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3 reasons Lamar Jackson should win the Heisman Trophy again

By Christopher Novak

LOUISVILLE, KY - NOVEMBER 18: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals runs with the ball against the Syracuse Orange during the game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - NOVEMBER 18: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals runs with the ball against the Syracuse Orange during the game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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We’ve yet to crown a two-time Heisman winner since Archie Griffin but Lamar Jackson is as good of an opportunity as we’ll find. Here’s why the Louisville quarterback should hoist the trophy again.

Lamar Jackson electrified the college football world in 2016. The Louisville quarterback made highlight-reel plays on a weekly basis, taking the ACC by storm. The Cardinals signal caller used his arm and his legs en route to winning the Heisman Trophy last December. Now, one year later, Jackson is heading to New York again. He is one of three finalists who will attend the ceremony on Saturday. Jackson, Baker Mayfield and Bryce Love are vying for the coveted trophy, all three of which are extremely deserving.

Baker figures to be the favorite. The Oklahoma quarterback was incredible from bell to bell, and helped lead the Sooners to the CFB Playoff. Love, meanwhile, was a terrific running back for the Stanford Cardinal. He’s the latest Cardinal back to be in contention for the Heisman, joining Christian McCaffrey and, years before, Toby Gerhart. And then, there is Lamar. The electric Louisville star has a chance, like many others before him, to win the award two times. Not since Archie Griffin has a player won the Heisman twice. The truth of the matter is that Lamar is as capable as anyone to pull it off.

Here’s why Lamar Jackson should win the Heisman Trophy… again.

LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 18: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates with Robbie Bell #75 after running for a touchdown against the Syracuse Orange during the game at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 18: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates with Robbie Bell #75 after running for a touchdown against the Syracuse Orange during the game at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Some of his numbers are even better than last year

When Lamar won the Heisman last year, his eye-popping numbers grabbed attention. Jackson scored 51 touchdowns – 30 passing, 21 rushing. However, he struggled a little bit with his completion percentage, and nearly threw double-digit interceptions. So, what did the Louisville star do in 2017 to fix that?

For starters, he raised his completion percentage by over four points. After sitting at 56.2 percent in 2016, the Louisville signal-caller raised it up to 60.4 percent in 2017. He cut his interception total down from nine to six. While his TD numbers went down (25 passing, 17 rushing) he was more efficient in running the ball. He averaged 6.9 yards per carry, up from the 6.0 yards he averaged a season ago. He got to 1,443 rushing yards, and only took 208 rushes to do it.

If you’re going to look away from how he performed last year and focus on this year, you’ll see he became an even better passer and a more efficient runner. So if he won the Heisman a season ago, why shouldn’t he win it again if he improved in those departments? Touchdowns fluctuate, and there’s trouble sometimes in basing arguments on counting stats.

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