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The Daily Utah Chronicle

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The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Great Debate: Can Booker Win the Heisman?

Booker’s Offensive Prowess make him perfect Heisman Candidate

by Joseph Coles

Devontae Booker, (or “The Beast,” as some call him) — 2015 Heisman Trophy Winner.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Booker, the focal point of Utah’s offense, is having a heck of a season so far. His Utes are ranked fourth in the nation, Booker is in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy and the Utes are in position to win the Pac-12 South for the first time in the school’s history.

Utah has never had a Heisman Trophy winner, and this year could be the one that they get the famed statue in the trophy room.

The last time a running back won the Heisman, however, was in 2009, when Mark Ingram of Alabama won the trophy. In 2009, Ingram averaged 119 yards on 20 carries per game, an average of six yards per carry. Alabama went on to win the national championship over Florida.

So far this season, Booker is averaging 25 carries per game for five yards per carry. Additionally, “The Beast” is rushing for an average of 133 yards, while scoring an average of a touchdown per game.

One key to winning the Heisman Trophy is for your team to be in playoff contention. The last time Utah had a Heisman Candidate was in 2004, when Ute quarterback Alex Smith finished fourth in Heisman voting, the highest a Utah player has ever finished. Smith was the leader of the 12-0 Utes that crashed the BCS and won the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. The Utes are currently fourth in the nation, and if they keep winning, may move up higher.

Booker accounts for 44 percent of Utah’s total offensive yardage through its first five games this season. He has run for six touchdowns, and even threw one, accounting for seven of Utah’s 18 offensive touchdowns this year. Almost 40 percent of all Utah touchdowns so far this season have come from Booker.

Utah, in my opinion, has the best resume in college football so far this season. The Utes beat Michigan, now ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll, to open up the season, giving the Wolverines their first and only loss so far this year.

Then in Utah’s Pac-12 opener, it beat then-No. 13 Oregon, 62-20, the most points ever scored on the Ducks at home in the school’s history. In the past weeks, Oregon has shown they aren’t the football team we all thought they were, but to put up 62 points in Autzen Stadium is still very impressive.

And last Saturday, as College GameDay rolled into town and the eyes of the nation turned to Salt Lake City, Utah faced No. 23 Cal. Unfazed by the hype and the Bears’ defense, Booker put the Utes’ offense on his back and showed why he should win the Heisman.

As the Utah passing game sputtered — Travis Wilson was 16-for-26, throwing two interceptions and only one touchdown — Booker rushed for 222 yards and two touchdowns against a tough Golden Bear defense.

The Heisman is given to the best player in college football. Devontae Booker is the best player on what may end up being the best team in all the land. Without Booker, the Utes aren’t No. 4 in the nation and the only undefeated team in the Pac-12.

Booker is, as head coach Kyle Whittingham has said on multiple occasions this year, the bread and butter of the Utah offense.

[email protected]

@23ounces

 

Booker Lacks the Star Power to be a Heisman Winner

Tyler Crum

Ute fans have been singing the praises of running back Devontae Booker since last season, and the man Kyle Whittingham called the “centerpiece” of the Utah offense has definitely made a name for himself on the national stage. He’s been the driving force behind the Utes’ offensive success this season, averaging 28 carries per game, racking up 665 yards on the ground, rushing for six touchdowns and throwing for one against Oregon.

Booker has played a pivotal role in Utah’s undefeated run, and he has worked his name into the Heisman discussion after last weekend’s breakout performance against Cal. While the Utes owe much of their success to the workhorse Booker, it can be argued that Booker would not be in the running for the Heisman at all if it weren’t for the Utah’s No. 4 ranking and talk amongst football analysts that the Utes are the best team in the country.

If you look at what Booker has done without taking into account the Utes’ success, Booker’s chances of winning the Heisman are not very likely.

Currently, Booker is fifth in the ESPN Experts’ Heisman Watch poll, behind a slew of household names in college football. LSU’s Leonard Fournette currently stands at the top of the poll and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. The sophomore has amassed an FBS-leading 1,022 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns and averages a whopping 8.6 yards per carry. It seems like every time he gets his hands on the ball, Fournette is liable to break out a big run and add yet another play to his extensive highlight reel.

Booker may lead the nation in yards after contact, and his power running ability is comparable to Fournette’s, but the Tiger’s knack for making big plays will likely appeal more to Heisman voters in December.

Look at the winners from recent years: Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Johnny Manziel, Robert Griffin III and Cam Newton. These were all players who were best known for their explosive play-making ability and ridiculous stats throughout the season, two qualities that don’t exactly bring to mind the steady ground-and-pound running style of Booker.

Not to mention the fact that these players were all quarterbacks, bringing me to TCU signal caller Trevone Boykin, the runner-up in the Heisman Watch poll. The senior Boykin has led the Horned Frogs to 6-0 start this season, earning his team a No. 3 ranking and generating a lot of Heisman buzz along the way.

Boykin has thrown for an impressive 21 touchdowns this season and run for four more, while only throwing five interceptions going into Week 7. Critics of Boykin point out that his impressive stats this season have been bolstered by a series of horribly-lopsided TCU victories, including a 70-7 throttling of Stephen F. Austin, a 56-37 dismantling of SMU and a 50-7 blowout against the Longhorns.

Although TCU will likely not be tested again until they play Oklahoma State and Baylor at the end of the season, Boykin showed his ability to lead his team in the face of adversity after he engineered a last-minute comeback this weekend against Kansas State. Fournette and Boykin are just two of the four outstanding players Booker will have to surpass if he is to be recognized as the nation’s best football player.

Booker has seven more weeks of conference play to prove that he has what it takes to become Utah’s first ever Heisman trophy winner. Realistically speaking, Booker will have to get as close as possible to replicating last weekend’s 222 rushing yards in almost all of the remaining games on the Utes’ schedule to keep his Heisman hopes alive. This will be a challenge on Saturday against the Sun Devils, who boast the division’s second-toughest run defense and allow an average of just 138.8 yards per game.

The odds of the Utes extending their unbeaten streak all the way into the College Football playoffs, of Boykin and Fournettes’ performances declining enough for Booker to take the lead and of Booker racking up the big numbers necessary to win the Heisman seem too unlikely for me to give Booker any more than a glimmer of hope at winning.

[email protected]

@tylerfcrum

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