2017 Heisman Trophy watch: 15 super early names to know

The 2016 Heisman Trophy might have been awarded to Louisville’s Lamar Jackson just less than a month ago, but it’s never too early to talk Heisman odds for next season. There is a ton of talent coming back, so there are a lot of names to consider.

In no particular order:

QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma: The junior put up astounding numbers all season long, throwing for 3,965 yards and a whopping 40 touchdowns. That was good enough to get him an invite to the Heisman ceremony, where he finished third. He was also able to break Russell Wilson’s passing efficiency record. Good luck, Big 12 defenses.

QB Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State: The Cowboys’ signal caller may have been overshadowed by rival Mayfield, but his numbers were very good — 4,091 yards passing and 28 touchdowns. He finished seventh in the nation in pass yards per game, with 315.

WR James Washington, Oklahoma State: Washington could also be a contender, like 2016’s Mayfield-Dede Westbrook combo. He led all Power 5 returning wideouts in receiving yards, with 1,380, and had one of the country’s highest per-catch yardage averages, 19.4.

QB J.T. Barrett, Ohio State: Ohio State got good news a few days after the Buckeyes’ loss to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl: Barrett will return for his senior season. With their QB back, along with most of his starters on offense and new OC Kevin Wilson (the former Indiana head coach who built one of the best offenses ever at Oklahoma), the OSU offense is looking quite good already.

QB Sam Darnold, USC: The rising redshirt sophomore capped off his first season in impressive fashion, leading his team to a Rose Bowl victory over Penn State. He threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns, and he broke Vince Young’s Rose Bowl record for the most total yards by a single player. On the season, he had 3,086 yards and 31 touchdowns in the air, with the country’s highest passer rating by a freshman.

QB Jake Browning, Washington: Browning produced 3,430 yards and 43 touchdowns through the air in his second year. He threw only nine interceptions all season, too. In early November, Browning had already broken the Washington school record of 33 passing touchdowns. He finished the year first nationally among all underclassmen in passing efficiency.

RB Derrius Guice, LSU: The rising sophomore had a very good season in 2016, filling in for future NFL running back Leonard Fournette, who missed five games. On the season, he rushed for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns. Making First Team All-SEC when you aren’t even getting all the reps is nothing short of impressive.

New LSU offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s jet sweep scheme could also be dangerous:

Pitt’s most frequent sweep variety, coupled with an inside zone run, generally relies on an unblocked edge player on the back-side (typical for directional zone blocking), and incorporates the play-side tight ends by having them arc block in the direction of the sweep, to provide a convoy for the receiver.

The Tigers used this same tactic on Derrius Guice’s 70-yard touchdown in the Citrus Bowl, coupling jet motion to D.J. Chark with a power blocking scheme and a pulling guard as a lead for the back.

RB Saquon Barkley, Penn State: Barkley left an impression in the Rose Bowl, despite his team being on the losing end of a thrilling finish. He rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, but his highlights didn’t disappoint. Like this 79-yard run that gave Penn State its first lead over USC.

He had 1,496 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season.

QB Trace McSorley, Penn State: McSorley can also be in the mix after throwing for 3,614 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first season as a Nittany Lions starter — and with almost all of his offense returning.

RB Nick Chubb, Georgia: The Bulldogs’ tailback announced he was returning to Athens for his senior season. In 2016, he rushed for 1,130 yards and eight touchdowns. With an NFL draft class featuring Leonard Fournette and Dalvin Cook, it may not be all that surprising that he elected to stick around.

QB Jacob Eason, Georgia: Eason will also be back for Georgia on offense after throwing for 2,430 yards and 16 touchdowns during his true freshman season in 2016. Eason was the No. 2 overall pro-style quarterback prospect in last year’s recruiting class.

QB Deondre Francois, FSU: The redshirt freshman eased Florida State fans’ doubts about the quarterback position last season. He threw for 3,350 yards and 20 touchdowns, with the country’s No. 3 passer rating among all freshmen and rushed for another 198 yards and five touchdowns.

QB Jalen Hurts, Alabama: The freshman Crimson Tide signal caller may not have been in the Heisman conversation much this season, but his first year was a good one. His last rushing touchdown was almost enough to beat Clemson in the National Championship.

He threw for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns, and he rushed for another 13 scores. He’ll likely need to put up bigger numbers in the passing game to be in the conversation in 2017.

Whichever Alabama RB gets most of the carries: Bo Scarbrough had a breakout performance in the Peach Bowl against Washington, rushing for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Before that game, he was only the team’s fourth-leading rusher. In the National Championship, he went for 93 yards and two touchdowns, carrying one Clemson defender on his back into the end zone.

Oh, and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian also has Damien Harris and Joshua Jacobs, who combined for 1,604 yards last season.

QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville: The sophomore from Boynton Beach, Fla. lit college football on fire in his second year, throwing for 3,543 yards and 30 touchdowns and rushing for another 21 scores.

The rising junior is a definite candidate for 2017, though his offense loses starters from all four position groups. If Jackson were to win again, he’d be just the second-ever to do so, alongside Ohio State’s Archie Griffin, who did it in in 1975.

Jackson’s bowl performance against LSU was pretty underwhelming, but poor post-Heisman outings in bowls isn’t exactly an uncommon occurrence. We’ll just have to wait and see if that carries over to 2017.