Party Crashers: 10 Heisman Trophy dark horse candidates you can’t count out

Heisman dark horse No. 2: Devin Leary, QB, NC State

The numbers were more eye-popping for Devin Leary in his 2021 campaign than you might remember. The then-redshirt sophomore threw for 3,433 yards while completing 65.7 percent of his passes and accruing 35 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He now comes into the season as one of the best — and probably underrated — quarterbacks in college football.

With that being said, Leary put up those numbers on an NC State team that was a bit disappointing throughout last season and at the helm of an offense that almost seemed obligated to run the ball far too often.

Now with a seemingly perfect lane to be a pass-first offense and a complete roster, the Wolfpack are going to contend in the ACC and Leary will be at the heart of it. If not for a certain player in the land of cheese, he could easily be the top sleeper for the Heisman this season.

Heisman dark horse No. 1: Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin

There was some uncertainty about who Wisconsin’s lead back would be coming into the 2021 season but Braelon Allen left no doubt about that by season’s end. As a true freshman, he came in and racked up 1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 186 carries, and that was while not being the lead back for the whole season.

Oh yeah, he was also only 17 years old while he was doing all of this in the Big Ten.

Now legally able to vote and the surefire lead back in the Wisconsin offense that should be getting back to its run-first roots this season, Allen looks like an absolute beast waiting to be uncaged. He could put up some truly monster numbers as the heartbeat of the Badgers offense and it’s wild that he’s not more so in the conversation for the Heisman than he already is.

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