The Five Top Candidates for the Heisman NEXT YEAR (2014)

The 2013 season was a great one for college football and it showcased a lot of great talented players. "Famous" Jameis Winston took home the hardware as a redshirt freshman and did so in very convincing fashion. Next season, there's a chance we'll see some familiar faces back at the award ceremony, but we should also expect to see a lot of new faces.
Every Heisman winner and candidate are invaluable to their team and if you take them away from their team, they aren't even close to the same kind of team. As you'll see with these next 5 candidates, each are invaluable to their teams and their offenses are revolved around them.

5. Brett Hundley -- Quarterback -- UCLA
Hundley impressed many as a sophomore in a complicated system at UCLA. He was the main reason why UCLA was a good team and he led them to many great wins. Hundley commanded a team that lost a lot of talent and kept them relevent. If Hundley were to declare for the draft right now (although he said he will stay in college), he will most likely be a first round pick. He's a technically sound quarterback that continues to improve in this system. If you look at him this year vs last year, you'll see improvements in all areas of his game.

4. Bryce Petty -- Quarterback -- Baylor
Petty exceeded all expectations in his first year as the starter at Baylor. Petty posted an impressive 30:2 touchdown to interception ratio and had over 3800 passing yards. More importantly, he turned an 8-5 Baylor team into an 11-1 powerhouse that will be competing in the Fiesta Bowl. Being productive is one thing, but you win the Heisman because of your worth to your team. This guy is invaluable to his team. Because of his worth and the fact that he will most likely progress in the system (and potentially get more weapons), he is definitely a top candidate for the Heisman next year.

3. Mike Davis -- Running Back -- South Carolina
It's easy to go with 5 quarterbacks for the top 5 candidates, but Mike Davis is proving to be a different kind of running back. He had a great season in the Gamecocks's offense and amassed over 1100 yards, 11 touchdowns and an extremely impressive 5.8 yards per carry average. Davis wasn't invaluable to his team this season, because Connor Shaw was very good at quarterback and they had a top notch defense led by Jadaveon Clowney, but with all these guys leaving next year, it will be up to Davis to carry a lot of the load. In my opinion, he's proven in certain games that he can carry the load (UCF and Tenn games). He will be a junior next season, and will have more responsbility on him and I think he'll rise to the occasion. He'll get more carries next year and the offense will revolve more around him making him that much more valuable and a strong candidate for the Heisman next year.

2. Marcus Mariota -- Quarterback -- Oregon
Mariota had an outstanding season with the Ducks this season and was a huge reason why they were so successful on offense, as their offense averaged nearly 47 points a game. Mariota possesses the ability to run the ball at a very high level, but also showed this year with his 30:4 touchdown to interception ratio that he is a very efficient quarterback. This is only his 2nd season in the Ducks' offense and he will only improve and progress in the system, especially if he gets more talent at wide receiver. Because of that belief, I believe that he is a strong candidate to win the Heisman next season and can push Winston out of that top spot.

1. Jameis Winston -- Quarterback -- Florida State

Yes, Winston is the early favorite to win the award. Winston took over a talented team that many thought had reach their peak last season with EJ Manuel, but Winston took this team to a whole new level. With the exception of Boston College, who they beat by 14, they beat every team by at least 25 points. They are the #1 seed and favorites in the national championship. Jameis Winston is the face of the best team in the country and he's invaluable to this team. You take him away and they are not even a top 10 team. Winston is only a freshman and not even 20 years old yet. The sky is the limit for Winston and winning a 2nd Heisman trophy is possibility with his talent, skill and determination. Because he won the award this season and the fact that he'll only become more efficient as his college career goes on, he's the favorite for the Heisman next year.