The Baylor Bears are having a fantastic season with a 7-0 record and being ranked second in the country. The reason why they have gotten off to a fast start is the play of junior quarterback Seth Russell and junior wide receiver Corey Coleman. Russell was receiving consideration for the Heisman and being mentioned in the same breath as TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin and LSU running back Leonard Fournette. His teammate, on the other hand isn’t even in the Heisman Trophy conversation despite the numbers he has put up this season.
Coleman, the 5-foot-11, 190 lbs. receiver has already crushed the stats he put up as a sophomore last season. In 2014, Coleman had 64 receptions for 1,119 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. Those stats also include Baylor’s bowl game appearance in the Fiesta Bowl against Michigan State. In terms of this season, he has 47 receptions for 962 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns. In the FBS among wide receivers, Coleman ranks fourth in receiving yards, 26th in receptions and first in touchdowns. You cannot ignore the video game numbers he is putting up.
If you look at Coleman’s numbers in a historical context, just look back at the past five years of Heisman finalists at the wide receiver position. In 2009, University of Cincinnati wide receiver Marty Gilyard had 87 receptions for 1,191 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. In the same season, Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate had 93 receptions for 1,496 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. Then in 2010, Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon had 111 receptions for 1,782 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns.
Two years later, USC’s Marqise Lee had 118 receptions for 1,721 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, while West Virginia’s Tavon Austin had 114 receptions for 1,289 yards and 12 touchdowns. Finally, last season, Alabama’s Amari Cooper had 124 receptions for 1,727 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.
The general consensus from these stats show that for Coleman to be considered in the top 10 of the Heisman finalists, he must at least get to 80-100 receptions and 1,000 plus yards. With only five games to go in the regular season, to get to 80 receptions, he needs to have 6.6 receptions per game. This is doable as in each game this season he had five plus receptions.
But the question is can he get into the conversation without Russell? It is possible because without Russell, Baylor will need to lean on their top receiving threat as they will have true freshman Jarrett Stidham starting on November 5 against Kansas State. This season, in limited action, Stidham has 331 passing yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. If you are worried about the Stidham-Coleman connection, don’t worry because one of Stidham’s touchdown passes went to Coleman in Week 7 against Iowa State.
If Baylor can finish the season undefeated and get into the College Football Playoff without their starting quarterback, then Coleman should be in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy.
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