The 2017 Heisman Trophy race was shaken up in a big way as a new candidate leads the charge heading into Week 5 of the college football season.
To say that the 2017 Heisman Trophy race hasn’t gone as we initially thought it would is an understatement. Coming into the new college football season, the expectation was for USC Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold to basically run away with the award. After all, he burst onto the scene last year with phenomenal success both individually and with the team.
However, Darnold has struggled to start the season. That’s not to say the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft has been bad. What it is to say is that, after throwing just nine interceptions in 10 games last season once he took over as the starter, he’s been throwing picks at an alarming rate thus far in 2017. Subsequently, he’s thrown away his Heisman chances at this point as well.
Having said that, Darnold’s drop out of the Heisman Watch also is due to the performance of a number of other players stepping up. While we could’ve guessed that Saquon Barkley and Baker Mayfield would be in the mix, others have emerged that few saw inserting themselves into the race.
Who are these once-dark horses now thoroughly in the mix? Let’s take a look as we dive into the Heisman Trophy race heading into Week 5.
6. Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State
The San Diego State Aztecs have inserted themselves into the top 20 of the AP Poll heading into Week 5, earning a 4-0 record to this point. That includes a signature victory in Week 3 over the Stanford Cardinal. They’ve been fantastic to start the year, and the driving force behind their success and, more importantly, their offense has been senior running back Rashaad Penny.
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Most people remember the phenomenal career that Donnel Pumphrey had while with the Aztecs, becoming the NCAA’s career rushing leader along the way. However, his stardom led to his backup getting overshadowed and most overlooking him as he took on the onus of being the lead back for San Diego State. While that may be true, Penny has made sure that we know his name.
Through four games, Penny has amassed 716 yards on 91 carries (7.9 yards per carry) and has already found the end zone seven times on the year. He also has 87 yards and a receiving touchdown to his credit as well. Frankly, we should’ve seen this coming after he averaged 7.4 yards per on 135 carries last season while scoring 11 touchdowns.
Frankly, the schedule for the Aztecs from here on out works in Penny’s favor in terms of production — but not in terms of impressing Heisman voters. They play Northern Illinois in Week 5 and their toughest remaining test is in Week 7 as they’ll face Boise State. Even still, Penny has done enough to warrant being in the conversation.