Heisman Hopefuls

With the collegiate football season barely underway now is as good as a time to throw out some names on the radar for the 2008 potential Heisman winner. This year boasts quite a wealth of talent to choose from. Of course since this is a Cougar blog there would have to be a few blue jerseys included into the mix.



Chase Daniel (6.0/225 SR) triggerman from Missouri is the reigning Big 12 offensive player of the year. Last year Chase threw for over 4300 passing yards and 33 TDs. Last week in the victory against Illinois Daniel had 26 of 45 for 323 yards with 1 TD.

Pat White (6.2/185 SR) has been the starting QB for the Mountaineers since midway through his freshman year. White was the Big East offensive player of the year for the last two consecutive years. Last year Pat had 1724 yards through the air with 14 passing TDs while running for 1,335 yards and 14 TDs on the ground. Against Villanova this last week he threw 25 of 33 for 208 yards with 1 TD. With Steve Slaton leaving West Virginia for the NFL its White's time to shine.

Sam Bradford (6.5/213 SO) is set a NCAA freshman record with 36 passing TDs (bettered the old mark by 7) while leading the nation as well in passing efficiency. This past week against Chattanooga he guided the Sooners to victory with 17 of 22 for 183 yards. With the Sooners being loaded offensively it should help Bradford for title contention as well as his Heisman watch.

Max Hall (6.1/201 JR) is one tough competitor. Despite absorbing some blindside blows last year Hall has played rather brilliantly throwing for 3,848 yards and 26 TDs. His toughness at quarterback was even shown in sufficently recovering from a shoulder injury the previous week to complete a 49 yard reception to Austin Collie on 4th and 18. Matched up against Northern Iowa (previously ranked #4 for their division) Hall directed an attack of 34 for 41 yards and 2 TDs for the win at Lavell Edwards Stadium.

Michael Crabtree (6.3/208 SO) amassed the most amazing receiving yards of any freshman catching 134 passes for 1,962 yards with 22 TDs. Texas Tech has never had a Heisman winner but things could all change with Crabtree. Last week he posted 9 catches for 73 yards and 1 TD against Eastern Washington.

Colt McCoy (6.3/210 JR) since redshirting as a freshman in 2005 he has started all 26 games while amassing 5,873 yards including 51 TDs. Colt has already produced 37 plays of 30 yards or more. With two years left of eligibility McCoy stands already sixth on the Longhorn all time list. This last saturday Colt took care of business with 24 of 29 for 220 yards.

Knowshon Moreno (5.11/207 SO) as a true freshman blew up with 1,332 yards rushing and 14 TDs and named SEC freshman of the year. His 1,332 yards only trailed Herchel Walker's 1,616 for Bulldog freshmen. Pitted up against Georgia Southern Moreno ran 8 times for 59 yards hitting paydirt 3 times.

Juice Williams (6.2/233 JR) is a quarterback that can hurt a team through the air or the ground. With Rashard Mendenhall taking his services to the next level look for Williams to turn on the juice. In a hard fought matchup against Missouri he stepped up for 26 of 42 covering 451 yards and 2 TDs.

Harvey Unga (6.0/243 SO) is a bruising back that became the Cougars first freshman 1,000 yard rusher (1,227 to be exact). Unga also set a MWC record with 1,840 all purpose yards. Saturday the Panthers still keyed on Harvey but he was able to manage 18 carries for 64 yards and 2 TDs.

Tim Tebow (6.3232 JR) became the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman. So far in his collegiate career Tebow has accounted for 32 TDs through the air and 23 on the ground. Tim has a massive array of playmakers to choose from. In a blowout of Hawaii in the swamp Tim went 9 of 14 for 137 yards.

Ian Johnson (6.0/198 SR) is #1 among active NCAA rushers with 3,417 rushing yards with 46 total TDs. Ian has bulked up which should help offset possible internal injuries (partially collasped lung in 2006 and bruised kidney last year). Many will remember he scored the winning 2 point conversion in the Fiesta Bowl vaulting Boise State over Oklahoma and moments later proposed to his girlfriend on postgame national coverage. By the way she did say yes. On the famous smurf turf this past week against Idaho State Ian scampered for 87 yards on 14 carries and 1 TD.