The Devontae Booker Thread

[LA Ute]

It's about time we have this thread. We'll start here:

Utah's Devontae Booker is officially on the 2015 Heisman radar (http://trove.com/a/Utahs-Devontae-Booker-is-officially-on-the-2015-Heisman-radar.FU9I3?utm_campaign=hosted&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=sns)
To avoid rehashing earlier arguments let's just stipulate that it's extremely unlikely he'll win the Heisman. I just think it's nice that a Ute is part of the Heisman discussion.

There will be plenty of other things to say about Booker during the season, I hope, so let's get talking.

For example, I wonder if the A-Rod offense will be throwing to Booker more? He's a good receiver.

[chrisrenrut]

Nice ESPN article on Booker:

http://es.pn/1VQfDUL


Booker's path has earned him his teammates' greatest respect. Just this past weekend, defensive back Boobie Hobbs (http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/3134343/boobie-hobbs) used Booker as the reason to justify why Utah should be ranked the No. 1 team in the country."We have to tackle Devontae Booker in practice," Hobbs said. "So we're not afraid of anyone."
Some laughter circled around the room, but Hobbs wasn't joking. His thought echoed the dynamic in Booker's childhood, when the young running back wasn't afraid to smash into his bigger brothers at the park.

[SoCalPat]

It's about time we have this thread. We'll start here:

Utah's Devontae Booker is officially on the 2015 Heisman radar (http://trove.com/a/Utahs-Devontae-Booker-is-officially-on-the-2015-Heisman-radar.FU9I3?utm_campaign=hosted&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=sns)


To avoid rehashing earlier arguments let's just stipulate that it's extremely unlikely he'll win the Heisman. I just think it's nice that a Ute is part of the Heisman discussion.

There will be plenty of other things to say about Booker during the season, I hope, so let's get talking.

For example, I wonder if the A-Rod offense will be throwing to Booker more? He's a good receiver.

My preseason insistence on Booker not being a Heisman hopeful was always predicated on the resumes of recent Heisman winners -- eye-popping statistics (season or career) or being on a national championship contending team. DB wasn't going to ever be in the former, and no one thought we'd be in everyone's projected CFP in mid-October. We're clearly in the latter, so Booker definitely belongs there. I don't think he'll overtake Fournette, and if TCU goes 12-0, Boykin is your likely winner, what with how many late heroics he's delivered. But having DB in your top 5 is far from unreasonable. It should be expected for a team that's done what Utah has.

[LA Ute]

My preseason insistence on Booker not being a Heisman hopeful was always predicated on the resumes of recent Heisman winners -- eye-popping statistics (season or career) or being on a national championship contending team. DB wasn't going to ever be in the former, and no one thought we'd be in everyone's projected CFP in mid-October. We're clearly in the latter, so Booker definitely belongs there. I don't think he'll overtake Fournette, and if TCU goes 12-0, Boykin is your likely winner, what with how many late heroics he's delivered. But having DB in your top 5 is far from unreasonable. It should be expected for a team that's done what Utah has.

I was hoping DB might win the Doak Walker but this year the top Heisman candidates are running backs too, so maybe not.

[SoCalPat]

I was hoping DB might win the Doak Walker but this year the top Heisman candidates are running backs too, so maybe not.

There's almost zero modern precedent for RB vs. RB in Heisman voting. 2009, Marc Ingram beat Toby Gerhart in the closest ever Heisman vote. Gerhart had the stats, but Ingram played for the national champ. Your 3rd place finisher was Colt McCoy, who lost to Texas in the title game. The last time before that RBs took the top two spots was 1994 -- Rashan Salaam and Ki-Jana Carter.

I would not put Booker on my Heisman ballot now (you only vote for 1-3), but I suspect others would and I would be open to putting him in my top 3 if Utah continues to keep winning.

I would say if you voted today, Fournette, Boykin and Dalvin Cook would be your Top 3. In any instance, 2015 is shaping up to be the heaviest load of RBs in a very long time, maybe in 30 years.

[U-Ute]

A great look at Devontae Booker's story.

http://www.si.com/college-football/video/2015/10/21/rising-stars-devontae-booker