Blue White Illustrated

G oing into the 2017 football season, it appeared that for the 8rst time since 1994, Penn State had a player on its roster with a legitimate chance of win- ning the Heisman Trophy. Back in '94, both Ki-Jana Carter and Kerry Collins were considered to be top- 10 Heisman candidates. The Nittany Lions' o9ense lived up to all the presea- son expectations, but when the tabula- tions were complete, Carter 8nished second with 901 points, while Collins was fourth with 639. Colorado running back Rashaan Salaam was the runaway winner with 1,743 points. Since 1994, four Penn State players have 8nished among the top 8ve vote- getters for the Heisman Trophy. In 1997, Curtis Enis was 8;h with 20 points, well behind winner Charles Woodson of Michigan, who totaled 1,815. Larry John- son was third in 2002, totaling 726 points a;er surpassing 2,000 rushing yards in a dazzling senior season to 8n- ish two spots behind Southern Califor- nia quarterback Carson Palmer (1,328 points). And in 2005, Michael Robinson was 8;h with 49 points, four spots back of USC running back Reggie Bush (2,541 points). Johnson and Robinson hadn't been hyped in the preseason as Heisman hopefuls; the former rose up though the ranks of contenders as his yardage total skyrocketed throughout the season, while the latter saw his pro8le rise as Penn State came out of nowhere to claim a share of the Big Ten championship. Saquon Barkley was a di9erent story. Entering the 2017 season, many com- mentators were asserting that he had a great chance to become Penn State's 8rst Heisman Trophy winner since John Cappelletti in 1973. And for a while, it looked as though those predications might come true. Barkley was the fa- vorite for the trophy coming o9 his amazing performance in the Nittany Lions' Big Ten opener at Iowa, in which he totaled 358 all-purpose yards in a come-from-behind victory. But he was held below 100 yards rush- ing in six of Penn State's eight remaining regular-season games, including back- to-back road losses at Ohio State and Michigan State. That was the end of his Heisman bid. Barkley 8nished fourth in the balloting, far behind the eventual winner, Oklahoma quarterback Baker May8eld. The day a;er Penn State wrapped up its season with a 35-28 victory over Washington in the Fiesta Bowl, a game in which he rushed for 137 yards, Barkley announced that he would forgo his 8nal season of eligibility. His decision came as no surprise to anyone, but now that he's removed whatever traces of uncer- tainty may have lingered, it's only natu- ral to wonder when another legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate will emerge at Penn State. The wait could prove to be short. A number of prominent commentators, from BTN studio analyst Howard Grif- 8th to ESPN college football personality Paul Finebaum to Fiesta Bowl color ana- lyst Greg McElroy and sideline reporter Tom Luginbill, have said that they see Trace McSorley as the No. 1 quarterback in the Big Ten going into the 2018 season and perhaps even a dark horse Heisman candidate. "McSorley has the 'it' factor," Gri:th said. "If he can come close to matching next season what he was able to accom- plish the last two years, he'll 8nd himself smack dab in the middle of the race for the Heisman Trophy." Finebaum, on his ESPN talk show, said that while McSorley wasn't in his top 10, he could play himself into contention if he's able to duplicate his performances from the 2016 and '17 seasons. Those are both very realistic ap- praisals. When you analyze McSorley's statistics from his redshirt sophomore PHIL'S CORNER McSorley shows in Lions' bowl win that he's primed for big senior season CLUTCH PERFORMER Washington couldn't stop McSorley on third down. The junior QB completed all 12 of his third-down passing attempts to fuel Penn State's 35- 28 victory. Photo by Steve Manuel

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