https://www.diehards.com/west-virginia/david-sills-west-virginia-heisman-trophy-dark-horse
Sports Illustrated named its dark horses for the 2018 Heisman Trophy on Thursday, and there’s a West Virginia player on the list – and his name isn’t Will Grier. Wide receiver David Sills V took the nation by storm in 2017, and SI’s Chris Johnson thinks he could challenge for the Heisman in 2018.
Johnson acknowledges that Grier, who has been tipped by many as a top Heisman contender, is the safer choice to win the award. But if Sills can build on his star turn in 2017, he could find himself high on the Heisman leaderboard.
“Sills is not the Mountaineers’ best bet to win the Heisman this season—that honor goes to quarterback Will Grier, but as explained above, he wasn’t eligible for this discussion. Sills could leapfrog Grier, though, with some help from Grier. Sills, who tied Memphis’s Anthony Miller for the FBS lead with 18 touchdown receptions in 2017, should amass another eye-popping stat line as a prime pass-catching threat in one of the most explosive offenses in the country.”
Only three wide receivers have ever taken home the Heisman, and none in the last 27 years. Michigan’s Desmond Howard in 1991 was the last receiver to win the Heisman. Notre Dame’s Tim Brown (1987) and Nebraska’s Johnny Rodgers (1971) also performed the feat.
But few receivers have massed the type of production Sills has in such a short time at the position. Formerly a quarterback, Sills moonlighted as a receiver in 2015 before transferring to a junior college in 2016 to pursue options as a signal-caller. He returned to West Virginia in 2017, and caught 18 touchdowns in his first season ever as a full-time receiver.
Johnson notes that Sills’ backstory could provide a narrative punch that helps his Heisman bid. Sills was a child prodigy at quarterback, and famously recruited by USC when he was 13. Now, his winding career path has turned him into one of the top receivers in West Virginia history.
Sports Illustrated named its dark horses for the 2018 Heisman Trophy on Thursday, and there’s a West Virginia player on the list – and his name isn’t Will Grier. Wide receiver David Sills V took the nation by storm in 2017, and SI’s Chris Johnson thinks he could challenge for the Heisman in 2018.
Johnson acknowledges that Grier, who has been tipped by many as a top Heisman contender, is the safer choice to win the award. But if Sills can build on his star turn in 2017, he could find himself high on the Heisman leaderboard.
“Sills is not the Mountaineers’ best bet to win the Heisman this season—that honor goes to quarterback Will Grier, but as explained above, he wasn’t eligible for this discussion. Sills could leapfrog Grier, though, with some help from Grier. Sills, who tied Memphis’s Anthony Miller for the FBS lead with 18 touchdown receptions in 2017, should amass another eye-popping stat line as a prime pass-catching threat in one of the most explosive offenses in the country.”
Only three wide receivers have ever taken home the Heisman, and none in the last 27 years. Michigan’s Desmond Howard in 1991 was the last receiver to win the Heisman. Notre Dame’s Tim Brown (1987) and Nebraska’s Johnny Rodgers (1971) also performed the feat.
But few receivers have massed the type of production Sills has in such a short time at the position. Formerly a quarterback, Sills moonlighted as a receiver in 2015 before transferring to a junior college in 2016 to pursue options as a signal-caller. He returned to West Virginia in 2017, and caught 18 touchdowns in his first season ever as a full-time receiver.
Johnson notes that Sills’ backstory could provide a narrative punch that helps his Heisman bid. Sills was a child prodigy at quarterback, and famously recruited by USC when he was 13. Now, his winding career path has turned him into one of the top receivers in West Virginia history.
