It is about time a wide receiver gets some Heisman recognition, and Mike Evans is the guy most deserving of it. Evans is second in the nation with 1,263 receiving yards, and his signature game was against the Crimson Tide when he caught seven passes for 279 yards and one touchdown. Evans has the physicality to succeed on Sundays next year, but with Manziel as his quarterback for the remaining 2013 season, expect to see more dominating performances out of the Texas A&M receiver.
Bryce Petty is quickly entering the Heisman conversation because of how good he looks in the best offense in college football. The Baylor Bears are averaging over 700 yards of total offense per game, and Petty is a huge reason why. The junior quarterback has the highest adjusted QBR of any college quarterback, and with 21 touchdown passes to just one interception, it is curious why he isn’t higher up on this list. Baylor is just entering the toughest part of their schedule, and their first real test came last Thursday against Oklahoma, a game in which saw Petty throw for 204 yards and three touchdowns in a dominant Baylor victory.
Ka’Deem Carey is the most deserving running back of the Heisman in the country, and although he doesn’t have the breakaway speed of De’Anthony Thomas, he may just be the best all-around back in all of college football. Carey has rushed for over 100 yards in every game this season, totaling 1,221 rushing yards. Let's not leave out his 11 touchdowns this season either because those simple stats show he is one of the most reliable sources of offense in the entire country. Every team comes in with the majority of their focus on stopping Carey, yet nobody has figured out how to do so over the last two seasons.
Jameis Winston was expected to dazzle this season given he was one of the most highly sought-after quarterback recruits of his class, but almost nobody expected the redshirt freshmen to look this good this early. Winston has so far has racked up 2,661 passing yards and 26 touchdowns through just eight games played in his entire college football career.
Also, remember many of those games were blowouts, which is the reason his backups have 38 pass attempts this year as well. Winston is leading one of the best teams in the country, but he threw two interceptions against the Hurricanes and has now thrown at least one interception in each of his last four games. Winston has only one more chance to make his Heisman moment, and that will come in the Seminoles’ last game of the year against the rival Florida Gators.
Manziel is the best playmaker in all of college football, and for that reason I expect him to repeat as the Heisman winner. Manziel has drastically improved his passing from last season; he has already thrown for 3,313 yards, the most of any quarterback on this list. He has also picked up another 611 yards on the ground and has 39 total touchdowns, proving he is one of the most well-rounded quarterbacks in the game today.
Aside from just the numbers, Manziel is the only player on this list with a signature game already in the books. Manziel threw for 464 yards, ran for another 98, and totaled five touchdowns as the Aggies nearly upset the no. 1 ranked team. Manziel has proven himself against the best two years in a row now, and deserves to raise the Heisman trophy one more time. Lets also not forget the performance he put in this week against Mississippi State in which he threw for over 400 yards for the fourth time this season. Although he wasn't spectacular on the ground, he finished with five touchdowns and a 10-point victory.
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