Bleacher Report put together a list of its top eight clutch performers ahead of the 2017 season and the top three players on the list are definite Heisman candidates as well. In order, they have Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, Penn State's Saquon Barkley and USF's Quinton Flowers.
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For Mayfield, he was already invited as a finalist in 2016, but didn't win it as Louisville's Lamar Jackson took home the honor. Here's some of the quarterback's stats that might show his true clutchness:
He went 37-of-56 for 785 yards and eight TDs (with just one interception) when his team was down by seven or fewer points sound? Eleven of those 37 completions went for 25 or more yards, tied for fifth-most in the country but coming on far fewer attempts than those above him in that category.
Barkley had a pretty stellar season last year and while his quarterback might have gotten a lot of praise for some well-timed comebacks, it was not doable without the rock-steady running of Barkley. Here's some stats on his clutchness from the B/R article:
Saquon Barkley scored nine times, either on the ground or via a reception, when the Nittany Lions were tied or trailing by one score.
In situations where the score was either tied or the margin no more than seven points, Barkley got 173 carries and registered a first down 37 times with a per-carry average of 5.18 (only slightly below his 5.50 season average).
Flowers might be the most intriguing prospect on this list as his USF team went under the radar last year despite a great season led by him and coach Willie McTaggart (now at Oregon because of it). The dual threat quarterback will likely find himself on TV in front of some large audiences thanks to the hiring of Charlie Strong as head coach. Here's some of his clutchness:
As a junior Flowers completed 63 percent of his passes in the fourth quarter, with 10 of his 24 touchdown throws coming when the Bulls were either tied or trailing by seven points or less. He was 41-of-56 for 432 yards with his team down by one score.
All three candidates might be pretty clutch, but it looks like they all could be making serious cases for the Heisman trophy this year as well.
