Kansas Jayhawks Football Heisman Candidates: Jalon Daniels vs Devin Neal

Intro on today's locked on Jayhawks we get to the bottom line which KU player has a better chance to win Heisman Devin Neil or jayen Daniels you are locked on Jayhawks your daily podcast on the Kansas j-hawks part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday I'm Dereck Johnson you can find Show Open me on Twitter at D Johnson radio he's Nick schwar you can find him Nick schwart on Twitter and on today's locked on Jayhawks we're going to be talking Heisman talk thank you for making locked on Jayhawks your first listen every day thank you to every dayers catching each and every show we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts you can also find us on our YouTube page where you can like And subscribe and yeah we're gonna get into it Jaylen Daniels Devin Neil better Heisman case what's better for KU of which one kind of comes out there we'll get to another episode of who cares featuring some David KO stuff KU football even more in a little who stat Line Is It Anyway featuring some KU football stuff that might pertain to some of the stuff in the open that we're talking about here and this episode of the show is brought to you by ultimate college football head coach it's a brand new mobile game that's completely free they have no ads it's 100% playable offline use the promo code locked on CFB all one word all caps inside the game store to receive a free boost to your program begin your coaching Legacy today all right so Nick um first of all I already have come up with the Heisman campaign has Neil for Heisman you have to come up with the Jaylen Daniels Heisman campaign so uh so you have to come up we'll get it because he wears the number four right so it works out right um right right there you go no but in all reality uh Devon Neil or Jaylen Daniels if you look at like FanDuel it's not even a discussion Jaylen Daniels is plus 3,000 30 to1 to win the Heisman that's 13th among players for odds Devon Neil I went through the entire thing he's not even on there you can't even find his odds yet somehow Arch Manning who is the backup quarterback at Texas is 120 to one OD there are players that are going up to 500 to one OD could we not find a spot for Devon Neil here so I don't know where he would be if he's just forgotten if you know he would come in a little better on those odds if he was 500 to1 I would definitely be throwing down some change on that um but anyway who do you think has a better chance to win the Heisman because the odds certainly say JD but I don't know if I agree with that yeah so this is funny because you brought this up as like a oneoff a couple of weeks ago on here and then I was debating it last week with a couple other guys and I I think the answer is Jaylen Daniels but I was trying to play Devil's Advocate I was trying to make the case for Devon Neil and the guys I was talking to they wouldn't hear it because they were using I don't know um recent history data uh uh reason to suggest that it is impossible for a running back in either college football or the NFL to take home the most prestigious award Heisman or MVP and so I went down this Rabbit Hole of trying to figure out what it would take and I'm sure you've already done this research so I'm going to beat you to the punch the last Heisman finalist that was a running back not even winner the last Heisman finalist was 2017 Bryce love out of Stanford which you know shout out to Bryce love wherever he's at whatever he's doing uh but he had over 2,000 yards and 19 touchdowns and he didn't win it mind you like he didn't win the Heisman that year I think that would have been Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma so even if you have as a running back this insane statistical season it is undeniable you have to also I think be on the best team in America or unequivocally be the best player in America because look at Christian mcaffrey in the NFL last year I think you could make the case Christian mcaffrey was the best football player in the world last year but he didn't win MVP and it kind of leaves you with this idea that well if he's not going to win it that year then no running back will ever win it unless we see this huge shift in offense across football to where we are going going back to what we saw in the late 2000s where you had guys toing The Rock 300 times a year going for 2,000 yards scoring 20 25 30 plus touchdowns because that is the Baseline for Jaylen Daniels the argument's must much easier Jaylen Daniels doesn't have to break records Jaylen Daniels doesn't have to lead the country in passing yards he doesn't have to lead the country in passing touchdowns he just needs to be insanely good on a really good football team that is why the answer has to be jayen Daniels because the argument for how you even get there is is a lot more obtainable than it would be for Deon Neil here's where I differ on that though when you look at Past Heisman Winners the past because you're right it is all quarterbacks who are winning the awards now you can go back and say well three of the top 10 last year were running backs but none of them are top five or you can go back and find certain years like Kenneth Walker probably should have been an invitee a couple years ago but he ended up finishing six behind like Will Anderson and some other guys and there's others you can do that with like maybe you could have done that with olly Gordon last year or going back a few years beyond that here's what gets me though that I think makes it a little tougher for JD so you look at the the the winners who are quarterbacks like we go back to last year jayen Daniels wins the award okay that is a quarterback but jayen Daniels had 3,800 passing yards and 1100 rushing yards so he basically had 5,000 total yards Caleb Williams had 4,500 passing yards Bryce young the year before that 4,800 passing yards you go back two years before that because you had the Devonte Smith receiver season in between Joe burrow wins it 5 600 passing yards Kyler Murray 4,400 almost passing yards plus several hundred more rushing yards Baker Mayfield 4600 passing yards you look back at the the past quarterbacks who have all won this award the only guys who aren't throwing for 4,000 yards are Lamar Jackson who had 3500 but he ran for like 1500 and Jayden Daniels who just missed it and had those 1100 extra rushing yards if I go back and look at Jaylen Daniels stats he obviously has as much impact as any quarterback in the country but in terms of the raw stats this is what he's done over his last 12 games when you account for the games that he's played his junior plus or or I guess his third year plus his fourth year in 2022 plus 2023 2700 yards 23 touchdowns so again he's as impactful as any player in the country but when you compare those raw numbers to the raw numbers of the past Heisman winning quarterbacks I think there's a better Avenue for Devon Neil having like an 1800 yard season and he has the story behind him because what's the other thing when you look at those running backs who have been in that discussion right you have a year where a fifth place finisher was Naji Harris of Alabama well he has Devonte Smith and Ma Jones on his team he has a loaded team if you are Devon Neil and you run for all this this yardage and you have the story of like a 10 and two at Kansas is gonna hit different for some voters than a 12- one at Ohio State like it just is they're going to have the narrative in the same way that like Baylor did with RG3 or Johnny Manzel did with Texas A&M and I think Devon Neil has a chance to take that plus you add into the the account that like what if Jaylen Daniels misses a couple games right then it's just a hands down who has the better chance bro no no because all your because you said 1,800 yards you should have said like 2400 just to make the case because 1,00 yards you're not even sniffing an invite at 1,800 I don't care if you're 10 and two it just won't happen the numbers have to be outrageous because of how much value we put on vertical offense and how much value we put on the quarterback position in 2024 like regardless of what you thought about JJ McCarthy last year or STS and Bennett the year before right that's kind of the idea of nobody thinks these are the best players in college football but they were the quarterbacks on some of the best teams on eventual National Championship winning teams I don't think that that line of thinking works for running backs I just don't unless you have a 2,000 yard season a 25 T like that to me that's where the bar is like talk to me when you get to 2K and talk to me when you get to 22 23 touchdowns because all the argument like I get your argument that's that is an argument for Devon Neil over Jaylen Daniels but also it's an argument that KU doesn't have a shot at winning the Heisman like if you're telling me J JD has no shot then I'm led to believe that nobody has a shot I will say this go look at Jason Bean's statline from that bowl game from the UNLV game because just saying that was one game new offensive coordinator like 450 yards six touchdowns EXT do we get to just extrapolate that over a full season for Jaylen it wasn't this offensive coordinator though was the problem and I I don't know but it was a different one right it was a different one um so yeah I don't know I don't know uh I do think though Devon Neil has the better chance of finishing top 10 I mean the win but nobody we don't history doesn't remember the guy who finished seventh in the hesman you know you got to get an in big deal Kansas only had three players ever finish you know top 10 right it'd be a big deal what did reeing finish like six didn't finish top 10 huh yeah didn't even get top 10 Devon Neil would be the only running back to do so which is pretty crazy considering like K that's the one position where it's like you know KU doesn't have this illustrious football history but it's like running back they they got some dudes you know so I think that would be interesting uh real quick question to that what do you think would be more beneficial to the team though like if I told you Devon Neil is going to win the Heisman like i' I've seen it in the future or Jaylen Daniels is going to win the Heisman what do you think would be more beneficial because you could make the arguments like you mean to the program or this season to this season to the team maxing out at whatever they are I would say Jaylen Daniels for this reason though because if you told me Jaylen Daniels is going to win the Heisman you know what that guarantees me he's healthy all season because if you remove that if you remove any amount of certainty about JD's Health this year I start to become very concerned about what could happen to this team there is no more training wheel there's no more safety valve of Jason bean and if JD is once again plagued by injuries I'm frightened for what can happen so the Heisman would be great but what it really tells me is he's healthy all season and that's the best thing that KU could possibly get out of this year what would you do with yourself what would you do as a Kansas fan if JD gets injured again can't finish the season and then you have to live the rest of your life wondering what would have happened if we would have just gotten like one full season of peak jayen Daniels I don't think I can stomach that the rest of my life I need even if it sucks even if KU sucks and he sucks I just need to see him healthy for a year that way I can live without the what if all right uh let's continue on with some fun conversation who cares a little David KO KU basketball a little more KU football on this episode of Locked on Jayhawks we are brought to you by ibata Ibata Ad it's summertime which means it's barbecue season stock up on all of your grilling favorites and earn cash back on every purchase when you use ibata so you won't have to choose between burgers or hot dogs you can get both ibata is a free app that lets you earn cash back every time you shop you can earn on hundreds of items from groceries to Beauty Supplies even toys so you can make sure you're beating inflation no matter what you're purchasing it's time you joined over 50 million users who use ibata that includes my wife uh you can earn cash back every time you shop right now ibata is offering their listeners $5 Just For Trying ibata by using the code locked on College when you register just go to the app store or Google Play Store download the free ibata app to start earning cash back and again use code locked on college that is iata IBO TTA in the Google Play or apps store and use code locked on KU Basketball College all right uh let's get to another episode of who cares I'm going to give two topics you tell me which one you care more about and why KU basketball made a late addition they added David KO who's a over 20 point per game scor from Northern Illinois that or KU football being seven days away oh KU football being seven days away that is on dude if you find me the person who would Diggy KO there find me the person who says they're more excited about little itty bitty Diggy KO all 58 160 pounds of him by the way being available that late in the summer what's going on there versus college football returning in one week you want to talk to me in December we can have that conversation but I I would be pretty disgusted at the person who would sit in front of me and try to to make the argument that a guy who's going to average 6 minutes a game for KU basketball this year is more interesting than Kansas football returning for what could be the greatest season of our lifetimes I mean you could just argue though it but like it's not here and it's it's making you like the fact that it's not here neither is basketball season NE no I know I I agree I'm just defate but yeah for sure by the way one thing no yeah I got I got another thing here one thing on Diggy KO Fran frilla tweeted like a like three weeks ago I was not plugged into the DIY KO situation I see him tweeting that like oh you know this guy remember when KU got Remy Martin you know he he wasn't great right away and he didn't I'm paraphrasing obviously he wasn't great right away but he he was money when it counted most KU blah blah blah invoking Diggy qu stop it stop it I'm so sick of these college basketball Talking Heads constantly comparing every new Kansas point guard to a great guard of Kansas past do you remember when we were going through about this time in the Year Bobby pedford comes on board right like sort not really a high-profile recruit but oh he's tough he's a dog you know he's kind of got a little people were saying he's kind of got a little Frank Mason in him are you kidding me are we just going to do this now with every new guard that signs they are either similar to Frank Mason Chiron Collins or Devonte Graham nobody's ever like yo this guy reminds me a little of Jeff Hawkins you know no no there's no hey this guy reminds me a little of a Brady Morning Star it's always like going straight to we have to stop okay it's Diggy KO he is going to play five minutes a game I just I just took a minute off for that tweet 5 minutes a game he is not Remy Martin he is not going to lead this team to a national championship in March I'm sorry I had to get that off my chest okay so all that being said if he's not Remy Martin who do you compare him to for past KU guard I'll give him Joe yesu I'll give him Bobby pedford Bobby pedford wasn't Frank Mason but Diggy quit is Bobby pedford okay uh who starts at the center KU Football position for KU football that's a uh fun competition right now do you care more about that or who wins the backup quarterback job you have to be kidding me with these questions do you I can't tell you who the backup center is actually you know what no who's going to win the starting center it doesn't matter I can't tell you the only reason I know one Center on the roster and people would can can listen to this and say well you're not a real fan fine I don't care I don't care who starting at nickel Corner either I do care I I know there's a center on the roster by the way named Calvin Clemens because in my online dynasty I'm gonna find it Well I move him to Center and he's an All-American Center by the time he's a senior so that's iold know that yeah that's who I want to be the starting center uh I don't know if he's currently in the competition but maybe let's get him a few reps uh I do care who the backup quarterback is going to be because uh like we said with Jaylen Daniels his health is the the biggest question mark right would you agree with that it is the number one storyline heading into this season is what happen is he going to be healthy and what happens if he's not because there's no more Jason Bean who ended up being a godsend last year and so you're basically thrust into two unknowns is it going to be Cole Ballard who we saw sparingly and they certainly tried to protect like what does he look like in year two versus the unknown of Isaiah Marshall which like tantalite exciting athlete but a freshman and it's just I think that's the scariest part is we've had such terrible quarterback luck at Kansas for so long and then you not only got Jaylen Daniels but when he went down you had another guy who would have been the greatest quarterback of the last 15 years of Kansas football there is always going to be fear about like what is next because next is coming very soon we know it's at least coming next year uh we hope it's not coming this season with a you know an ear early into jaylen's year so yeah I'm going to be really interested to see what that quarterback room looks like I've been saying here on the show if you guaranteed me 11 Jaylen Daniels games so you're guaranteed to miss one you don't know which one it is it could be that K State one which that would suck but like if you guarante L it could it could if you guaranteed me 11 I would take it like wouldn't even think about it what's what's the number that you would have to go to to be like I would take it like the lowest number I would take oh gosh what's the most he's played two years ago he played nine right yeah played yeah basically eight and a half yeah um but that was of 13 games so I'm just talking regular season so really it was seven and a half I'm I'm kind of in All or Nothing mode with this season I know a lot of people I've talked to are more of like no it just we 10 wins is that's a great aspiration but the goal should just be you know get to eight again get to nine that would be fantastic after this year you're basically starting over with a new core with a new nucleus of guys that you try to win with so like I want to see this team win 10 games like that is my goal for them this year I know it's a little bit lofty but that is why it's tough for me to accept like if you told me it was eight games for Jaylen I don't that's not enough like I want I want to be greedy this year with everything because I don't know the next time we're going to be this optim istic about a KU team going into the season so I think my number would probably be like nine because if you told me nine I'm going to feel good about ku's chances of winning every single one of those nine games that he's in and then hopefully you know the other couple of games that he's out are against opponents where you don't need him as much all right let's finish things up here we're going to tie it back around with some who statline is in anyway relating to uh some KU football and Heisman talk unlocked on Sponsor Jayhawks this episode is is brought to you by ultimate GM hey locked on j-hawk fans I want to take a moment to give you a heads up on a brand new mobile game that I think you're going to love as much as I do ultimate football head coach in this amazing game and simulation you can get to step into the shoes of a head coach and lead your college football 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off to about as good of a strong start as you could imagine to download the game just visit ultimate-fx Legacy today finishing things up with whose statline is it anyway so Devin Neil has played 37 games at Kansas over his three years how many of those 37 Nick does he have 20 or more carries man he wasn't a Workhorse year one 20 is a lot I'm going to [Music] go 13 correct answer is seven very low wow just seven okay so here's a followup to that in Jeff Grimes first season at Baylor 2021 when he was the offensive coordinator they won the Big 12 Championship they played 14 games including their bowl game how many games of the 14 did they have a running back any running back Garner 20 or more carries in a game how many total games 14 11 correct answer seven so in 14 games he basically gave the running back as many if if you're viewing 20 as a a solid number a big number to get to to a running back as Devon Neil has had over three seasons point being if we go back to our first conversation does that alter anything at all that Devon Neil could get the ball even more this season with the current offense no I don't think so I don't I don't think they're going to shy away from getting talented players touches like if it's Daniel high Sha it's uh Harry Stewart like they're going to get guys involved I do think both things can be true though like I think I think Devon can be a more even more featured piece in the offense while also like not necessarily being a Workhorse running back if that makes sense yeah maybe more in the receiving game I don't know maybe just more touchdown opportunity whatever it is okay well that's going to do it for this episode at Nick schwart Nick working you check out what do you got going on right now uh the podcast is called could be wrong you can check it out wherever you get your podcasts and you can watch the full episodes on YouTube as well all right you can give me a follow at D Johnson radio and subscribe to our show here with locked on Jayhawks and anywhere you get your podcast we'll see you next time with LJ