Rival Views: Who will win the 2017 Heisman Trophy?

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate which player will win the Heisman next season.

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Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett will win the Heisman because he plays on the best team in the country, will improve his downfield passing precision and will kill people with his legs. The only problem, perhaps? The schedule. Ohio State has a tough Oklahoma team early led by another Heisman hopeful in Baker Mayfield, and it has Penn State and Michigan on the schedule as potential stumbling blocks. It plays in the best division in college football, so either that is going to bring the best out of Barrett, or he will have a few bad games and slide back.

Sam Darnold is the favorite of many and has a great chance, and you can’t count out Lamar Jackson, the reigning Heisman winner. Saquon Barkley and Derrius Guice are both elite running backs, but I think either their teams will disappoint or in Barkley’s case his own teammate, Trace McSorley, could split the votes with him.

Barrett isn’t anyone’s favorite to win it after an OK season last year, but the Buckeyes make a serious run and he gets much of the attention.

My preseason pick to win the Heisman Trophy is Penn State running back Saquon Barkley. A lot of things are lining up in his favor.

First, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, who won the award last season, lost a ton of his receivers, so it’s going to be difficult to replicate what he did a year ago. Defenses will key on him even more and, to an extent, Jackson will be controlled. Plus, it’s just so hard to win it two seasons in a row.

USC quarterback Sam Darnold and Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield are favorites but, again, both are dealing with untested receivers.

This all lines up perfectly for Barkley, who was profiled in a recent Sports Illustrated article because of what the magazine called his “freak-show” legs.

Barkley rushed for 1,496 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, averaging 5.5 yards per carry behind a questionable offensive line. This Penn State group up front is much improved.

Quarterback Trace McSorley is back for another big season, and he was second on the Nittany Lions last season in rushing, so defenses cannot solely key on stopping Barkley coming out of the backfield.

The Nittany Lions lost top receiver Chris Godwin but return a ton of threats in the passing game, so opponents cannot just load the box and hope to stop Barkley with additional numbers.

This Penn State offense is completely revamped from the olden days and should be humming this season. That’s why Barkley will be Penn State’s first Heisman winner since RB John Cappelletti in 1973.