Clemson Football: Kelly Bryant ranked No. 1 Heisman Candidate for 2018

Clemson football quarterback Kelly Bryant, according to NFL.com, is a favorite to win the 2018 Heisman Trophy Award as a senior.

Clemson football quarterback Kelly Bryant has done a very good job as a junior taking over for Deshaun Watson this season.

This season, Bryant has thrown for 2,678 yards and 13 touchdown passes and has also rushed for 646 yards and 11 touchdowns.

According to NFL.com, Bryant is now a favorite to win the 2018 Heisman Trophy.

NFL.com identified 10 players who or the favorites to win next year’s most prestigious award. In addition to Bryant, they listed players such as D’Andre Swift of Georgia, Jarrett Stidham of Auburn, and Ed Oliver of Houston.

Thoughts:

I think it’s pretty clear that there’s a lot of talent leaving this year to the NFL draft. There will be some new faces in the top-tier of College Football next season.

There will be no more Baker Mayfield, presumably no more Lamar Jackson, and no Saquan Barkley.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the next guys coming up next year and I don’t think there’s any reason that Kelly Bryant can’t be a part of that list.

He’s just got to “be Kelly B” as he likes to say.

Bryant has an opportunity to lead Clemson football to a national championship in his first year as a starting quarterback. That would be really special for the Tigers and would probably bolster him to the top of the Heisman charts for next season.

It will also be interesting to see how Trevor Lawrence plays a part in all of this next season.

Next: How will Willie Taggart's hire impact Clemson?

No matter what, it has been great to see Bryant grow this year and it’s clear that he’s only going to get better with more experience. He has improved immensely as a passer and has been a great leader of the field for Clemson.