to get a head start on the rest of the field. Here’s a few guys that did just that this weekend and should be considered the “way to early” leaders. It will be interesting to see if a non QB can win it this season.
Jonathan Taylor RB Wisconsin
Last season’s Doak Walker Award winner had himself a pretty good game against South Florida. The junior back totaled 183 yards combined and scored four TDs in less than 3 quarters of action. Taylor has beena staple of consistency but doesn’t always get the recognition.
Justin Fields QB Ohio State
The former Georgia signal caller put up good numbers in his debut for Ohio State. He finished 18-25 for 234 yards and added 61 yards on the ground. He scored five total TDs, four coming on the Buckeyes first four offensive possessions. It wasn’t all good for Fields though. He made some mistakes that led several drives to stall out, but as we all know, this award is about numbers, and numbers only.
Jalen Hurts QB Oklahoma
Hurts lit up the Houston defense like the Times Square Christmas Tree on Sunday night. He was 20-23 through the air, had over 500 total yards, and finished with 6 TD’s. How good this Houston defense is remains to be seen, but those are video game numbers, regardless of opponent, and again, it’s all about those numbers.
Tua Tagovailoa QB Alabama
Hurts and the Bama offense got off to a slow start vs Duke but rebounded in the second half to pull away and win 42-3. Tua finished with 336 yards passing and 4 TDs, and did it by taking what the defense was giving him instead of trying to force things down the field.
Travis Etienne RB Clemson
Trevor Lawrence got most of the Heisman hype during the offseason but it was Etienne that came out of the gates blazing for the Tigers. ETN ran for 205 yards on just 12 carries and scored 3 TDs, including an electrifying 90 yard run that had NFL scouts raving on social media. Oh, and he did it in just 2.5 quarters of work, and against a conference foe, not a G5 or FCS team.
Check out ETN’s career night here
After the seasons first week, it’s those five that are likely leading the way. Seeing as it’s far too early to be talking Heisman, we might be talking about five completely different guys next week. Check back next week, and we’ll waste a little more time.
