10t. DAK PRESCOTT, QB, MISSISSIPPI STATE & DESHAUN WATSON, QB, CLEMSON
Existential question: Is it a Heisman Top 10 with 11 players listed?
It’s my projection, so you’ll have to deal. Besides, Deshaun Watson’s Heisman status is a lot like Dak Prescott’s.
Both came into the season with the cachet, and neither did anything to hurt his chances in Week 1. Neither was necessarily breathtaking, either. Such is the folly of a one-game sample.
Watson led Clemson to a predictably easy win over FCS Wofford, 49-10. He completed 18-of-22 for 194 yards with two touchdowns; not exactly earth-shattering numbers, but they didn’t really need to be.
Watson gets plenty of marquee opportunities to live up to the lofty hype he had coming into the season,
Likewise, one-time 2014 Heisman favorite Dak Prescott was good in his debut, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for a third.
That effort coming against Southern Miss, which has had a ticket on the Struggle Bus for the last season, and after a late-night kick, isn’t necessarily going to have folks buzzing.
However, Mississippi State dives into SEC play Week 2 against LSU. Prescott’s 2014 Heisman candidacy ostensibly began with a monster game in Death Valley.
9. MALIK ZAIRE, QB, NOTRE DAME
Some of you are rolling your eyes hard enough that I can almost hear it. One can almost set his or her watch to knee-jerk hype for Notre Dame quarterbacks.
But, that’s one reason Malik Zaire is easy to include on this projection. The other is…well, he was really damn good in Notre Dame’s deconstruction of Texas.
The Southpaw ran circles around the LSU defense in Notre Dame’s bowl win last December, but Saturday he showed off his passing ability.
Malik Zaire to Will Fuller for a 66 yard TD pic.twitter.com/Od6gjge6gU
— THE MAIN MANN™ (@JacobMann_1) September 6, 2015
The Fighting Irish play several high-profile games, including some early against Georgia Tech and Clemson. We’ll know real soon whether Zaire’s is legit or another case of Notre Dame players being viewed through blue-and-gold-tinted glasses.
