Heisman Trophy Predictions: Does Amari Cooper Have Chance?
By Joe Wedra
The Heisman Trophy race will end tonight in New York – leaving us to dish out a batch of our Heisman Trophy predictions before the big announcement. We know Marcus Mariota has the edge, but Alabama WR Amari Cooper might just be sneaking up.
First off, here’s how the final decision should break out …
Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Mariota should run away with the award. However, in a recent poll conducted by our friends over at Sports Illustrated, Cooper actually won the fan voting. It certainly appears the fans down south are making a case for Cooper to surpass his to rivals to the west.
Here’s what Zac Ellis, author of the SI article, had to say about the fans making this strong statement:
"After almost 6,000 total votes tallied, Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper shockingly emerged as the winner of the 2014 People’s Heisman, albeit by a very slim margin. Cooper, who won the Biletnikoff Award on Thursday as the nation’s top receiver, earned 12,423 total points. That beat out the season’s true overwhelming Heisman favorite, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, who hauled in 12,244 points, while Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon finished third with 11,114 points."
Maybe we can chalk this up to SEC bias (thanks, ESPN). Fans have a love for the conference thanks to the fact that it’s pushed in their faces constantly by the major sports networks. With the fans, Cooper might have the edge.
If we’re talking about “the big show” however, there’s no reason to believe Cooper is going to leapfrog both Gordon and Mariota to take home the award.
The 6’1″ wideout had seven 130+ yard games this year, tallying 14 touchdowns. Four of his 13 games featured multi-touchdown performances.
NFL Draft analysts often list Cooper as a first round pick, some placing him inside of the top-10.
Weigh in below with your Heisman Trophy predictions.