Heisman Trophy Watch 2017: An old favorite reemerges after Week 4
By Zach Bigalke
An early contender reinserted himself into the 2017 Heisman race with a huge performance. Here is the current top five in the Week 4 Heisman Trophy Watch.
Just when it seemed like quarterbacks were poised to dominate this year’s Heisman race, the tables have turned over the past fortnight. Then Week 4 transpired and upsets around the country knocked a few of last week’s favorites from the list of Heisman contenders.
That opened the door for other skill players to jump back up the fight to become this year’s most outstanding player in college football. Perhaps this is the year for another running back to win the Heisman for just the third time this decade.
Which players have asserted their claim on the award four weeks into the 2017 season? Keep reading for our top five picks in this week’s Heisman Trophy Watch.
We begin this week’s list with the defending Heisman Trophy winner. Lamar Jackson continued to play at a high level against Kent State, helping the Cardinals move to 3-1 on the season. Against the Golden Flashes, Jackson had an up-and-down performance. But as Jackson helped Louisville coast to a 42-3 victory against their MAC opponents, he did enough to keep hanging on at the edge of this week’s rankings.
For the first time this season, Jackson failed to reach 300 passing yards in a game. Kent State held Jackson to 299 yards and picked off two of his passes. Pocket Lamar also refrained from running much, gaining just 34 yards and a score on the ground in eight carries. Staying between the tackles, he had an efficient day against the Golden Flashes as he completed 18 of his 22 passing attempts in just three quarters of play.
He will drop a spot down the Heisman Watch rankings this week. It wasn’t the strongest of performances, but it was enough to keep the Cardinals quarterback in the hunt to win the stiffarm trophy for a second time. At this point Jackson is still a longshot to join Archie Griffin as the only repeat winner of the Heisman, but there is still plenty of season left to play.