Lamar Jackson stakes Heisman frontrunner claim by annihilating North Carolina

There should be no question who the Heisman frontrunner is after what Lamar Jackson did to North Carolina on Saturday

It was utterly mind-boggling coming into the season how many people were not mentioning Lamar Jackson when discussing their Heisman frontrunner for 2017. Despite being the reigning winner entering the campaign, names such as USC’s Sam Darnold were the sexier picks, mainly because someone like Darnold had a better end to the 2016 season than Jackson did.

Still, Jackson had one of the best Heisman seasons of all time in 2016, and there was little reason to believe that he could be even better in 2017. Well through two weeks of the college football season already, the south Florida native is letting his performance on the field do the talking for him once again.

Louisville moved to 2-0 on Saturday with a 47-35 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels, and there was no doubt who the superstar was here in this one. The 2016 Heisman winner absolutely obliterated the North Carolina defense like something you only see in a video game. He showed off his much-improved ability as a passer, going 25-of-39 for 393 yards and three touchdowns. Throwing down the field was a criticism some threw at the junior, but it seems to not be that much of a problem here this year. Also, the pocket presence here and keeping his eyes down the field is something that should not be overlooked.

While it’s beautiful to see Jackson grow as a passer in what is likely his final year of college, the fact of the matter is that he’s the most fun to watch when he’s making opposing defenses look silly with his legs. This is exactly what happened to the defensive side of the ball for North Carolina, as Jackson rushed for 132 yards on 19 carries with three more scores.

If you’re not counting at home, through two games on the season, both against Power 5 opponents, Jackson now has over 1,000 yards by himself, which is absurd no matter the opponents you’ve been up against. Jackson really is a literal video game come to life when he’s on the football field, and he already has us on the edge of our seats just two weeks in.

Lamar Jackson should be the frontrunner to take home the bronze trophy for the second season in a row — which would make him the first two-time winner since Archie Griffin. With a huge showdown now looming next weekend against the Clemson Tigers, a team he did some serious damage to last year in a close loss, we could be set to see Jackson fire off in another complete runaway Heisman campaign.