Saturday Spotlight
The 2022 Heisman Trophy Preview
1. Caleb Williams (USC)- Last season, Spencer Rattler struggles in the Red River Rivalry and that’s when we were all introduced to Caleb Williams. Once Lincoln Riley announced he was leaving Norman for Southern California, Caleb decided to join him. I always say football is about personnel fits and he knows the ins and outs of Lincoln’s offensive scheme. He’s not the biggest guy in the world standing only at 6’1 and that’s considered short for a Quarterback. That doesn’t mean a thing to me. He plays with strong pocket awareness, moves within the pocket when it appears to be collapsing and can make the throws on the run. Caleb is cut from the Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes cloth because just as those two I named, he appears to do his most damage with a moving pocket. He’s also mobile enough to take the ball himself and run it. What a year he put together for a legendary program. He helped lead the Trojans to the Pac-12 title game and had them in the College Football Playoff picture throughout the year.
2. C.J. Stroud (Ohio State)- He deserves to be back here again as a candidate for this season. You don’t see many pocket-savvy Quarterbacks at the NCAA level or this young and C.J. is that. Ohio State was expected to have one of the best offenses in the country once again. What made their efforts more impressive was they were able to still score points at any time yet their best receiver (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) was out for a majority of the season battling injuries. C.J. worked with what he had around him. He has such a strong arm and knows how to place the football into windows where only his intended receivers can get it. This Buckeyes offense averaged 46 points per game and they only failed to score 30 or more points in two of their games this season. They’re not the same offense without number seven under center. This is C.J.’s second consecutive year getting the invite to New York City.
3. Max Duggan (TCU)- Chandler Morris was named the starting Quarterback to begin the year. He gets hurt, Sonny Dykes decides to turn to Max and the rest is history. Max is the perfect example of answering the call when you’re number is called upon. He’s sneaky athletic and nothing ever seems to phase this kid. There’s no moment too big or small for him and you saw that throughout the season. He can beat you from the pocket and extends plays with his feet or he can take the ball himself and run it to get those yards. Max’s arm strength is also something to talk about. He’s a talented, yet scrappy Quarterback who can put a team on his back. Just look at the Big-12 Championship game last weekend. They don’t get back into that game without Max’s efforts as he took the game over. TCU isn’t a playoff team without Max. For his efforts this year, he was named the Big-12 Offensive Player of the Year. This is a well deserved invitation to NYC.
4. Stetson Bennett (Georgia)- He may not have the sexy name as the other candidates, but he has what the others don’t and that’s a national championship under his belt. I know, I know, the defense did a majority of the work, but here’s the thing, anytime you needed him to make a big throw, he delivered. That happened last season and this season. Stetson’s passes are placed perfectly to his receiver. I truly feel he’s at his best when he’s extending plays because he’s a tough cover when the play breaks down and you never know what he’s going to do next. He will either throw the ball across his body or he’ll run it himself. Stetson may not be the biggest, or the strongest nor is he the quickest, but he has the intangibles to win and leaves everything on the field week and he helped lead the Georgia Bulldogs to its second undefeated season, their first SEC East title since 2017 and the top seed in the College Football Playoff.
Prediction: My pick to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy is Caleb Williams. His game against the UCLA Bruins was what put him in the drivers’ seat for the award and his game against Notre Dame is what will win him the trophy tonight. He did exactly what he was supposed to do when he transferred from Oklahoma to USC. He became that star Quarterback the Trojans have lacked for years and made a legendary program relevant again and to the doorstep of making the College Football Playoff. Numbers also don’t lie. Caleb completed 66 percent of his passes, threw for 4,075 yards passing, rushed for 372 yards and accounted for a total of 47 touchdowns. Caleb will join Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as the Quarterbacks Lincoln Riley has coached to winning this prestigious award. That’s pretty impressive. Most coaches fail to coach one Heisman candidate. After tonight, Lincoln will say he’s coached three.
