Tag: Heisman Candidates

Jalen Milroe considered a way-too-early 2024 Heisman Candidate

Alabama QB Jalen Milroe finished No. 6 in the 2023 Heisman voting, could he make a run for it all next season?

Despite being benched for the Week 3 game in 2023 against South Florida, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe came back and proved to the nation that he was the right choice to be the Tide’s starter. Now, his name is in the Heisman Trophy conversation for 2024.

Though there was a three-man competition for the starting job heading into the season, the team rallied around Milroe and the offense matured with him behind center. The lone blemish on his 2023 season was the Week 2 loss against Texas.

As he prepares to take on Michigan in the Rose Bowl, serving as a College Football Playoff semifinal, Milroe sits at 2,718 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns while only throwing six interceptions with a completion percentage of 65.5%. To add to those impressive numbers, he’s rushed for 468 yards and 12 touchdowns.

After defeating Auburn on a miracle fourth-and-31 touchdown, Milroe was filmed screaming “Give me the Heisman!” with much excitement.

While he did not win the Heisman in 2023, he did finish sixth in the final vote for the prestigious award. It was LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels who was this year’s recipient.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach named 15 players who should be viewed as way-too-early candidates for the 2024 Heisman race. On Milroe, he wrote:

“Benched after a home loss to Texas in Week 2, Milroe regained the starting job and led the Crimson Tide to another SEC championship and CFP appearance. He has a rare combination of size (6-foot-2, 220 pounds), speed and arm strength, and he became a more effective pocket passer throughout the 2024 season. Milroe should flourish even more in offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ offense in Year 2.”

Schlabach makes a great point in stating that it will be Milroe’s second season with the offense as the starting quarterback and that offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will have an entire offseason to create and prepare a playbook tailored specifically to Milroe’s style of play. Heading into the 2023 season, Rees was stopped from doing so because there was severe uncertainty as to who the starter would be.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Jalen Milroe and Alabama football as the team prepares for the College Football Playoffs.

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Could Kayshon Boutte be a dark-horse Heisman candidate?

Boutte only played in six games due to injury in 2021, but he still led the Tigers with nine touchdowns on the year.

Make no mistake. The Heisman Trophy is a quarterback-driven award.

Even in a down year for quarterbacks, Alabama’s Bryce Young managed to win the award in 2021 after having far and away the best season of any of them, and he’s back in 2022 for his junior season.

No player has won multiple Heisman Trophies since Archie Griffin at Ohio State in 1974 and 1975, but then again, it’s not exactly common for a player to win the award and then return to school for another season. Young will have several challengers, including Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.

Stroud overcame a rough start to have a fantastic redshirt freshman season, finishing as a Heisman finalist. He could be back on that stage next December, and another passer that could make a name for himself this year is Caleb Williams, who finished an impressive true freshman season as Oklahoma’s starter before following coach Lincoln Riley to USC.

Young, Stroud and Williams are the clear favorites heading into the season, but we’re just one year removed from a wide receiver winning the award. Who’s to say it couldn’t happen again?

ESPN’s Alex Scarborough seems to think it’s a possibility, as he listed LSU’s Kayshon Boutte as an under-the-radar candidate to win the award in 2022.

But I’m not here simply to throw cold water on candidates. I have one under-the-radar option of my own: LSU’s Kayshon Boutte. After DeVonta Smith broke the three-decades-long drought for receivers to win the award in 2021, Boutte has what it takes to merit consideration this time around. While the casual fan might have missed it, what with LSU circling the drain the past two seasons, but Boutte quietly emerged as a star. During his last nine games, he caught 13 touchdowns and averaged 115.1 receiving yards per game. With veteran quarterback Myles Brennan back for his senior season and a new energy under first-year coach Brian Kelly, Boutte could be the centerpiece of a revitalized offense.

Boutte was off to a fantastic start in 2021 before an injury cut his season short. He had 509 receiving yards despite only playing in six games, and his nine touchdowns in those contests led LSU for the season.

If Brennan is able to return to the level he started the 2020 season at, Boutte could be the primary beneficiary. Regardless, he’s poised to be one of the nation’s top receivers next season.

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