Louisville football: Who has best chance at winning Heisman Trophy?
By Jacob Lane
Javian Hawkins – Running back
Louisville’s offense was nowhere near its fullest potential last season and still Javian Hawkins produced at a pace we haven’t seen around here in quite some time – all as a redshirt freshman. I don’t believe that we saw everything up the sleeve of Satterfield and Dwayne Ledford last season, which is why we could see an even better running attack in 2020.
Running the football is this staffs specialty and with another offseason to install new sets, I expect to see even more fireworks from Hawkins. The 1,525 yards and nine touchdowns will be hard to top, but assuming he’s able to bust open a few more plays and add a new pass-catching dimension I think it’s possible. And if that happens – don’t be shocked to see Hawkins in New York.
The award has essentially gone to whoever is the best quarterback in the country, with only three running back’s winning since the year 2005. In those three seasons where Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram, and Derrick Henry won the award, they all gained 1650 or more yards and scored at least 16 touchdowns rushing.
That’s the type of season that Hawkins will have to have on a Louisville team that finishes near the top of the rankings.