Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is the new Heisman Trophy favorite, and Johnny Manziel, no stranger to what it takes to win the award, says he deserves to be.
"As we sit here at the beginning of October, is him being the Heisman favorite justified? Yeah, it is," said Manziel during his weekly appearance on Action Network's BBOC YouTube channel.
The former Texas A&M quarterback, who took home the award in 2012 after a sterling season as a redshirt freshman, was thoroughly impressed by what the junior did in a high-profile matchup against SEC rival Georgia.
"You're going into a game against a team like Georgia and you come out right away and play the way he does, and then after they come all the way back you have the ball in your hands to go make a drive where you have to make something happen, what he did was just incredible," Manziel said.
Milroe finished the game 27-of-33 for 374 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 117 yards and two rushing touchdowns on the ground. The previously No. 4 ranked Crimson Tide beat previously No. 2 Georgia, 41-34 in an instant classic of a game that saw Alabama lead 30-7 at halftime.
"They're playing great offensive football right now. As you work through those first 3-4 drives of the game, it was just easy, sitting down in zone, hitting this guy, that guy, just picking teams apart," Manziel said. And then when you do get into the run game with him, it's just as deadly as anything else that they're doing."
BBOC host Collin Wilson noted the difficulty of a Heisman favorite this early in the season maintaining their momentum all the way through the end of the season, and Manziel agreed that it's too early to crown Milroe or anybody.
"It's hard to sit here and give somebody the Heisman at the end of September or early October," he said.
Alabama travels to Vanderbilt this week where it'll face the Commadores as a 23-point favorite. The Crimson Tide still have several tests left on their schedule, including road games at No. 4 Tennessee, No. 13 LSU and No. 19 Oklahoma. They also host No. 9 Missouri, as well as bitter rival Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
Milroe is +250 to win the award at DraftKings and followed by Miami quarterback Cam Ward at +500.
If Milroe does, indeed, fall down the odds board as the season goes along, it might be because of the performance of this week's other high riser.
A week ago, Colorado two-way superstar Travis Hunter sat eighth on most odds boards, behind seven quarterbacks. Now? He's second, behind just Milroe and Ward.
"If the season ended right now, [Hunter] is in New York alongside Milroe, Ward, and [Boise State running back] Ashton Jeanty," Manziel said.
Hunter helped the Buffaloes pull off a shocking, 48-21 victory on the road against UCF. Colorado entered the game as a two-touchdown underdog.
Hunter was, once again, a difference-maker. He finished with nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, he had two tackles to go along with his second interception of the season.
A week ago, much of the conversation surrounding Hunter's candidacy centered around whether a player on a subpar team could win the Heisman. Only one player has ever won the award on a team that lost more than four games, and only two players have won with more than three losses since the turn of the century.
Many projected Colorado to be a below-.500 team, but after that win over the Knights, that outlook may change.
"Colorado is playing better ball right now and he's continuing to do what we talked about, which is going out and making plays on the offensive end of the ball, getting into the end zone," Manziel said. "And on the defensive side of the ball, taking the ball away and making big plays in crunch time."
The Buffaloes are on a bye this week before hosting No. 20 Kansas State in a game where they will likely once again be underdogs. Other big games remaining on their schedule include road games at Arizona and Texas Tech, and home games against Utah and Oklahoma State.
Johnny Manziel appears weekly on Action Network's BBOC YouTube channel, with Johnny's Intangibles releasing every Monday and Johnny's Scramble Drill releasing every Friday. He also appears on BBOC Live, which airs every Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. ET on the BBOC YouTube channel and the Action App.
