The Heisman Trophy Trust should consider changing the pose of its statue to include a quarterback taking a shotgun snap. Since 2000, only three non-quarterbacks won the award and only one recipient came from the B1G. Jim Delany’s conference is more of a fertile ground for the Joe Moore Award and other non-flashy accolades that reflect the self-imposed image of the region and its inhabitants.

Who is the next player in conference to win the award? Ohio State Quarterback Dwayne Haskins was a semi-finalist this season, but it was the case of the third tenor, after Pavarotti and Domingo, the clear other guy. Nice of ESPN to include him on most of the footage too. He’s still the player most likely to win the award, especially since in a paint-by-numbers world the idea is that the move to Ryan Day as Ohio State Head Coach from Urban Meyer draws comparisons of Oklahoma moving from Bob Stoops to Lincoln Riley.

It’s not about Haskins, but the next man up. Is the player in conference right now? There are a few candidates, but the award is equally about system and individual work.

Kyler Murray produced astronomical numbers at Oklahoma as a function of the system. That’s not to discredit his ability as a quarterback, but the gaudiness of his production, coupled with the indifference towards defense in the conference play right into the award. Only an all-world running back or generational talent at another position would be able to pry it away from a quarterback.

So what about the B1G? Who has a shot after Haskins?

The only non-quarterback within a sniff is Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor. The Badgers’ underwhelming year robbed Taylor of any buzz, but he produced more rushing yards, a higher rushing average, and more touchdowns in his sophomore year. Expect a bigger year next year, which needs to coincide with Wisconsin finishing with at the very most two losses and Taylor could spring into the conversation.

Things get a touch murkier at quarterback. After Haskins, we can consider Shea Patterson from Michigan, but nothing indicates the Wolverines plan to move towards a wide-open offense and allow him the number of pass attempts to put up numbers in the same realm as the top quarterbacks who were semi-finalists this season.

Which leaves us with one other option. Enter Nebraska freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez.

Martinez played in 11 games this season. He attempted more than 30 passes in 7 of the games. Scott Frost clearly has confidence in Martinez and wanted him to get reps as a freshman. Calling that many pass plays will only further acclimate Martinez with an offense he should be more than well-adjusted to run by the end of his sophomore year.

Frost’s willingness to let Martinez pass with such regularity aligns nicely with the quarterback’s threat as a runner. The same threat forced Martinez to miss the game against Troy with a knee injury, but the number of designed runs in the Huskers’ playbook gives Martinez another facet to his game and a whole other category of counting stats to compile. Enter the marketing buzz.

That hulking mass of Nebraska’s fandom is a resting giant in college football. Martinez won’t be performing for a place with a lukewarm appreciation for his skill set. The marketing machine behind any campaign will be enormous. Now it’s just up to Martinez to perform. 

He’s the best chance for the conference to field a Heisman winner outside of Haskins, even if the award should seek new sponsorship from the Air Raid Offense coaching tree.