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Which wide receiver(s) will enter the Heisman Trophy race?
While we don’t usually think of wide receivers in the Heisman Trophy race and it has been 28 years since Desmond Howard won the award, after scored a couple of big return touchdowns to go with his 21 scores from scrimmage, in two of the last five years a receiver has made the trip to New York (Amari Cooper and Dede Westbrook). Not only can those explosive, multi-faceted guys quickly gain national recognition, but I also think this season there are several candidates capable of making noise with highlight plays.
First off, there is the obvious one in Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy. He is clearly the top pure receiver, having won the Biletnikoff Award in 2018, and is part of a high-flying offense with a bunch of weapons and led by Tua Tagovailoa, who looked to be in the front seat to take home the honors for most of last season.
Next, I think a guy like Colorado’s Laviska Shenault is capable of putting up monster numbers. Through the first six games of last season, the 6’2”, 220-pound receiver racked up 867 yards and five touchdowns from scrimmage before returning later on with a banged-up toe. Expect to see him go over the top, make big plays after the catch and even line up at wildcat QB near the goal-line.
Another guy who will continue to take the nation by storm is Purdue’s Rondale Moore. He is a big-play threat on the deep ball, taking fly sweeps the distance and ripping off long returns. Last season Moore went for just over 2000 all-purpose yards and he will be the Boilermakers’ featured weapon once again.
While their quarterback is one of the front-runners at this point, Clemson has an incredible receiver duo between Tee Higgins and Justyn, Ceedee Lamb could put his name along some of those other great Oklahoma receiving seasons and even guys from smaller schools like Oklahoma State’s Tylan Wallace, who was first in several under-the-radar categories in 2018, could all be in consideration at some point during the year.
