Heisman rankings after Week 2: CJ Verdell enters the chat, Bryce Young stays in lead
It’s still exceptionally early in the 2021 Heisman Trophy race but our rankings for the top five have at least taken some sort of shape after two weeks.
Normally, the Heisman Trophy race can look pretty chalky early in the college football season. The players who enter the season as a favorite remain that way for at least the first couple of weeks. That, however, was not the case to start the 2021 season.
North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell threw three interceptions in a Week 1 upset loss while D’Eriq King also laid a dud against Miami. Howell bounced back in a big way in Week 2 for the Tar Heels while King was better but still not great. But because of that and things like Bijan Robinson and Texas getting trounced by Arkansas, the 2021 Heisman race has already gone a little haywire.
The season is still incredibly young but we’re still going to check in on the early Heisman rankings through the first two weeks of the season to see which players are already putting themselves on the radar.
Heisman candidate No. 5: Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State
Despite the loss for the Buckeyes, wide receiver Chris Olave was a star yet again for Ohio State. He led the team with 12 receptions while going for 126 yards, though he didn’t catch one of the three touchdowns thrown by C.J. Stroud.
Even still, Olave now has 16 receptions for 243 yards and two touchdowns through only two games. As Ohio State likely settles into a rhythm in Big Ten play, it’s scary to think about the totally possible notion that Olave could just be getting started this season.
Heisman candidate No. 4: CJ Verdell, RB, Oregon
For Oregon to pull off the upset over Ohio State in Columbus, they needed an offensive playmaker to be a superstar on Saturday. Veteran running back CJ Verdell was more than up for the challenge. He dominated the action all day long, finishing the game with 20 carries for 161 yards and two touchdowns along with three catches for 34 yards and another score.
Verdell now boasts 38 carries for 235 yards and five total touchdowns for the season. If he can keep this up and the Ducks stay hot, he’ll remain a fixture in the Heisman race.