National Signing Day 2017: 5 recruits with Heisman potential
These five college football recruits could be potential Heisman winners following National Signing Day 2017
National Signing Day 2017 has come and gone and there were a number of big moves throughout the country. Programs such as Florida, USC and Florida State did themselves tremendous favors by landing a number of high-quality recruits, including the Seminoles landing Marvin Wilson—the top unsigned player entering Wednesday.
However, one of the narratives of National Signing Day this go-round was the fact that many of the top recruits were already locked up. Specifically, many of the top offensive high school players in the country signed well before Wednesday. As we know, the Heisman Trophy these days is almost exclusively reserved for offensive players. It would take an unbelievable defensive run for a player on that side of the ball to capture the Heisman at this point.
That’s the dream of every high school recruit, though. Winning the Heisman is the peak individual achievement of college football. Subsequently, every recruit committing on National Signing Day or before hopes to earn that honor. Of course, only some players have the actual potential to do so. Here are the top five recruits with Heisman potential after Wednesday and with classes largely set.
Tua Tagovailoa
QB, Alabama
- High School: St. Louis (Honolulu, HI)
- 247 Sports Composite Rankings: No. 32 overall, No. 1 Dual-Threat QB
Tua Tagovailoa has been committed to Alabama for almost a year at this point, so he might have fallen out of the minds of fans at this point. That’d be a mistake if it’s actually the case as the Crimson Tide’s quarterback of the future has the potential to be an absolute star. Much like Jalen Hurts already calling the signals, Tagovailoa has the ability to take over with both a strong arm, but even more dangerous ability when he takes off and creates with his legs.
While Hurts has the upper hand as the starter as Tagovailoa comes to Tuscaloosa, the young man from Honolulu has all of the potential to immediately challenge for that starting spot at quarterback. For all that Hurts accomplished as a freshman, his ability as a passer pales in comparison to that of the incoming freshman. Tagovailoa is a much more accurate passer and can make the entire Crimson Tide offense that much more effective when he’s at the helm.
Playing at Alabama certainly won’t hurt any future Heisman Trophy candidacy for Tagovailoa, but he should be able to stand on his own merits regardless of the uniform he wears. With the ball in his hands on every play, a great line to protect him, and the endless flow of weapons coming into Alabama, the St. Louis High School product has everything he needs to compete for college football’s top individual honor.