Week 6 has Heisman Trophy front-runner Lamar Jackson on a bye. Nevertheless, here are five other 2016 Heisman hopefuls to keep an eye on this weekend.
It’s already Week 6 of the 2016 college football season. Only 16 teams are still undefeated and the College Football Playoff picture is getting more clear every Saturday. So is the Heisman Trophy race. Sadly, Heisman front-runner Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson won’t play this weekend because Louisville is on its bye week.
While Jackson is clearly the race’s leader entering Week 6, maybe somebody will have an extraordinary game to close the gap. Alabama Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry may have won the award last season, but through five weeks it’s looking more like the 2016 Heisman Trophy is going to a quarterback.
Here are the five signal callers on the Heisman Trophy watch list in Week 6:
Deshaun Watson, Clemson Tigers quarterback
Though he is not having as productive of a season for the 2016 Clemson Tigers as he did last year, junior quarterback Deshaun Watson perhaps has the best chance to close the gap on Jackson’s massive 2016 Heisman lead.
Watson has four things going for him to potentially get closer to Jackson in Week 6:
1.) His Tigers beat Louisville in Week 5. That matters.
2.) Watson finished third in the Heisman Trophy race last year. Heisman voters already know who he is.
3). Clemson has the Friday night stage to itself on the road against the Boston College Eagles.
4.) Boston College has a strong defense. If Watson goes off, it only amplifies his Heisman candidacy.
Through five games, Watson has completed 60.8% of his passes for 1,302 yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He has made a conscious choice to shed his reputation as a dual-threat quarterback in 2016. That has hurt his passing numbers considerably, but Watson is still quarterbacking the best team in the ACC this season.
Watson may have thrown three interceptions last Saturday against Louisville, but he did have five touchdown passes in the Tigers’ huge ACC Atlantic victory. If he limits the turnovers, throws for some more touchdowns, and maybe uses his legs to get into the endzone, perhaps Watson can get back to his 2015 form with a Heisman-worthy performance on Friday night versus Boston College.