It looked like the SEC was about to claim its first Heisman Trophy since 2015. That, however, didn’t happen.

Tua Tagovailoa will be the overwhelming favorite to win the 2019 award, though he’s not the only SEC player who figures to be part of the mix.

Keep in mind that we don’t know all of the early 2019 NFL Draft decisions, so I did some forecasting (my guess is that guys like Benny Snell and Trayveon Williams won’t be back).

Here are the SEC’s top 5 Heisman candidates for next year:

1. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

Hey, just because it’s obvious doesn’t mean it’s not true. For my money, he should have won the award this year. There’s no doubt that barring injury, Tagovailoa will be the overwhelming favorite to win the honor next year.

Will it be more difficult for him to get back to New York? Absolutely. There’s a book on him now. It’s really not all that complicated. Have an elite front seven and get hits on him. That, however, doesn’t mean Tagovailoa will be contained throughout his junior season.

With the NFL Draft talk ahead after Tagovailoa’s junior season, he’ll be such a massive household name that the skeptics will be out in full force. That’s what happens when guys enter a season on a pedestal. There’s a reason that we’ve only had one repeat winner of the award. Tagovailoa obviously didn’t win it, but he’ll probably get more attention than most Heisman winners who return the following season.

Tua-mania is nowhere near over.

2. Jerry Jeudy, Alabama

And what about the guy Tagovailoa is throwing all of those touchdown passes to? Jeudy had an All-American season catching passes from the southpaw. Even with all of Alabama’s weapons, Jeudy figures to be a candidate to improve on his production. Remember that this was essentially his first full season as a fixture in the Alabama passing game.

Physically, Jeudy isn’t Amari Cooper, Julio Jones or Calvin Ridley. Jeudy is more of a burner, and I’d argue that he’s even more devastating in space. And Jeudy might not be the route-runner that those Nick Saban-era Alabama receivers were (yet), but consider this: Jeudy had a better sophomore season than all of them.

Oh, and this seems significant.

In 13 games, Jeudy has 1,103 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns (and counting). The connection that he and Tagovailoa have — especially on deep balls — will again make Jeudy a big play waiting to happen.

But let’s be honest. Jeudy is a more likely candidate to get to New York than he is to win it, considering the only 3 receivers to win the award played a major part in either special teams, or they received somewhat regular carries as a tailback. It would take something absurd like 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns — both would be SEC records — for that to happen.

3. D’Andre Swift, Georgia

Swift would have at least been in the Heisman conversation in 2018 had he not gotten off to such a slow start. Post-LSU Swift is as dangerous of a player as there is in the country. That cut is an ankle-breaker if I’ve ever seen one.

Yes, that Georgia backfield is crowded. It’ll be even more loaded if fellow 1,000-yard rusher Elijah Holyfield comes back. We know that Zamir White has Georgia fans excited for his debut, as well. It’s not likely that Swift even gets 75 percent of those carries next year.

But with what he does in the passing game coupled with his knack for hitting the home run play, Swift will have a better chance of getting to New York if he’s healthy for the whole season.

4. Jake Fromm, Georgia

Sorry, Justin Fields fans. Fromm is going to be the unquestioned starter coming into next year after taking his game to the next level in 2018. Only Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray had better quarterback ratings than Fromm in 2018. That’s not what game managers do.

Fromm will be one of the preseason favorites to win the award heading into his third season as a starter, and in a weird way, I’d argue that he actually has a better chance of improving his numbers than Tagovailoa. Jim Chaney is going to continue to give him more opportunities in this offense, which is why it wouldn’t surprise me if Fromm had one of those 35-touchdown, 3,000-yard seasons.

Would that have beaten Murray or Tagovailoa this year? No, but if Fromm is leading Georgia into the Playoff and Tagovailoa doesn’t match his 2018 efficiency, there could certainly be a case to be made.

Perhaps the only thing that could hold Fromm back is the urgency to make Fields more of a fixture in the offense. The Georgia staff wants to keep the former 5-star recruit happy, even if it means potentially dipping into some of Fromm’s production.

5. Jalen Hurts, Alabama

I realize that Hurts staying at Alabama and winning the Heisman is entirely dependent on a Tagovailoa injury. I don’t think Hurts stays at Alabama, so let’s pretend we’re talking about him playing in a new offense. And given the new lack of restrictions on grad transfers staying in the SEC, I think there’s a fairly decent chance he stays in conference.

Auburn? Florida? Mississippi State? I wouldn’t rule them out. The idea of Hurts staying in the SEC and potentially getting an Alabama reunion is super intriguing, but keep in mind that Hurts isn’t going somewhere to just run the ball and not show off his arm. His next move will be about about trying to look like an NFL quarterback. That’s probably not great news for Auburn.

Still, Hurts is someone who’s already a household name, and in a much smaller sample size he’s actually been really solid in 2018. He completed 75 percent of his passes for 11.3 yards per attempt. We saw that improvement on display with the SEC Championship on the line.

What if that’s just who Hurts is as a player now?

Sign me up for a world in which Hurts and Tagovailoa go from sharing a quarterback room to sharing a Heisman ceremony.