The favorites for the Heisman Trophy are obvious at this point in the preseason—TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott and a host of SEC playmakers top the list over at Odds Shark.

But further down that list of odds is Baylor quarterback Seth Russell, who takes over for the Bears after the departure of excellent starter Bryce Petty.

Although he’s new to being a full-time starter, Russell should put up a ridiculous amount of yardage in points in a Baylor offense that has led the nation in both categories each of the last two years. Russell inherits four of the Bears’ top six receivers from last season, an offensive line with all five returning starters and a star running back in Shock Linwood who can take some of the pressure off of him.

With Baylor’s easy start to the 2015 schedule, Russell is going to post mammoth statistics and put his name in the running for the game’s biggest award by the time the Bears hit the Big 12 slate. He’s got an extra amount of athleticism Petty didn’t have in this offense and will start on a strong, all-around title contender. All of that screams Heisman potential.

Dual-threat passer Marquise Williams had one of the most underrated 2014 campaigns of any player in college football. He was second in the ACC only to former Heisman winner Jameis Winston for total offense, and he also completed 63 percent of his passes for the Tar Heels.

This season, Williams should be in an even better position to succeed. North Carolina returns all five of its starters on the offensive line, along with its top four running backs and receivers. The pieces are all there for the senior quarterback to improve even further.

“Two things, at least, should increase Williams’ productivity entering this season: For one, he’ll no longer be subject to that wacky and fruitless early-game rotation with Mitch Trubisky,” Andrew Carter of the News & Observer wrote. “Second, Williams, who underwent off-season hip surgery that kept him out of spring practice, is now completely healthy. He wasn’t last season.”

Perhaps the biggest issue standing in Williams’ way of grabbing major awards this season is something he has zero control over—the North Carolina defense, which was one of the worst in the country last season. If the defense can step up and help the Heels improve on a 6-7 record, Williams has the chance to take home some hardware.

If you’re looking for an underclassman to knock off some of college football’s more-established rushers in the race for the Doak Walker Award, look no further than the freakish Jalen Hurd.

The Tennessee sophomore’s 2014 statistics didn’t set the world on fire by any means—he finished with 899 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. But the potential is definitely there for Hurd as Tennessee returns 10 offensive starters from last year’s 7-6 squad, including four linemen.

Hurd performed better last season when junior quarterback Joshua Dobbs took over, recording three of his four 100-yard games after the change at signal-caller. He’ll also be fresher as the season wears on thanks to the addition of JUCO star Alvin Kamara to what was a thin Tennessee backfield.

Oh, and the 6’3″ Hurd is now up to a massive 242 pounds, according to Ryan Callahan of 247Sports. With bigger size, blazing speed and a year of collegiate competition under his belt, Hurd could be the face of a possible breakout season for the Volunteers in 2015.

Yes, Penn State’s offense was mediocre at best last season. But one of the bright spots from last season for the Nittany Lions was the emergence of DaeSean Hamilton, who led the Big Ten with 82 receptions and was tops on the team with 899 receiving yards.

This year, Penn State returns quarterback Christian Hackenberg and what should be a much-improved offensive line—four starters are back. Hamilton has already cemented himself as a reliable intermediate-range target for Hackenberg, and now he’s looking to become more of a complete weapon in 2015.

“I want to be able to stretch the field vertically and be an all-around threat,” Hamilton told Dustin Hockensmith of PennLive.com. “I want to be the person to make that play, to have someone the offense can rely on when it needs to get going.”

Hackenberg should be able to stay upright more in 2015, and that means more big-play opportunities for Hamilton. He’ll have plenty of targets again this season while providing some much-needed explosion for an offense that lacked it behind a weak front five.

Let’s give some love to a Group of Five player on this list. Alan Cross is entering his fourth season as Memphis’ starting tight end, and he played a role in helping the Tigers flip from a three-win team in 2013 to a three-loss team in 2014.

Cross, a first team All-AAC selection last season, was tied for the team lead in touchdowns last season with four. He should get more chances to find the end zone this season for Memphis, as the Tigers return 6’7″ quarterback Paxton Lynch and four starting offensive linemen.

Predicting a breakout tight end is a challenge, as unsung players come out of nowhere to compete for the Mackey Award every season. But Cross has the experience, familiarity and chemistry in an offensive system that could do big things again this year.

Most importantly, Cross seems like a player who will do whatever it takes to help his team win—including headbutt teammates without a helmet on in order to fire them up. Cross did that last season at the Miami Beach Bowl, and he later scored a touchdown in the overtime win over BYU. Just give him the trophy now.

Virginia Tech’s defensive line is going to be ridiculous this season. A shining star of that unit will be Luther Maddy, a fifth-year senior defensive tackle with a strong resume as one of the nation’s best linemen.

Maddy has started games for the Hokies in four different seasons and is one of the most experienced players in all of the ACC. He was a leader for the defense in four games in 2014, but a knee injury and two surgeries sidelined him for the rest of the year.

As Andy Bitter of the Roanoke Times notes, Maddy is not just a “space-eater” as a 293-pound defensive tackle. He’ll open things up for talented defensive ends Dadi Nicolas and Ken Ekanem, but Maddy “doesn’t just fill gaps… he led the team in tackles for a loss (13.5) and sacks (6.5)” in 2013.

Offensive tackles have won the Outland Trophy in four of the last five seasons, but a truly dominant defensive tackle is a great choice to take home the award. If healthy, Maddy has already shown he can be the star of elite defensive lines just like the one the Hokies will have in Blacksburg this year.

While Stanford as a whole stumbled to an 8-5 record last season, Blake Martinez starred as a do-it-all linebacker for the third-best defense in the country. His all-around game makes him a dark horse for the Bednarik and Nagurski awards, which are given to the top defensive player in college football.

Martinez led the Cardinal with 101 tackles and three interceptions last season while also recording 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Now NFL teams are taking notice of his talents after a breakout 2014 campaign.

“The honorable mention All-Pac-12 honoree is tough between the tackles and reads routes well to anticipate throws,” Chad Reuter of NFL.com wrote. “Martinez is a solid player who will be tough to cut if he shows the athleticism to contribute on special teams and defense early in his NFL career.”

Now the senior will be the unquestioned leader of a Stanford defense that returns only three starters from last season. Martinez can fill up the stat sheet with a wide range of big plays, and if the Cardinal can reload and compete for the Pac-12 title again, he’ll definitely grab the attention of the voters.

In addition to Martinez, another top linebacker stands out in the West—Boise State junior Tanner Vallejo, who was a tackle machine for the Broncos in 2014 and the Defensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl victory over Arizona. Another great season of work could have Vallejo joining the race for the Butkus as the nation’s top linebacker.

Vallejo had 100 tackles last season, with a school linebacker-record 13.5 of them going for losses. The junior racked up those numbers as a weakside linebacker for Boise State, but now he’s moving to a more natural position in the middle of the defense.

“I felt good out there—back to normal,” Vallejo told Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman earlier this year. “I was starting to feel normal toward the end of the season playing (nickel). I’m back to my old ways.”

Now back at his old position, Vallejo will be even closer to the football in 2015 and has an incredible chance to improve on his standout 2015 season. If the veteran-laden Broncos make an undefeated run through the season, Vallejo should definitely get some buzz as one of the game’s best at his position.

The Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s best defensive back, already has a handful of top contenders heading into the 2015 season—Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves III, Virginia Tech’s Kendall Fuller and Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey.

But over in the Big Ten, Nebraska safety Nate Gerry is coming off of an incredible all-around season that may net him some more national attention this fall. Gerry excels at both stopping the run and defending the pass, coming down with five interceptions in 2014 to go along with his 88 tackles and two forced fumbles.

Gerry became a team captain this offseason and will look to benefit from a system change under Mike Riley’s new coaching staff in Lincoln. Defensive coordinator Mark Banker will look to unleash Gerry, an all-around force in the secondary, for a new-look group of Blackshirts.

“Last year we had a lot of people overthinking,” Gerry told Josh Harvey of Scout.com. “Mentally we weren’t as sharp as we were maybe supposed to be. But Banker is just letting us loose. As a defense, I think we’re really excited.”

One of the newest awards in college football, the Hornung Award is handed out to the most versatile players in college football. The Pac-12 is one of the top conferences to find contenders for the Hornung—Washington’s Shaq Thompson won it last season, and USC’s Adoree’ Jackson is perhaps the most talked-about three-way player in the country.

But take a look at Arizona State sophomore Kalen Ballage, a 6’3″ athlete for the experienced Sun Devils. He’s a bruising feature of a deep running back corps in Tempe, and he is the favorite to take over special teams duties after his clutch 96-yard kick return late in a Sun Bowl win over Duke.

According to ESPN.com’s Ted Miller, head coach Todd Graham has now listed Ballage as the second-team “Devil backer” on defense, a pass-rushing specialist known for tremendous speed and hard-hitting capabilities.

Ballage has all the tools to become a fantastic three-way player for Arizona State this fall. With 16 starters returning for 2015 and plenty of hype in the highly competitive Pac-12 South, Ballage should star on a team that will be in the spotlight week in and week out.

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.