We are 5 weeks into the 2018-2019 season. There really have not been too many surprises so far this year, except the whole fiasco with Ohio State and Urban Meyer. That did not have a whole lot of impact as to what happened on the football field. And another surprise (unless you have not been paying attention the past couple of years) is the emergence of the Kentucky Wildcats. With a big time upset over the Florida Gators down in Gainesville in week 2 and ending a 31 game losing streak. With all of that who are the Heisman prospects?
One of the things that is not so surprising are the top 5 Heisman candidates after week 5. The season is still very young which leaves plenty of opportunities to create career defining moments that will capture the eyes of the nation and more particularly the eyes of the Heisman voting committee. As of right not, no one is running away with it. It is like a game of “Anything you can do, I can do better”, especially amongst the top 5 candidates. There is no one putting up PlayStation, or Xbox, like numbers like Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield , and Bryce Love were putting up a year ago.
So here we go, here is my top 5 Heisman Candidates of the 18-19 season.
#5: Wisconsin RB: Jonathan Taylor
You can always expect the Badgers to have a solid running game year in and year out. The Badgers certainly have themselves the best running back this football season in Jonathan Taylor. Taylor is coming off a stellar freshman year rushing for 1,977 yards on 207 rushing attempts with 13 touchdowns in during his freshman year. He certainly picked up where he left off to start his sophomore year.
However, the Badgers season hit a bit of a speed bump in weeks two with a shocking loss to BYU. Even in that losing effort, Taylor put up 117 rushing yards. Unfortunately for him, the loss hurt his Heisman chances. But the Badgers can rally back with marquee wins against Penn State. Taylor will have to certainly put up some serious numbers and put up wins in both of the games if he wants to win the Heisman.
#4 Oklahoma QB: Kyler Murray
The Heisman trophy may not leave Oklahoma. Kyler Murray certainly has not had a problem filling the shoes of last years Heisman winning QB Baker Mayfield. Murray is a duel threat QB and also one of the highly recruited high school players coming out of Texas. This year he is showing why he was one of the most highly recruited players to come out of the Lone Star state. Kyler has thrown for 1460 yards on 109 attempts with 17 touchdowns. He is looking to add a lot more numbers as he and his Sooners take on their rivals in the Texas Longhorns.
#3 West Virginia QB: Will Grier
Will Grier started off hot this season with a spectacular win over the Tennessee Volunteers and clearly showed why he belonged on the short list of possible Heisman candidates. Grier has thrown for 1487 yards on 137 attempts and 17 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. However his and the Mountaineer game against NC State was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence rolling through North Carolina , may have put a bit of a damper on his Heisman trophy winning hopes. Never the less, he has proven that he deserves to be near the top of the list of Heisman candidates. With wide receivers such as David Sills and Gary Jennings, his numbers should not taper off. However the gauntlet of the Big 12 is coming up for the Mountaineers. So Grier needs to be at the top of his game if he expects to take the Heisman trophy away from Oklahoma.
#2 Alabama Crimson Tide QB: Tua Tagovailoa
Let us be honest here; if Tua was playing full games so far this year, he would be running away with this thing and maybe go as far as to say he should just be given the trophy already. But because the Crimson Tide have a duel QB offense Tua has thrown for just 1161 yards 14 touchdowns on 88 attempts with 0 interceptions. Nick Saban does not need to put him in harm’s way. Tua can easily take on any team in the country with his feet and arm. And the fact that he has the best form when throwing the deep ball.
#1 Ohio State QB: Dwayne Haskins
Haskins had to wait his turn behind JT Barrett. After seeing him perform this year, you have to wonder why that was. He looks to be much better than Barrett. Haskins has thrown for 1,464 yards and 19 touchdowns on 154 attempts and just throwing 2 interceptions. His best game came against the TCU Horned Frogs where he threw for 344 yards and 2 touchdowns. You can expect Haskins to lead the Buckeyes to a playoff berth this season, and quite possibly taking the Heisman trophy to Columbus.