Write Team: Reviewing the Heisman field, and sharing my pick

Today I am going to be talking about the only race that matters in the U.S. right now: the Heisman Trophy race, of course.

What did you think I was talking about?

I am going to talk about the candidates and give you my pick.

The top four candidates are Ashton Jeanty (running back at Boise State), Travis Hunter (wide receiver and defensive back at Colorado), Dillon Gabriel (quarterback at Oregon) and Cam Ward (quarterback at the University of Miami). On FanDuel Sportsbook the current betting odds are Hunter as the favorite at +200, followed by Gabriel at +250, Ward at +350 and Jeanty at +450.

I know I said I would tell you my pick; however, I will not advocate for any gambling. I do not want anyone to lose their money because I don’t want the blame. This column is for recreational purposes only.

Hunter is said to be the favorite, and justifiably so. College football has never seen a player compete on both sides at this level and this consistently before. Hunter, so far, has 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns. Defensively, he has 31 tackles, a forced fumble and four interceptions with 11 passes defended. Those statistics may not seem impressive on the surface, but he is averaging 130 snaps per game, with 68 offensively and 62 defensively. For all my nonfootball-loving nerds out there, that means he almost never leaves the field. Impressive, right?

He’s not my Heisman pick, but I would not be mad at you for picking Hunter.

I’ll eliminate some others players that would not be my pick.

Gabriel is not my pick, and not just because he just demolished my beloved Fighting Illini. I would prefer it if these awards were not always given to a quarterback. It’s not that he is undeserving, with stats like 3,558 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Gabriel is definitely deserving.

Ward, the other quarterback in the race, also is not my pick. However, with his stats of 4,123 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions, I am not saying that he doesn’t deserve it, I just believe that my pick deserves it a bit more.

Jeanty is my choice to win the Heisman Trophy. If he were to win, he would be the first running back to win the award since Derrick Henry in 2015. Jeanty is doing something college football has not seen in almost 40 years – since Barry Sanders in 1988. In fact, he may break Sanders' single season rushing record of 2,628 yards. He has recorded 2,497 rushing yards.

I hope all of this information was helpful in your imaginary vote for the Heisman Trophy. My pick still is Jeanty, and that is who I will be betting on, even if I do not advocate for gambling.

Ben Donner lives in Streator and is a big sports fan. He can be reached at newsroom@mywebtimes.com.