Georgia football: can Jake Fromm win the Heisman

One oddsmaker has Georgia football star offensive players Jake Fromm and D’Andre Swift as two of their favorites to win the 2019 Heisman Trophy.

According to one online oddsmaker, Jake Fromm (and D’Andre Swift) has 12/1 odds of winning the Heisman Trophy this December. The leader of Georgia’s 2019 offense certainly has the talent and skill to win the Heisman, as well as other awards, but as we’ve seen lately, it takes more than that to win the Heisman.

The candidate players have to prove their teams would be severely worse off without them, based on how the voting has been lately (with some exceptions: Derrick Henry). Such as Cam Newton taking a four-win at best Auburn team to a National Championship, or Lamar Jackson making Louisville look like a legit threat to win championships. Winning the Heisman requires ridiculous plays and performances. Does Fromm have that in him?

Absolutely. We all saw the crazy passing day he had against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Had Jim Cheney not decided to go conservative in the second half, Georgia football would have won the championship and Fromm would have been the hero of that game. But Fromm is and will be held back by his stats. I cannot see a quarterback in today’s game passing for less than 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns, and winning the Heisman.

Fromm will be limited by how much he actually throws the ball. In his career, he’s only averaging 20.62 pass attempts per game. His average last year was 21.92 per game. By comparison, Kyler Murray, the 2018 Heisman winner, averaged 26.93 attempts per game. Baker Mayfield averaged 28.86 in 2017, Lamar Jackson averaged 31.46 in 2016 and Marcus Mariota averaged 29.66 in 2014.

But, Fromm has proven that he can carry the offense if the running game struggles. He excelled with 39 pass attempts against Alabama. He passed the ball 35 times against Texas, and that certainly wasn’t his best day, but his receivers dropped six good passes from Fromm, one of which was in the end zone. That’s what Fromm’s Heisman candidacy will hinge on; Can he have those “Heisman” performances in big games to make up for his low amount of passes?

There is one more factor limiting Fromm however; his running ability. It’s been a while since a true pocket passer has won the Heisman. You have to go back to Sam Bradford in 2008 to find a pocket passer win the award. In 2010, Newton won the Heisman with over 1,400 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. Robert Griffin III didn’t have nearly as spectacular rushing totals, but he did rush for 699 yards. Johnny Manziel topped 1,400 rushing yards with 21 touchdowns in 2012. Mariota rushed for 779 yards, Jackson rushed for 1,571 yards, and Kyler Murray had 1,001 yards.

It’s true, Mayfield and Jameis Winston didn’t have rushing stats anywhere near those totals. But I wouldn’t call either of them pocket passers. They were scramblers who happened to have better downfield vision than most scramblers. Their rushing prowess came in their ability to avoid sacks to make big plays with their arms. While Fromm has proven that he’s more than just a pocket passer, can he make those plays with his legs enough to wow voters?

Fromm can win the Heisman, he has the tool set to do so. His chances of winning will rely on how much freedom the coaches give him. Is this going to be another rushing offense Jake Fromm happens to quarterback? Or will the 2019 offense finally be his to lead for a whole season?