To kick off our preview of the 2011-2012 college football season, John and Daniel take their picks for  which player will bring home the nation’s most prestigious award: the Heisman Trophy. Along with picking the outright winner [1], the guys from NextGen will choose a player who may be under the radar as of right now, but could very well end up in New York City for the Heisman ceremony next January.

John’s Heisman Winner: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
The rising junior from Pensacola, Florida may be the most physically gifted as well as the most NFL-ready running back in the country. With the departure of 2009 Heisman winner, Mark Ingram, to the pros, Richardson looks primed to take over the starting tailback job at Alabama. Also, because of the losses of starting quarterback Greg McElroy and star wideout Julio Jones, coach Nick Saban will look to the run game now more than ever. Richardson, at 5′10″/225 lbs, has a relatively low center of gravity which allows him to run with great power, but he still possesses sprinter speed and excellent explosiveness. Alabama should start next season as a top 3 team, and as history has shown, the Heisman usually goes to the best performer on one of the nation’s premier teams. Richardson was a blue chip recruit coming out of high school, and though he has shown flashes of greatness in limited playing time his first two seasons, 2011 will be the year when he fulfills all expectations.I see Richardson winning this award over other elite running backs such as Oregon’s LaMichael James or South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore simply because he will not have to share the offense with anyone of significance. James has to worry about star quarterback Darron Thomas stealing some of his thunder, and Lattimore has a wide receiver in Alshon Jeffery that could very well be in the Heisman conversation too.

John’s Surprise Heisman Finalist: Matt Barkley, QB, Southern California
The number one prep prospect nationally in 2009, Barkley has had a seemingly quiet first two seasons at USC because of NCAA sanctions that casted a dark cloud over the team. Looking at his statistics, though, the former High School National Player of the Year was one of the most improved players nationally from 2009 to 2010, going from 15 touchdowns and 14 picks as a true freshman to 26 and 12 as a sophomore. He also improved his completion percentage from 59 to 63 percent.

When most think of the premier quarterback in the nation, Stanford’s Andrew Luck comes to mind (and deservedly so). Luck, however, will be working without Jim Harbaugh, as former offensive coordinator David Shaw is now the head coach. Barkley’s coach Lane Kiffin as well as most of his top weapons return to school, including freshman phenom receiver Robert Woods and a stable of productive veteran running backs. Look for Barkley to be a top 5 draft pick next April, and possibly a surprise Heisman finalist in January.

Daniel’s Heisman Winner: Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina
Respectfully, I have to disagree with John.  Trent Richardson isn’t even the most talented running back in his own conference. Look at Marcus Lattimore. The top-rated running back from the recruiting class of 2010, he thrived in his first season under Steve Spurrier. Lattimore earned Second Team All-America honors and racked up nearly 1,200 yards in basically 12 games.  Moreover, senior quarterback Stephen Garcia returns in 2011 alongside his top target, junior wide out Alshon Jeffery, so opposing defenses won’t be able to gang up to stop Lattimore’s running lanes.

In addition, reports from Columbia, SC predict significant improvement from Lattimore in 2011, citing the sophomore running back’s dedication to the weight room this offseason. In other words, expect an even more physical and explosive Lattimore come fall.

Daniel’s Surprise Heisman Finalist: Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
John and I have been on the Justin Blackmon bandwagon for quite a while, but I’m bullish over picking the star Oklahoma State wide receiver.  The success of Brandon Weeden under center should take a good portion of attention away from Blackmon in Stillwater, and a true wide out hasn’t won the Heisman Trophy since Desmond Howard in 1991.  I also thought about picking Kellen Moore of Boise State. His touchdown-to-interception ratio was among the nation’s best in 2010. However, the left-handed senior quarterback lost his top two targets to the 2011 NFL Draft in Titus Young and Austin Pettis. Instead, I’m going with Oklahoma’s Landry Jones. The Sooners should be the nation’s best team in 2011, and Jones has only improved since taking over for the injured Sam Bradford in 2009, culminating with a 38 TD and 12 INT year as a sophomore.  Furthermore, his top target Ryan Broyles returns to bolster an aerial attack that includes 2010 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention tight end James Hanna and fellow wide out Kenny Stills.

What’s more? Jones’ competition in the Big 12 expects to be very weak. Nebraska has bolted for the Big 10, and Texas is rebuilding from a horrid 2010-11 season. So, Jones will have plenty of opportunities to light up the scoreboard, and don’t discount the effect of offensive coordinator Josh Heupel, who helped lead Sam Bradford to the Heisman Trophy in 2008.

[1] Besides Andrew Luck of Stanford, of course. You can almost be assured that the Jim Harbaugh pupil will again be a Heisman finalist.