By: Drayton Hogarth

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The college football season is now within sight, just over two months to go, and it will be time to tee it up all over our great country.

Every young man who aspires to play football one day dreams of hoisting the Heisman trophy and joining such an elite club associated with being the best player in college football.

As we approach the 2016 season, there are numerous candidates who could very well be the next name added to the list of Heisman winners.

Leading the way as the front runner entering the 2016 season, Clemson Tigers’ quarterback, DeShaun Watson has to be at the top of the candidate list.

Watson carried his Tigers to the brink of the National Championship last season. Like any Heisman winner, Watson needs talent around him, and the Tigers will return enough talent that Watson will not have to do it all by himself.

However, it is the statistics that the voters always look to when it comes time to make their choice, and Watson is definitely a stats book filler.

Watson threw for over 4,000 yards, 35 touchdowns, and completed 67% of his passes; not to mention Watson rushed for over 1,100 yards and 12 more touchdowns on the ground.

The biggest thing Watson will have to do is cut back on his 13 interceptions. All Heisman winners have to play well in the big games, and if last season is any indication, that will not be a problem for the rising junior.

Even in the brightest of spotlights, the national championship, Watson played in spectacular fashion. If Clemson wants to take that next step, Deshaun Watson needs to lead the way.

If the Heisman voters want a player who is clearly the focus of an offense and demonstrates versatility, they need to look out west to Stanford as running back Christian McCaffery will come into the season as the most multitalented player in the country.

McCaffery rushed for over 2,000 yards, had 645 yards receiving, and accounted for 15 total touchdowns-with two of those coming via his arm.

McCaffery will be utilized as the main focus of the Cardinal offense, and those staggering numbers should only improve. One negative against McCaffery’s Heisman hopes, since 2000 13 out of the last 15 winners of the trophy have been quarterbacks. McCaffery can counter that if he can demonstrate a vast array of versatile plays to show that he can do it all.

Leonard Fournette is what a running back looks like when you go to the Madden create a player mode. The LSU Tiger will look to continue his ascension into the spotlight with highlight reel runs, and destroying opposing defenders.

Fournette finished just a shade under 2,000 yards and 22 touchdowns rushing, very strong, but when you consider that LSU had one game cancelled due to weather it makes those numbers even more eye popping.

Fournette has one big-time issue that will hurt his chances, and that is LSU’s lack of a quality quarterback. Opposing defenses stack the box because they are not scared by the Tigers passing attack. It simply makes things even tougher on the junior New Orleans native.

It is always fun as we prepare for the college football season to look ahead and predict winners and prognosticate games.

The Heisman trophy is no different, and year after year there are favorites who enter a season, only to not play up to potential or maybe have the heat from the spotlight get to them.

So, while Deshaun Watson has to be considered the lead candidate, do not be surprised when we see players come from out of nowhere and grab the nation’s attention on the football field.