Top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates and 5 dark horse picks for 2021

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 19: Spencer Rattler #7 of the Oklahoma Sooners looks for an open receiver against the Iowa State Cyclones in the second quarter of the 2020 Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship football game at AT&T Stadium on December 19, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma Sooners. (Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports) /

1. Spencer Rattler, QB, Oklahoma

Howell might be tough to beat out for the Heisman Trophy but, if anyone is equipped to do that, it’s Spencer Rattler. For starters, he’s the starting quarterback at Oklahoma heading up Lincoln Riley’s offense. As Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield will tell you — in addition to finalist Jalen Hurts — that tends to work in a player’s favor when it comes to the Heisman race.

What’s crazy, though, is that Rattler might be the most gifted natural thrower of any quarterback that Riley has coached to this point. The redshirt sophomore has the arm strength of mythological proportions that just comes naturally to him. That’s tailormade to succeed in Riley’s offense as he can push the ball to all levels, which we saw in his first season as the starter a year ago.

In the 2020 campaign, Rattler threw for 3,031 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions along with rushing for six more scores in 11 games. For a player that was very clearly getting more comfortable as the year rolled on, it’s hard to ignore the numbers he was still able to put up.

Playing in this prolific offense with a loaded wide receiver and running back room in addition to simply having a year’s worth of experience under his belt, Rattler comes into the 2021 season as the rightful Heisman Trophy favorite. We’ve seen some incredible things from Oklahoma quarterbacks in recent years but Rattler is in a position to possibly put those years to shame.

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