Heisman Watch: Geno Smith is the Big East’s Biggest Hope for Heisman
With the college football season nearly halfway over, the Heisman race has started to heat up. There are big time names on the list such as Andrew Luck, Kellen Moore and Russell Wilson, but one name that has started to creep up the list is Geno Smith.
Smith is the leading candidate so far this season to be the Big East player of the year and is the favorite from the conference to take home a Heisman trophy.
While it is highly unlikely Smith will bring home any Heisman hardware, he is having perhaps the greatest season of any quarterback in West Virginia history.
The high-flying offense of the Mountaineers is tough to stop for any defense and the development of Smith over the past year is the key to that offense.
So far, Smith has passed for 2,159 yards and 16 touchdowns with only three interceptions. He has also led West Virginia to a 4-1 record to start the season with their lone loss coming against LSU.
The Mountaineers are 12th in the country, averaging nearly 41 points per game and are the favorite to win the Big East title and represent the conference in a BCS Bowl.
Smith had a good season last year, but nobody expected him to put up the numbers he has so far this season. He passed for 2,763 yards and 24 touchdowns in his first year as a starter in 2010.
He currently ranks second in the country in touchdown passes and is fifth at 359.8 yards per game. West Virginia has always had a somewhat fast-paced offense, but new head coach Dana Holgorsen has stepped it up a notch. The departure of senior running back Noel Devine has left the Mountaineers without much of a rushing attack so they have taken to the air.
The growth and maturity of Smith has clearly been the key to the offensive success of the Mountaineers this season and if he continues to improve, he is not only a lock for Big East conference player of the year, but may have a chance to represent West Virginia and the Big East in New York as a Heisman finalist.
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