2006 Heisman Candidates & Odds to Win
June 5, 2008
There is a nice list of 2006 Heisman candidates for the selection committee to choose from this season. We are going to take a look at some of them right here at Info Plays for the purposes of determining which players are worth betting on.
The favorite as listed by Pinnacle is Brady Quinn from Notre Dame. Quinn right now is at +295 and is poised for a big season. Last year was the first year in Charlie Weis’s system and Quinn amassed 3,919 yards through the air to go with 32 touchdowns. He is going to have two targets that are real strong in Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight which will help him post monster numbers yet again.
The next major force to be reckoned with this season is Adrian Peterson, the star running back out of Oklahoma. A lot of people are projecting the Sooners to make the BCS title game this year which will also help keep Peterson in the minds of voters. He was hurt last year but will be healthy and ready to tear throw the Big 12 this year after carrying the ball 221 times for 1,104 yards and 14 touchdowns last season.
Ohio State is another team that a lot of people think will be in contention for a BCS title and they are only going as far as quarterback Troy Smith will take them. Smith is now poised to lead this team and will have a strong weapon to throw to in Teddy Ginn. He did lose Santonio Holmes, but with his ability to make plays throw the air and with his legs means that he’ll rack up big numbers in guiding the Buckeyes to plenty of end zone appearances in 2006.
One guy that is probably under most people’s radars but shouldn’t be is Steve Slaton, the sophomore running back at West Virginia. This guy is coming off a 205 carry, 1,128 yard, 17 touchdown 2005 season and is poised to excel in West Virginia’s run first attack. This team plays a fairly soft schedule and is favored to take down the Big East conference, which will help Slaton make a move to the public’s eye. If he has another game like he did against Louisville last year, he scored 6 TDs, then he’ll get the attention that a Heisman winner needs to bring home the hardware.
Not many people would have thought that Chris Leak could have headed into his senior season at Florida flying under the radar, but his production was down last year. That is fine with us as all of Urban Meyer’s former teams have really gotten a grasp of his offense in the second year under the system, and Leak will have three talented senior receivers returning who are also more comfortable. The Gators play a grueling schedule this year, but if Leak makes it work then he’ll win the Heisman.