2015 Heisman Sleepers

It's only May so we are still really, really, really far away from football, but it's never too early to talk about upcoming seasons, in fact, Sean is working on a piece about the 2019 season as we speak. In just over three months, the 2015 college football season will kick off and the most wonderful time of the year (football season, not Christmas) will be upon us. Every year there are teams rebuilding, teams trying to get out of a multi-season slump, teams who are all but certainly firing their coach in a few months and teams who think this is their year.

So what are we to expect in this upcoming season? No one knows for certain. Many experts have already released their preseason Heisman Trophy watch lists with names including TCU's Trevone Boykin, LSU's Leonard Fournette, and whoever starts at quarterback for Urban Meyer come fall. The only thing that is for certain in college football is that nothing is. The past five winners outside of maybe Marcus Mariota (including Cam Newton, Robert Griffin, Johnny Manziel, and Jameis Winston) were hardly on anyone's Heisman watch lists and barely anyone even knew who they were. Will someone do the same this year? Only time will tell, but here's 6 candidates I think people should keep an eye out for this year as sleepers for college football's most prestigious award (sorry in advance for this list being littered by the Pac-12):

(via USAToday.com) Solomon's offense returns an abundance of talent and experience.

Anu Solomon, Arizona

Arizona's season last year was the tale of two freshman phenoms in quarterback Anu Solomon and running back Nick Wilson. Wilson could just as easily be on this list but I chose to go with the flashier position. Wilson ran for 1375 yards and 16 touchdowns last year while Solomon threw for 3793 yards and 28 touchdowns. This dynamic duo will lead a high-powered offense that returns all but one player who caught a pass in the 2014 season. If they are winning everything, Anu Solomon will likely get the most recognition. The Wildcats take on USC, Oregon, and Stanford in October and visit Arizona State later in the year.

Royce Freeman, Oregon
Last year he ran for 1365 yards and 18 touchdowns as a freshman. This year he returns to the Ducks who's big offensive numbers are always in the big-picture discussion of college football. With the departure of Mariota, Freeman will be relied on heavily in order to ease the new signal caller's introduction to college football and should put up big numbers as a result. His biggest test will be early against the stingy Michigan State defense in their third game. They will also take on Washington, Arizona State and Stanford, all on the road.

Jeremy Johnson, Auburn
Johnson is a dual threat quarterback just like Nick Marshall before him and there is a good chance he will burst onto the scene with great play. He has seen a decent amount of time for being a backup his entire career - the rising junior has accounted for 9 career touchdowns as a Tiger. With a Will Muschamp defense on the opposite side of the ball and playing in a Gus Malzahn offense that always puts up big numbers, Johnson has an excellent chance to be the best player on one of the best teams in the country. Since he plays in the SEC, ESPN will make sure we know if he's having a good season, exposure won't be an issue.

(via Zimbio.com) Only Marcus Mariota's TD-Int ratio was better than Kessler's 7.8 mark in 2014.

Cody Kessler, USC
Kessler had a huge junior campaign racking up 3,826 yards, 39 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions. He threw for 4 or more touchdowns in six different games. Over his career he's only had one multi-interception game. Another year in the defensively incompetent Pac-12, Kessler will likely only improve those impressive numbers and with a team many expect to have top 5 talent this year, he should get a lot of attention. Kessler's opportunities will come just about every week with their schedule but most notably when they play Stanford, Washington, Notre Dame, and Oregon.

Jared Goff, California
There is a real good chance you don't know who Jared Goff is but he is worth keeping an eye out for. In his freshman season, Goff broke the school's single-season record in passing yards (3,508) while throwing for 35 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions on a terrible team. Cal's passing game was the only good thing about their 5-7 season last year but good doesn't do it justice. Six of Goff's top seven targets and the starting running back - who had an average 2014 season - all return next year. If he can somehow overcome the fact that his passing game is the only real threat the California Bears present to an opposing team and win a lot of games as a result, he will be in the discussion. He's an extreme long-shot (like Jimmer Fredette deep) but he will get plenty of opportunities with a schedule that includes Texas, Washington, Oregon, USC, Stanford and Arizona State (just to name a few tough games) to show what he's made of.

Dalvin Cook, Florida State
Cook isn't quite the sleeper that the rest of these players are because of what he did on the big stage last year, but as a Seminole fan I have to recognize #4. Cook burst onto the scene against Syracuse where he recorded his first 100-yard rushing game. By season's end he was the Seminole's best offensive weapon. He averaged 6.9 yards per carry, and scored many crucial touchdowns for the comeback kids. Despite two heartbreaking fumbles in the Oregon game, Cook had one of the best freshman seasons in Florida State history and should be the center of the Seminole offense this year. Cook will be dismantling teams like Louisville, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and UF in 2015.

Honorable Mention: Derrick Henry (Running Back, Alabama), Justin Thomas (Quarterback, Georgia Tech), Christian Hackenberg (Tackling Dummy, Penn State)