Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton and Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor are similar in size but different in style. Eight games into the season, only one of them is the clear Heisman favorite.
Sharing many of the same physical gifts as Terrelle Pryor, Auburn's Cameron Newton is excelling in the spread attack for the undefeated Tigers this season.• Previewing the upcoming week in college football
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- He's may be 15 pounds heavier and 670 miles south of the original focus.
Otherwise, the preseason Heisman hype was right -- dynamic dual-threat quarterback, highlight machine, former big-time recruit, leader of an undefeated team.
It's not Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor who has the race in the palm of his hands, it's Auburn's Cameron Newton.
Pryor said after Saturday's 49-0 win over Purdue that he sees the similarities, but then he talked about the differences.
"His offense is more like a spread-type offense," Pryor said. "So he doesn't run anything like the pro-style offense. We're under center a lot, like probably 70 or 80 percent of my throws are under center. He's out of the shotgun a lot and he can really display his talents. He's a great athlete."
Newton, who is listed at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds but may be bigger according to those who cover the team, ran for 217 yards in Saturday's win over Kentucky, making him one of four quarterbacks in the country to hit the 200-yard mark this season.
Pryor, at 6-6 and 239 pounds, said the Buckeyes didn't run him much as part of their Purdue plan. Plus, Pryor's only real action came in the first half.
"We didn't really call a lot of run plays, I guess we didn't have to," Pryor said. "I wanted to get out and run a little bit but I got my number called twice."
So while 12 quarterbacks rank among the top 100 rushers in the country, Pryor isn't one of them. He said before this season he'd like to run for 1,000 yards, but with 408 so far, he's on pace for fewer than 700. Meanwhile Newton is already at 1,077, breaking the SEC single-season record for quarterback rushing yards, set by Auburn's Jimmy Sidle in 1963.
Pryor didn't want to be Newton or Michigan's Denard Robinson. He chose Ohio State in part because of it's pro-style offense, and he has improved as a passer this season. Pryor wasn't at his best when the Buckeye needed him at Wisconsin, but he's had a solid year and looked very comfortable in the passing game through the first six weeks.
Pryor continues to be as dangerous as any quarterback in the country when he scrambles, but he's not as decisive or explosive as some others on planned runs. And that's fine. It's just intriguing to watch Newton explode.
In preseason odds provided by Pregame.com, Pryor was the second choice at 5-1, behind returning Heisman winner Mark Ingram of Alabama. Newton wasn't on anyone's board. The only reference to him I could find while looking back at the preseason picks was on the respected site HeismanPundit.com, which listed Newton as a darkhorse -- for the 2011 Heisman. That's right, next year.
But looking further back, this isn't a shock. While Pryor was the consensus No. 1 player the 2008 recruiting class, Newton was ranked No. 28 by Rivals.com in 2007. But he went to Florida, redshirted, transferred, went to junior college last season, and then arrived at Auburn to an offense perfectly suited to him.
Now he's averaging 20 rushes a game for 135 yards, while his average passing game is 11 of 17 for 171 yards. He's thrown 13 touchdowns against five interceptions and run for 14 scores.
Pryor is averaging 10 rushes a game for 51 yards, while his average passing game is 17-of-25 for 222 yards. He's thrown 18 touchdowns against six interceptions and run for three scores.
As Pryor said, they're similar players and very different players. And only one of them, two months into the season, is the clear Heisman favorite.