1. Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M

Reigning Heisman trophy winner and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is well on his way to defending his throne after a dazzling first month in the 2013 college football season. Through five games, Johnny Football has thrown for 1489 yards and 14 touchdowns while connecting on 71 percent of his attempts for the Aggies. Manziel has also made an impact with his legs, rushing for 314 yards and three touchdowns.

With the college football season on the horizon, it's time to take a look at the talented student athletes most likely to contend for the prestigious Heisman trophy award in 2013. CLA expects a wide open race with many worthy competitors.

Johnny Manziel QB / Texas A&M

The Opening: 7on7 Pool Play

The 18 quarterbacks competing for the top prize at the Elite 11 finally got the opportunity to display their abilities in competitive play as 7ON pool play at The Opening kicked off Tuesday afternoon.

Heading into the day, Purdue commit David Blough ranked first in the Elite 11 standings and was placed on Team Superbad along with quarterbacks Stephen Collier and David Cornwell. Joining the signal callers on Superbad are SPARQ champion Speedy Noil, speedster Johnnie Dixon, Jalen Tabor, recent Cal commit Jaleel Wadood and many more D1 bound ballers.

Day Two of The Opening at Nike headquarters in Beaverton began with the Lineman Challenge featuring the best offensive and defensive lineman in the country. The game of football is usually won in the trenches and this year's crop of linemen are loaded with talent.

The most impressive performer on either side of the ball was St. John Bosco (CA) offensive lineman Damien Mama. The big man beasted in 1on1 drills against quality competition.

ESPN's recruiting guru Tom Luginbill put it best, "He was as advertised. In a drill rigged for the defense to win, he was still dominant."

Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 235 lbs., the Miami Northwestern defensive end Michael Smith is beginning to stand out. The Class of 2014 player took to the NFTC in Miami and showed great explosion off of the line of scrimmage and it is easy to see that teams are taking notice with a solid list of offers already.

Smith boasts offers from Louisville, Clemson, West Virginia, South Florida, Cincinnati, UCLA and Marshall, but he's receiving big time interest as well. "Miami (Fl.), Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas and Yale are showing interest too."