The pool of candidates for the Heisman Trophy is a deep one. Derrick Henry, the winner from Alabama last year, has moved on to the NFL, but five of the next six players in the voting are back, led by runner-up Christian McCaffrey of Stanford.
Also returning are Clemson's Deshaun Watson, Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, LSU's Leonard Fournette and Florida State's Dalvin Cook. All of them, along with Ohio State's J.T. Barnett and Georgia's Nick Chubb (if fully recovered from his knee injury), are in the first wave of contenders for 2016.
Here are six players who could insert themselves into the Heisman conversation:
Chad Kelly, senior quarterback, Mississippi
The strong-armed Kelly is the top returning QB in the SEC and listed high on NFL draft boards for 2017.