BenFred: Hunter, Jeanty proving non-QBs can score Heisman love. Can Mizzou's Burden make push?
Halfway through the college football season, this Heisman Trophy voter has one observation.
Luther Burden III, so far, is mostly missing from one heck of a race.
Hopes were high for Missouri's star receiver to make some Heisman noise in what is expected by all to be his final college season before entering the NFL Draft. The odds, as always, are stacked against any player who isn't a quarterback. Yet here we are at the midpoint, and not one but two non-QBs are near if not at the top of my Heisman watch list.
Some don't like the swagger of Deion Sanders and his attention-grabbing Colorado Buffs, and a College Football Playoff appearance for them seems unlikely after a second loss in six games, but none of that should detract from the impressiveness and rarity of two-way sensation Travis Hunter.
He's not just among the Big 12's leaders in receiving yards (587) and touchdowns (six). He may be the best defensive back in the nation. Passes rarely get thrown his way, and when they do, they rarely become successful receptions. Every weekend, he seems to produce a highlight reel moment on offense or defense, sometimes on both. Less glitzy but perhaps even more impressive is his workload. He had played in more than 90 percent of Colorado's snaps before a shoulder scare against Kansas State. He's expected to rebound quickly, putting him back on his potential path to become the first Heisman winner since Charles Woodson (1997) to secure the honor with his most valuable position residing on the defensive side.
Then there's Boise State running back phenomenon Ashton Jeanty, who already has a considerable lead on every other runner in rushing yards (1,248) and touchdowns (17) thanks to an absurd average of 9.9 yards per carry. Before the expansion of the College Football Playoff, he could have been at risk of getting undervalued by Heisman voters. Not now. The Broncos have only one loss, a near win in what became just a three-point loss at now No. 2 and still undefeated Oregon. If Jeanty is able to stay healthy, he has a chance to beat college football's single-season records for rushing yards (2,628) and touchdowns (37) set by 1988 Heisman winner Barry Sanders. If he does that, how can he not win?
Several transfer quarterbacks are making early cases for consideration in their first seasons with new teams: No. 6 Miami's Cam Ward (369.8 passing yards per game, 20 touchdowns, five interceptions, 69.2 percent completion rate); No. 2 Oregon's Dillon Gabriel (301.3 passing yards per game, 13 touchdowns, three interceptions, 76.1 percent completion rate); and dark horse Kurtis Rourke of No. 16 Indiana (292 passing yards per game, 14 touchdowns, two interceptions, 73.8 completion rate.) All of those names could soon be chasing Texas' Quinn Ewers, who has a chance Saturday to make folks forget about his brief injury absence by leading the undefeated and top-ranked Longhorns past No. 5 Georgia in Austin.
There's still enough season left for, say, Georgia's Carson Beck to get in the mix. Or, maybe still Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart. You can't count out quarterbacks this early. One has been voted the Heisman winner in each of the past three seasons, in seven of the last eight, and 36 times overall. Runner up goes to the running backs, who have claimed 21 Heisman wins, but only three in the last 20 seasons.
What about Burden? Let's not sugar coat it. He's got a lot of catching up to do. Before he can create a national stir, he has to climb the SEC's stat ladder first. A more explosive Mizzou offense would help.
Missouri has just one pass-catcher in the conference's top-10 in average receiving yards per game, and it's Theo Wease Jr., not LB3. Burden is 11th (66.3). Burden is crammed into a seven-way tie for sixth place in SEC touchdowns scored (six). He's tied for fourth in the SEC in receptions of 10-plus yards (19), but has only six of 20-plus yards and just two of 30-plus yards. Ole Miss standout Tre Harris has 11 30-plus yard receptions. Alabama freshman sensation Ryan Williams has eight.
Burden is an explosive player. Finding more ways to create explosive plays with him has to be a second-half emphasis for Mizzou. It's not all on Burden, though he has dropped some catchable balls at times. Quarterback Brady Cook can be sharper. The offensive line can block better on passing plays. Big gains by Burden, and there have been some, need to stop being wiped out by penalties. It's not about Heisman consideration. It's about Mizzou being the best version of Mizzou. Burden balling is a big part of that.
The timing could finally be right for a non-quarterback to clinch the highest individual honor college football offers. It hasn't happened since Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith did it in 2020. And if you're looking for a non-QB, non-Alabama winner, you have to go all the way back to Southern Cal's Reggie Bush in 2005. Hunter and Jeanty are the two names to know at the moment. Quarterbacks can't be ruled out.
As for Burden, he will need one sensational second half, starting on Saturday against Auburn, to have any chance of catching the first-half frontrunners from behind. Some receptions of 30-plus yards would help.
Sports columnist
