How Chad Kelly Could Win the Heisman Trophy

Jul 26, 2016, 8:33 AM

Chad Kelly has everything it takes to win the Heisman Trophy this year.

He is coming off a spectacular season that saw him put up mind-boggling numbers. He is in the mold of recent Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, able to hurt opposing defenses with both his arms and legs. He plays in the SEC, which has produced five of the last nine Heisman winners, including last year’s winner, Alabama running back Derrick Henry.

Kelly passed for 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns last season, completing 65.1% of his passes while running for another 500 yards and 10 touchdowns. He became one of five players since 2009 to have at least 4,000 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, 500 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. The others were Clemson's DeShaun Watson (also in 2015), Oregon's Marcus Mariota (2014), Baylor's Nick Florence (2012) and Baylor's Robert Griffin III (2011).

Kelly and Florence were the only of those five who weren’t named Heisman finalists for their efforts, with Mariota and Griffin winning the Heisman for theirs. Kelly’s 160.98 adjusted pass EPA (Expected Points Added) and his 0.39 adjusted pass EPA per attempt were the third-most and fifth-most in the country, respectively.

With five of the last seven Heisman-winning quarterbacks being cut from the same dual-threat cloth —Mariota in 2014, Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel in 2012, Griffin in 2011, Auburn's Cam Newton in 2010 and Florida's Tim Tebow in 2007 — Kelly is well-positioned to make a Heisman run this season. In his first nine games last year, he ran for 162 yards and four touchdowns, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry. But in his last four games, Kelly ran for 338 yards and six scores while averaging a whopping 7.7 yards per carry. If he can maintain that pace into 2016, Kelly can be a serious Heisman contender this season.

The other thing Kelly has going for him, depending on your perspective, is Ole Miss’ schedule. The Rebels’ regular season opponents have an averaging preseason rating, according to the model used to project the outcome of each FBS game this year, of 20.79 — making theirs the 11th-toughest schedule in the country.

Even better for Kelly’s Heisman chances are the early marquee opponents he and Ole Miss face. The Rebels are set to play four Top 10 teams this year, according to the preseason model — three of them by the end of September. They open the season in Orlando against Florida State (No. 6), host Alabama (No. 3) two weeks later and host Georgia (No. 8) the following Saturday. Less than a month later, Ole Miss goes to Death Valley to face LSU (No. 9).

Those games could serve to squash Kelly’s shot to win the Heisman or make him the frontrunner going into October. Even if Ole Miss were to start the year 3-1, it would mean it beat a a pair of Top 10 teams in the season’s first month. And if Kelly plays well in those first four games, it could vault him to the front of the list of Heisman contenders.

http://247sports.com/Bolt/How-Chad-Kelly-could-win-the-Heisman-Trophy-46400477

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How Chad Kelly Could Win the Heisman Trophy

Who cares***

Re: How Chad Kelly Could Win the Heisman Trophy

Dude is a ticking time bomb... Bet he gets arrested in a bar fight before season end

Re: How Chad Kelly Could Win the Heisman Trophy

Re: How Chad Kelly Could Win the Heisman Trophy

Re: How Chad Kelly Could Win the Heisman Trophy

Well, he is the best QB in America afterall.***

Re: How Chad Kelly Could Win the Heisman Trophy

I really hope he wins first loser behind his daddy DW4.***

Re: How Chad Kelly Could Win the Heisman Trophy

Re: How Chad Kelly Could Win the Heisman Trophy

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