The smell of college football, that's what! Once the calendar turns to August, teams across the country will be congregating on their campuses to spend a month putting themselves through grueling practices and workouts as they pay homage to the college football powers that be, hoping that the season ahead brings great fortune in the form of victories and big-time bowl berths.
Among those brave young gridiron warriors are a select few who will compete for the highest honor in all of collegiate athletics—the Heisman Trophy.
Realistically speaking, the famed bronze statue will likely be rewarded to running back with blazing speed and shifty feet or a quarterback with a golden arm, and furthermore, that winner will almost surely be plucked from a handful of the best teams in America.
That being said, let's have a look at the top 10 college athletes with the best chance of following in Cam Newton's footsteps and striking that famous pose come December.
Brandon Weeden would be wise to call up Chris Weinke for a bit of advice if he's to emerge as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
Like Weinke at Florida State, Weeden enrolled at Oklahoma State after a short-lived minor league baseball career and has since blossomed into one of the nation's most prolific passers.
Weeden finished the season with 4,277 yards (third-best in the country) and 34 touchdowns (sixth-best) against just 13 interceptions while leading the resurgent Cowboys to an 11-2 record and the verge of the Big 12 South title.
Another season like that from Weeden and the Pokes, and the Heisman Trophy may make its way to T. Boone Pickens Stadium.
Now, if there's anyone else at Oklahoma State who could potentially overshadow Brandon Weeden in the Heisman hunt, it's Justin Blackmon.
Blackmon brought home the Biletnikoff Award as the top wide receiver in the nation last year...as a sophomore!
And for good reason. Blackmon was third in the nation in receptions with 111, second in receiving yardage with 1,782 and first in receiving touchdowns with 20.
Blackmon could ostensibly face some stiff competition as the token Heisman-worthy wide receiver from Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles, who is already the Sooners' all-time leading pass-catcher, but judging by Blackmon's breakout year in 2010, the nod goes the Pokes' way for the time being.
If not for the incredible season-long show put on by Cam Newton at Auburn, Denard Robinson may well have been the most talked-about player in all of college football in 2010.
The Michigan quarterback redefined what it means to be a duel threat, as he became the first player in NCAA Division I history to rush AND pass for at least 1,500 yards in a single season.
All told, Robinson finished the year as the second-leading rusher in the nation with 1,702 yards, trailing only Heisman runner-up LaMichael James in that category while also throwing for 2,570 yards and piling up 32 total touchdowns on foot and through the air.
The only thing holding Robinson back from winning the award, then, is the fact that his Wolverines, under first-year head coach Brady Hoke, aren't likely to come anywhere close to competing for a big-time bowl game, much less the BCS National Championship.
Kellen Moore made it all the way to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation last year, and there's little reason to believe he won't be making a return trip this December.
Moore edged out Cam Newton as the most efficient passer in the country, with 3,845 yards and 35 touchdowns against just six interceptions while nearly guiding the Boise State back to the BCS.
Losing record-setting receivers Titus Young and Austin Pettis may serve as a bit of a setback for Moore's chances, but if head coach Chris Petersen can get Geraldo Hiwat and Kirby Moore, Kellen's brother, on track, then Moore may finally strike the pose to culminate his preposterously prolific collegiate career.
Marcus Lattimore took the SEC by storm last season and may soon do the same to the college football world at large.
Steve Spurrier's bruising 'back at South Carolina piled up 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns on 249 carries while also chipping in 412 yards and two touchdowns on 29 pass receptions as a freshman last season.
Lattimore is the definition of a workhorse, and with the quarterback situation in Columbia still unsettled between Stephen Garcia and Connor Shaw, the Gamecocks will lean heavily on Lattimore's bulky shoulders if they are going to repeat as SEC East champs.
Perhaps no player did as much for a BCS contender with as little recognition last year as Oregon's Darron Thomas.
While LaMichael James hogged all of the Heisman publicity, Thomas was busy guiding the Ducks' attack from under center, accumulating 2,881 yards and 30 touchdowns against just nine interceptions through the air while also scampering for 486 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Now a junior and with a full year as a starter under his belt, Thomas figures to be even better in 2011, though he'll have to be even more on top of his game this time around with most of last year's starting offensive line gone to graduation.
Typically, the best player on the best team is a pretty good bet to win the Heisman. That being the case, I present to you Oklahoma quarterbackLandry Jones.
The junior-to-be from Artesia, New Mexico was anything but gun-shy while filling the sizable shoes left behind by former Heisman Trophy winner and 2010 NFL Draft No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford.
Jones was the key catalyst behind the Sooners' 12-2 season in 2010, throwing for 4,718 yards and 38 touchdowns—both second-best in the nation—while slinging only 12 picks.
All told, Jones is well on his way to becoming the third of Bob Stoops' signal-callers to hoist the Heisman Trophy.
If Alabama turns out to be the best team in the nation, look for Trent Richardson to get some serious publicity to strike the pose.
Richardson is something of a dark horse on this list, having spent his entire career in Tuscaloosa backing up 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram.
However, there's no doubting Trent's talent, as he's shown more than flashes of brilliance during those times he's managed to make it onto the field. He followed up his 751-yard, eight-touchdown performance in 2009 with another 700 yards and six touchdowns in 2010.
Now that Richardson has the pole position in the Crimson Tide's backfield all to himself, look for him to really open some eyes nationally on the way to New York City.
Might LaMichael James finish his collegiate career as always the bridesmaid, never the Heisman bride?
Perhaps, assuming that terminology isn't too emasculating for the Oregon 'back.
James has been a subject, albeit indirectly, of an ongoing investigation into improper recruiting conduct involving a contact in Texas, but assuming the NCAA doesn't find reason for him to remain off the field, he will be in the hunt for some coveted hardware.
James led the nation in rushing in 2010 with 1,731 yards and finished second in touchdowns with 21 despite missing the Ducks' season opener to suspension.
He'll need to replicate, if not improve upon, those numbers if Oregon is to make yet another run to the BCS Championship Game, in which case he might well come away with the Heisman as well.
If there is a "Golden Boy" in college football today, it's undoubtedly Andrew Luck.
The brainy quarterback from Texas turned down the opportunity to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft to return to Stanford to finish up his architecture degree and lead the Cardinal to the BCS National Championship.
It's somewhat difficult to imagine Luck performing any more brilliantly than he did in 2010, when he threw for 3,328 yards and 32 touchdowns against just eight interceptions while guiding Jim Harbaugh's team to the school's first-ever 12-win season.
That being said, any improvement by Luck on the field will likely yield another fine finish for the 'Furd in the Pac-12 as well as a Heisman Trophy for a kid who may go down as the finest signal-caller in the history of a school that has seen Jim Plunkett and John Elway storm through its hallowed halls.
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