I wrote this before the Pac 12 and Big 10 postponed their seasons, but luckily I only picked guys from the SEC, ACC, and Big 12. Assuming those conferences still hold a season, I expect these five signal-callers to break out. Will one of these players win the Heisman? Maybe not, but they’ll be closer than you think. Hope you enjoy!!

Featured image creds: Bleacher Report, The Athletic

Myles Brennan, LSU – We’ll start with the heir to Joe Burrow himself. We all saw what Burrow did in LSU’s offense last year as an underdog, so why can’t Brennan? The Tigers may not be as good as they were with Burrow since they lost so much talent to the NFL (including offensive coordinator Joe Brady), but Brennan will still have the nation’s top receiver to throw to, Ja’Marr Chase. In fact, the LSU coaches spoke extremely high of Brennan in 2019, foreshadowing that he would be their guy going forward. He may not have the experience of the other guy’s on this list, but I think he’s got a chance to be on the Heisman watch this season.

Kyle Trask, Florida – Trask was a huge surprise for the Gators last season, so I’m looking for an even bigger follow-up. He ended his 2019 season with five straight games of over 250 passing yards, so the consistency is there. The accuracy is there, too, as he had a completion percentage of 66.9%. The loss of WR Van Jefferson hurts, but he still has one of the top tight ends in the country, Kyle Pitts, to throw to. If Trask can pull off upsets over SEC juggernauts, his Heisman stock will rise big time.

Jamie Newman, Georgia – Georgia isn’t typically a factory for top QBs, as they tend to lean on their rushing attack. However, I doubt they’d have recruited Newman if they planned to take the same old approach this season. Newman played for Wake Forest from 2017-2019 and started around 1 ½  seasons. His numbers were never the best, but his supporting cast was never the best either. Instead, focus on his arm talent and the fact that he now has one of the NCAA’s best young receivers to throw to, George Pickens. Regardless of how Newman fares, I expect the Bulldogs to be a great team this year.

Brock Purdy, Iowa State – Purdy has the most experience in this group, as he’s going into his third year as a starter for the Canes. From his freshman year to his sophomore year, he improved by 1,732 passing yards and 11 passing TDs (although he played three more games in his sophomore season). The efficiency is there as well, as he has a career completion percentage of 65.9% and a career adjusted yards per attempt of 9.2 (very high). In the offense-minded Big 12, Purdy and Iowa State could put up a lot of points this season.

D’Eriq King, Miami – I saved the most exciting for last. King is a grad transfer who played four years at Houston, but he only started one full season, 2018. That year, he threw for 2,982 yards and 36 TDs with 674 yards and 14 TDs on the ground. You may say he’s a dual-threat, but he’s actually a quadruple-threat. In his first two seasons at Houston, he caught 58 passes for 492 yards and he also was a returner. Will he do those things at Miami? I highly doubt it, but I thought it was worth mentioning. He will be a stud for the Hurricanes, though, and he’s my sleeper pick for the Heisman. Enjoy the swap below.

Stay safe!

-Sam