OU Football 2013 - Is Blake Bell Your Leading Dark Horse Candidate For The Heisman Trophy?

The annual awarding of the Heisman Trophy certainly has its share of fans and critics alike. Whether positive or negative however, the one constant is that every year people are talking about who may or may not make that trip to New York City.

And with college football junkies looking for any excuse during the seemingly endless off-season to talk football, potential 2013 Heisman candidates is as good a reason as any.

With that in mind, we direct you to Chris Huston's (aka the Heisman Pundit) Post-Spring Heisman Trophy Watch List. As you peruse through his list of possible candidates, one name will understandably stand out for Oklahoma fans.

That name of course is quarterback Blake Bell who Huston believes could be the leading dark horse candidate for the coveted trophy.

It goes without saying any number of things have to go well for every possibly Heisman candidate and Bell is certainly no exception. What do we really know about him as a passer? What do we know about his ability to lead an offense? What do we really even know about him as a rushing quarterback given his experience up to this point has primarily been around the goal line?

Like we were saying, a lot of questions with very few answers at the moment.

While we won't have answers to any of those questions until the season starts, we can check off a number of criteria based on Huston's 10 Heismandments.

Bell is a quarterback (√) and an upperclassmen (√) with name recognition (√) who plays for a national power (√) and capable of putting up big numbers on nationally televised games (√).

While not on the checklist, Bell is also the style of quarterback that both college and NFL offenses are gravitating to at the moment. His ability to put up yards both through the air and on the ground will only enhance his profile as a possible candidate, but it's his opportunity through both of those means to put the ball in the end zone which could make the biggest difference.

With those factors in mind, Huston lays out his argument for Bell's dark horse candidacy.

As we know from looking at recent Heisman history, a quarterback becomes a legit candidate at about 45 total touchdowns. If Bell overachieves in his first year as a starter - say he attempts 450 passes and completes 66 percent of them at an 8-yard per attempt clip - then he'll have 3,600 passing yards with 30 touchdown tosses. Add to that his likely production on the ground and we are looking at a quarterback from a traditional power with around 45 total touchdowns.

If that kind of year happens, he'll be a lock to go to New York.

Now obviously a number of assumptions are being made in that scenario, but it's also May so just let us have some fun before you go raining all over our Heisman parade.

Is this more than a little premature? Of course it is.

While Bell is believed to the heavy favorite, he hasn't even officially won the starting quarterback job yet (or so we've been led to believe). But who cares about details like that.

It's May. It's the off-season. Everyone is a preseason All-American by at least on person's criteria. So why not a Heisman Trophy candidate to boot?