Heisman rankings – Week 1: Rodney Anderson a sleeping giant
The first week of the 2018 college football season is in the books and these players put forth early efforts to be in the Heisman Trophy conversation.
It’s never too early to start talking about the 2018 Heisman Trophy conversation. While the first full week of the new college football season may not even be entirely in the books with Florida State, LSU, Miami and Virginia Tech still left to play on Sunday and Monday, we’ve seen most of the best players in the country in action. And while some made an early mark on the 2018 season, others left a lot to be desired.
Perhaps the most shocking performance from a potential Heisman Trophy candidate came from Stanford running back Bryce Love. After nipping at Baker Mayfield’s heels in the race for the most prestigious award in the sport one year ago, Love started out his 2018 season in forgettable fashion. He got 18 carries and three receptions worth of work on Friday night, but did next-to-nothing with them, rushing for just 29 yards and amassing only 18 yards receiving.
Considering how electrifying Love was last season, this was quite a stunner to start the season and one that, at least in the early goings, takes him out of the young Heisman conversation. We know that he’s capable of making noise in an instant, so we can’t fully rule out him re-inserting his name into the conversation. For now, however, one of his Stanford teammates looks like a better candidate than he.
While Love may have had a forgettable showing, others around the world of college football certainly did not. So, with Week 1 of the campaign in the books, let’s take stock of 10 players that put forth performances that make them early Heisman Trophy candidates.
10. Trayveon Williams, RB, Texas A&M
If there was one thing that was made abundantly clear as Jimbo Fisher stood on the sidelines for the Texas A&M Aggies for the first time on Friday night to take on Northwestern State, it’s that he’s going to ride running back Trayveon Williams hard this season. Fisher handed the ball off to Williams 20 times on the night and the junior made the most of his opportunities.
Williams finished the night with 240 yards rushing and three separate trips to the end zone. He was clearly their best offensive player on the field and fully dominant in a blowout 59-7 victory for the Aggies. With a date against Clemson next week, however, Williams will have a viable opportunity to firmly establish himself as an early Heisman Trophy candidate if he can put forth another impressive showing.
9. Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State
Look, we all know that it’s virtually impossible for a defensive player to win this award. While it’s supposed to be handed out to the best player in college football in a given season, no one at this point can deny that the offensive skill-position players are the ones who ultimately get all the shine. However, if a defensive player is going to make themselves a candidate, they need to do things like Nick Bosa did against Oregon State.
The junior defensive end may have only had four tackles in the big win over the Beavers, but that’s not even close to all he did. Bosa also found himself taking down the opposing quarterback twice with a pair of sacks, but, perhaps most impressively, also caused two forced fumbles and recovered one in the end zone for his first career touchdown. If this becomes the norm, that’s not going to be easy to ignore.