A handful of familiar faces could make this a Heisman race for the ages.Four, count `em, four of the top six finishers from last years Heisman Trophy voting are back for another season. Clemsons prolific quarterback Deshaun Watson is among them, along with a trio of stars that includes Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and LSU running back Leonard Fournette.The scrutiny and hype for the foursome will be intense from day one. Watson says it comes with the territory of being one of the nations top players.Thats something I already knew before, Watson said. Im a confident player and I expect to be in this position. Thats why I work, thats why I grind.Though its uncommon for so much Heisman-caliber talent to return for another season, its not unprecedented.A recent example is 2011, when Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Oregon running back LaMichael James, Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon and Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson returned after finishing two through six in the voting behind Auburns Cam Newton in 2010.Interestingly, none of them won. Instead, it was Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III who came out of nowhere to take home the trophy. Luck was the runner-up for a second straight season.Watson, who helped lead Clemson to the College Football Playoff title game before a loss to Alabama, finished third in the voting in 2015 behind Alabamas Derrick Henry and McCaffrey.Clemsons team success was one big reason Watson was in the Heisman mix. The quarterback said any of his individual accomplishments will be directly tied to what the Tigers do this fall.I wouldnt be in this position without the coaching staff and my players, the offensive line and the skill guys that make me look good, Watson said. So I give them all the credit.McCaffrey is an obvious Heisman front-runner since he was second last season. The 6-foot, 200-pound junior broke the NCAA single-season record with 3,864 all-purpose yards in 2015.Stanford coach David Shaw said to expect more of the same this season with McCaffrey being a threat in the running game, passing game and on special teams.I think when you have a great player, the last thing you want to do is pump the brakes, Shaw said last month. You want to push the accelerator.A little more on the early favorites:FOURNETTE: LSUs bruising runner was probably the favorite to win the Heisman midway through last season before his production slipped in the final month. The 6-1, 230-pound junior still finished with 1,953 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns. The Tigers return a talented team, and likely will play several high-profile games that can showcase his talent to a national audience. It remains to be seen if LSUs passing game will be good enough to take some of the load off Fournette.MAYFIELD: The 6-1, 210-pound Mayfield started as a walk-on at Texas Tech before transferring to the Sooners. After sitting out a season because of NCAA transfer rules, he won the starting job last fall and completed more than 68 percent of his passes for 3,700 yards, 36 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.MCCAFFREY: The Stanford star had one of the best overall seasons in college football history in 2015, finishing with 2,019 yards rushing, 1,070 yards on kick returns, 645 yards receiving and 130 yards on punt returns. He even threw two touchdown passes. McCaffrey might be hard-pressed to match those numbers, but another big season is certainly expected.WATSON: The 6-2, 210-pound junior was fantastic as the Tigers made it to the national title game. He completed nearly 68 percent of his passes for 4,104 yards, 35 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while also running for 1,105 yards and 12 touchdowns. Clemson is loaded again and is expected to have a great shot at winning the ACC and making it to the College Football Playoff again.KEEP AN EYE ON: Florida State running back Dalvin Cook finished with 1,691 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns while averaging 7.4 yards per carry last season. ... Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett had to split time under center last season with Cardale Jones, but now the position appears to be his. The 6-2, 222-pounder completed 63.3 percent of his throws last season while throwing for 11 touchdowns and running for 11 more. He was 5th in the Heisman balloting in 2014. ... Mississippi quarterback Chad Kelly, the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, threw for 4,042 yards last season, including 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last year.-----AP Sports Writer Pete Iacobelli contributed to this story.-----AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Rickard Rakell Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. John Gibson Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. https://www.cheapducks.com/657c-sam-carrick-jersey-ducks.html . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. George Parros Jersey . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Andrew Cogliano Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. NEW YORK -- A streak or two of celebration whipped cream was still stuck in Brandon Nimmos hairline as he peeled off his baseball socks in the clubhouse Thursday night.Plenty of time to clean up, the Mets rookie figured. For now, he just wanted to hang onto this feeling.Yoenis Cespedes socked a colossal home run , Jeurys Familia pitched out of a huge jam in the ninth inning and Nimmo keyed a three-run rally in the seventh that sent New York past the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in their first meeting since last years NL Championship Series.Im just ecstatic, Nimmo said after his first big league home game. Im just overjoyed and so thankful right now.Chicago put runners on second and third with no outs against Familia, who got two strikeouts and a bases-loaded popup for his 27th save, most in the majors.He screamed and pumped his arms repeatedly after Javier Baez popped up to end it.I think our last three at-bats were a little bit too anxious, said Kris Bryant, who fanned for the first out in the ninth. But hes supposed to do that. Thats why hes the closer on their team.Baezs throwing error at second base allowed Nimmo to score the go-ahead run, and the Mets overcame a 3-0 deficit to stop their four-game slide.New York, which swept Chicago last October to reach the World Series, had lost nine straight regular-season games to the Cubs dating to August 2014.We made one mistake on defense, but otherwise it was a pretty good game of baseball, Chicago manager Joe Maddon said.Bryant hit a two-run homer for the major league-best Cubs. Baez added a solo shot off rookie Steven Matz before a scuffling Mets lineup finally pushed back in the opener of a four-game series between banged-up teams.Cespedes launched a solo drive off John Lackey in the sixth that soared into the third deck in left field, two or three rows deep. The ball came off the bat at 110 mph and would have traveled 441 feet unimpeded, according to MLBs Statcast. ESPN Stats & Info had it at 466 feet.Either way, it was thought to be the first home run to reach the third deck at Citi Field, which opened in 2009.Thats not unfamiliar territory to Cespedes, though. He sent several shots up there three years ago -- while winning the All-Star Home Run Derby.I think it woke us. I really do, Mets manager Terry Collins said. He hadnt hit one in a while and that was a big one. I really think that got the guys energized.Travis dArnaud singled with one out in the sseventh, chasing Lackey.dddddddddddd Joel Peralta (0-1) walked slumping pinch-hitter Alejandro De Aza before Nimmo, starting for injured outfielder Curtis Granderson, singled on the ninth pitch of a gritty at-bat for his first career RBI.Thats a big league at-bat for the kid, teammate Neil Walker said. Those are the at-bats that give you confidence, especially as a young guy. So I cant say enough about how he grinded through that and how big a hit that was.The throw to third allowed Nimmo to reach second, and the Mets had two runners in scoring position. With the Cubs playing their infield in, Walker hit an RBI chopper toward the middle against reliever Pedro Strop.Figuring he had no play at the plate, Baez threw to third in an attempt to get Nimmo. But the wide throw ticked off Bryants glove and rolled into foul territory, letting Nimmo cross the plate with a big smile on his face.He was definitely a sparkplug for us today, Walker said. This is how we have to grind right now.Erik Goeddel (1-0) struck out two in 1 2/3 hitless innings for the win.Getting beats one thing. When you feel like you kind of gave one away, let one go, thats a different kind of loss, Lackey said.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: RF Jason Heyward was rested against the left-hander with Chicago in the middle of playing 24 straight days. He has a little soreness on his left side but certainly could have started, Maddon said. Heyward pinch-hit in the eighth and shattered his bat on a weak grounder back to the mound against lefty Jerry Blevins, stranding two runners.Mets: Granderson was out of the lineup again after an MRI revealed a mild strain of his right calf, general manager Sandy Alderson said. Granderson was unavailable off the bench and is expected to miss at least a couple of games. A reinforcement could arrive Friday in Gold Glove outfielder Juan Lagares (sprained left thumb), nearly ready to come off the 15-day DL. Lagares played his third rehab game with Double-A Binghamton on Thursday night.UP NEXTCubs RHP Jason Hammel (7-4, 2.58 ERA) starts Friday night against RHP Jacob deGrom (3-4, 2.67), who won Game 3 of the NLCS last year at Wrigley Field. The 2015 All-Star is 0-4 in 10 starts since beating San Francisco on April 30. Chicago has lost Hammels last four outings after going 9-2 in his first 11. ' ' '