L.g. Patterson / AP

Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel can make both short and deep throws because he can put the ball into any area no matter how tight it can be, writes columnist Bryan Burwell.

Bryan Burwell

You don’t win Heisman Trophies in September and October, but you sure can lose them in the early weeks of the college football season.

A series of impressive shows in the early weeks of the season immediately piques the interest of every voter who owns one of those valuable ballots for the Heisman, but it’s only a tease. We don’t make up our minds about who should win this early in the process. But one lousy game in October can wreck your chances in a heartbeat. Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel probably knows this better than anyone.

He sits on top of nearly every Heisman Trophy watch list as he enters Saturday night’s primetime showcase against Nebraska. So far, he has delivered spectacularly in his first four games. So now Daniel gets another chance to display his abilities before a nationally televised audience on ESPN, and if you haven’t seen enough of him to know how good he is, this will be the ideal opportunity to see one of the most accurate quarterbacks to have ever played college football.

The stats don’t lie when it comes to telling the story of how good Daniel has been at this level. The Tigers are the nation’s second-ranked unit in total offense (595.50 ypg), scoring offense (53.75 ppg) and passing offense (404.25 ypg), while Daniel now ranks fourth nationally in pass efficiency (193.39 season rating) and fourth in total offense (371.50 ypg).

Against Buffalo two weeks ago, Daniel finished with a career-high 439 yards in the air and completed 20 consecutive passes at one point, which broke the Big 12 Conference single-game record of 18, and was just three shy of the NCAA record for a game.

He finished that game completing 36 of 43 passes with two touchdowns and had three potential touchdowns taken away by three uncharacteristic fumbles from his receivers.

His teammates say they have all discussed the idea of playing the perfect game where the ball never touches the ground, they complete every pass thrown to them and get into the end zone on every possession. Daniel has already come close. He missed only one pass in a victory against Southeast Missouri State last month, and went on a three-game string where the first unit scored either a touchdown or field goal 15 consecutive times. They have compiled 14 touchdown drives lasting two minutes or less.

So how good is he really?

That depends on how you define “good.”

There’s no doubt when you see him play that he is one of the best passers college football has ever seen. He is accurate and bold and confident and he spreads that confidence to his teammates as one of those natural-born leaders we all wish were our teammates.

But NFL scouts still are divided on him. I have talked to plenty pro football talent evaluators about Daniel’s pro potential and the reviews are mixed. They all believe that he will be an NFL quarterback. It’s just hard to decide a consensus on what kind of quarterback that will be. Some think he’s the next Drew Brees, an undersized passer with great accuracy. Just as many think he’ll be an adequate backup who is a “system” quarterback. They have worries about his height, deep arm strength and unusual body type.

“I haven’t seen him up close in person, but he looks kind of chubby,” one scout told me. “That bothers me a lot.”

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I told the guy he needs to see Daniel up close and in person and he’d realize that Daniel isn’t chubby. He’s stocky and well put together. He’s a thick-necked fireplug, not some soft marshmallow.

Those who love him are intrigued by his accuracy, which is uncanny. That’s why I love him, too. Daniel can make both short and deep throws because he can put the ball into any area no matter how tight it can be. He has a ton of confidence in his receivers and his knowledge of them and his offense is one of his greatest assets. He will fling the ball toward them when they aren’t open because he not only knows that future NFL stars Jeremy Maclin and Chase Coffman know how to get separation from their defenders, but where and when that separation will occur.

But here’s what I love the most about Daniel: He’s incredibly football smart and understands what it takes to win games. Over the last week or so, he watched all the upsets happen in the top 10, and when saw some of his best friends like USC’s Mark Sanchez lose games, he picked up the phone to call them.

“You sort of pull from what they didn’t do. I just asked them, ‘How does it feel?’ " Daniel recalled earlier this week. “They said, ‘This is the worst feeling in the world. We don’t want to feel like this ever again. Don’t let your team do it.’ "

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