Year: Redshirt junior.

A year ago, Alabama's DeVonta Smith proved that a wide receiver can still win this award. Prior to Smith, it had been nearly three decades since Michigan's Desmond Howard took home the honor in 1991. Ross is the longest longshot listed here, after missing the 2020 season due to spinal surgery, but the impact a healthy Ross can have on Clemson's offense isn't to be forgotten. As a freshman, he dominated in the Tigers' national championship win over Alabama (6-153-1) to complete a 1,000-yard season. He stands to be the leader and top playmaker for a Clemson offense that lost its top two receivers (Amari Rodgers, Cornell Powell) to the NFL draft.

Year: Sophomore.

With precious little playing time under his belt (22 pass attempts in 2020), expectations on Alabama's new QB1 far outpace his track record. Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien, formerly of the Houston Texans, has built a strong relationship with the former five-star recruit and is expected to bring back more of the RPO game that Alabama's offense employed with Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa at the position. He has the athleticism to break long runs, but he prefers playing from the pocket. To the extent that Heisman candidates need their teams to stay in championship contention, the Crimson Tide is once again all but sure to check that box for Young.

Year: Redshirt junior.

Pair a talent like Corral with a pass-happy offensive mastermind like Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, and the ingredients for a Heisman-quality season are present. Corral combines a brash confidence, an accurate arm and elusiveness in the pocket that will create big gains from broken plays for the Rebels. He threw for 3,337 yards last season with an eye-opening 71 percent completion rate. The concern is turnovers, and Corral's ability to rebound from them. He threw 11 of his 14 interceptions in two games last season, including a whopping six against an Arkansas zone defense that thoroughly confused him. An upset at Alabama on Oct. 2 would plant his Heisman flag like no other game on the Ole Miss schedule. NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently compared him to Raiders QB Derek Carr.

Year: Junior.

There isn't a more talented rusher in all of college football than Hall, who piled up 1,572 yards and 21 TDs on the ground last season. He runs with an explosive forward lean at 220 pounds that breaks through plenty of tackles. He also has the speed to turn the corner when he bounces runs to the perimeter. He opened last season with eight straight 100-yard games and closed it with 136 against Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. He's the only player listed here who finished in the top 10 of 2020 Heisman voting (sixth). The Cyclones program lacks the cache of the schools that typically populate the Heisman field, so another big season in Ames -- the Cyclones went 8-1 in league play and reached the Big 12 title game -- will be necessary to keep a bright spotlight on Hall's season. He'll be easy for voters to forget, even with big numbers, if ISU fails to contend.

Year: Junior.

With USC playing just six games in 2020, Slovis never had a legitimate shot at the Heisman, but he enters his junior year as the obvious favorite for the 145 voters in the award's Far West region. Like his predecessor at USC and fellow Heisman candidate JT Daniels, Slovis carves up defenses from the pocket without offering much in the way of a running threat. Between that and protection issues, he's taken his share of sacks -- three in five of USC's six games in 2020, and 38 over two seasons. Given time to throw, however, Slovis shows excellent anticipation, keeping his targets in stride with the catch. That accuracy has him paced to break Cody Kessler's school record for career completion percentage -- in 17 career starts, Slovis enters his third season at 70 percent. He also showed a knack for dramatic comeback wins last year, pulling out three victories in the last two minutes. Two big non-conference games give him extra chances to shine, against Notre Dame and BYU.

Year: Sophomore.

We've not seen much of Uiagalelei, Trevor Lawrence's backup at Clemson last season. He made just two starts last year while Lawrence sat out due to COVID protocols, but he showed enough for us to know the Tigers' high-octane offense is in very capable hands. Uiagalelei offers a powerful arm with a huge frame, a load to bring down at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds (per school measurements) whether he's standing tall in the pocket or barreling into the end zone. He passed for 914 yards on 117 attempts (7.8 per) without an interception, giving Clemson fans high hopes for the post-Lawrence era. His most impressive performance came in CU's lone regular-season loss, a double-overtime thriller at Notre Dame in which he threw for 439 yards against a rock-solid defense and accounted for three touchdowns.

Year: Redshirt senior.

One of college football's most electrifying athletes could be primed to lead the Hurricanes back to great heights. Last year, the former Houston Cougars star proved he could excel at the Power Five level, passing for 23 TDs with only five interceptions in his first season at UM. More than an off-schedule playmaker, King can survey the field and make winning throws from the pocket, despite having a short stature by NFL QB standards (listed at 5-11). He is a dangerous rushing threat as well, having run for nearly 2,000 yards and 32 scores in his college career. He'll get a chance to make a big early Heisman splash on Sept. 4, if he can lead an upset of defending national champion Alabama on a neutral field in Atlanta.

Year: Redshirt junior.

Now proven a proven starter at two different Power Five programs (USC, Georgia), Daniels enters his fourth college season as the top quarterback in the SEC. His play last year -- four wins in four late-season starts with a 10:2 TD-INT ratio -- left Georgia fans wondering why he didn't take over the starting job sooner. He doesn't bring much in the way of mobility; if Daniels is to take the Heisman, he'll have to do it strictly from the pocket. But he has the arm, the presence and the talent around him to do so. Georgia's defense will give him plenty of short fields to work with, and the Bulldogs figure to be in championship contention late into the season. Losing WR George Pickens to an ACL tear will diminish Daniels' numbers, but there is hope in Athens that the program's most talented receiver could return at some point during the season.

Year: Redshirt sophomore.

Rattler's inclusion on preseason Heisman watch lists a year ago quickly proved a bit premature as OU lost its first two Big 12 games, with the freshman throwing three picks in one of them. He didn't finish in the top 10 when it came to Heisman votes, but he improved and led the Sooners to a top 10 national ranking with eight consecutive wins to finish the year, legitimizing Heisman hopes for 2021. With a lightning-quick release, a year of starting experience to draw on and the keys to a Lincoln Riley offense that is consistently one of the nation's most explosive, Rattler could post dizzying stats. With an emergent star receiver in Marvin Mims stretching the field as a dangerous deep threat, Rattler should provide Heisman voters with no shortage of big plays. He averaged 29 pass attempts per game last season, and unless he sits in the second half of too many blowouts, expect 35 to 40 per game this fall.

Year: Junior.

The hype surrounding Howell is palpable after he compiled 68 TD passes against just 14 interceptions in his first two college seasons. He's unquestionably one of the nation's elite passers, and his exciting style of play drew a Baker Mayfield comparison from NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah this summer. The schedule sets up well -- the Tar Heels don't face Clemson this season and could easily take the ACC Coastal Division, which would give Howell a big platform in the ACC title game right before the Heisman voting deadline. There will be more on Howell's shoulders this season with the loss of two 1,000-yard rushers to the NFL draft (Javonte Williams and Michael Carter), but that could just mean bigger passing numbers if he rises to that challenge. Howell's Heisman case likely will need a signature performance at Notre Dame on Oct. 30.