Michigan State Football: RG3 names Kenneth Walker III the Heisman favorite

Six games into the 2021 season, Michigan State football has a serious Heisman Trophy contender and Kenneth Walker III might just be the favorite to take home the coveted award.

When was the last time this happened?

You’d have to go all the way back to 2008 to see the last true Heisman contender for the Spartans as Javon Ringer had 897 yards and 12 touchdowns over the first five games before crawling to just over 1,600 yards on the year. He had four 100-plus yard performances in his first five games before finishing with just three more in the final seven, ending the year on a sour note.

Even more disappointing was the fact that he averaged just 4.2 yards per carry on the season. So he rushed for over 1,600 yards, but he needed a whopping 390 carries to get there.

There’s a different feeling to the starter of Walker III’s first season with the Spartans.

For the second time in the first six games, Walker III has rushed for over 200 yards, accounting for 232 yards and a touchdown against Rutgers in Week 6. After that performance, he’s at 912 yards and nine touchdowns on the year, leading all of college football.

And after this big game against Rutgers, which included a record-breaking 94-yard touchdown run, Walker III is the No. 1 Heisman candidate in the nation according to Robert Griffin III.

And I think RG3 knows a thing or two about what it takes to win a Heisman Trophy.

Michigan State football’s first-ever Heisman favorite?

Before the year, no one could have guessed that Walker III would be in front of the Heisman race six games into the season, but boy, are Spartan fans ever glad to be wrong.

The junior running back needs to probably average close to 150 yards over the final six games to ensure a Heisman Ceremony invitation and if he gets to 1,700 or 1,800 rushing yards on the year with 15-20 touchdowns and Michigan State finishes 9-3 or 10-2, he has a very good shot of becoming the school’s first-ever Heisman winner.