Heisman quarterly report: Trinidad Chambliss remains in lead, but Florida running back could soon catch up

Through three games, Chambliss leads the SEC in completions (77), attempts (110) and passing yards (924) while throwing seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Not even a month into the season, he's set a high bar for others to meet.

Finalists: Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh • Miami Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah • Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith

Are the Gators back? They're starting to look like early in head coach Jon Sumrall's first season. After Saturday's 44-39 win at Auburn, Florida is 3-0 for the first time since 2019, when it finished 11-2. Baugh had another monster game to bolster his status as arguably the best running back in college football.

He had a season-high 26 carries for 162 yards and three touchdowns, including a 53-yarder on 4th-and-1 in a 10-point game early in the fourth quarter. 

During Florida's 3-0 start, Baugh has an SEC-leading 458 rushing yards on 54 carries (8.5 yards per attempt) and eight touchdowns, turning Week 4's home showdown against Ole Miss into a must-watch game between two of the season's early leading Heisman candidates. With another huge game, Baugh might leave The Swamp in pole position.

Mensah is having one of the most remarkable starts to a season we can remember. In three games, he has more passing touchdowns (11) than incompletions (eight), going 71-of-79 (89.9 percent) for 873 yards. A cupcake schedule has certainly helped, and without a challenging game until an early November trip to No. 3 Notre Dame, Mensah should continue compiling gaudy stats over his next five games.

Smith continued a remarkable junior season on Saturday, giving him 400 receiving yards a quarter of the way through the regular season, putting him on a 1,600-yard pace. DeVonta Smith, the last exclusive wide receiver to win the Heisman, entered the 2020 ceremony with 1,511 receiving yards. While he only played 11 games before picking up the hardware due to a pandemic-shortened schedule, the two are on a comparable yards-per-game track, with DeVonta (137.4 yards per game) only slightly outpacing Jeremiah (133.3 yards per game).

Dark horse: Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton

No team has been more dominant to start the season than No. 2 Georgia. It's outscored its first three opponents by an average of 46 points per game, the largest margin in FBS, to once again look like a bona fide national title contender.

The offense, led by Stockton, has been explosive, scoring 178 points. ESPN Insights says it is the third most by an SEC team through three games in conference history and Georgia's most since 1913.

In Saturday's 45-17 win over Arkansas, the senior quarterback was a remarkably efficient 10-of-13 for 147 yards and one touchdown while adding a career-high 97 rushing yards on seven carries.

He showed off his wheels on a 62-yard designed QB run, then perfectly dropped a ball in place for freshman wideout Craig Dandridge on a 61-yard touchdown to give Georgia a commanding 38-3 lead.

Like Mensah, Stockton has more touchdown passes (nine) than incompletions (seven), showing a level of command that's impossible to ignore. It could be enough to eventually crash the Heisman ceremony.