Why Johnny Manziel will win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday

Who is going to win the Heisman Trophy? According to our experts, Texas A&M; quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Times national football columnist Chris Dufresne and UCLA reporter Chris Foster agreed during our live video chat held Thursday morning. You can watch a replay of the chat above.

From Dufresne: “He is going to be the first freshman to win the award. He had over 4,600 yards of total offense and beat Alabama on national TV. Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o ... people just aren’t ready to vote for a defensive player for the Heisman. Marqise Lee has got to be a front-runner next year.

From Foster: “Manziel will win it because he has the PR. He’s on TV, everyone is talking about him. Just like Robert Griffin III last year.

Dufresne: “It’s all timing. It’s about what you do and when you do it.”

As Dufresne wrote this week:

“Defense may win championships, but, in college, it always settles for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. A true defensive player again will be denied the Heisman, allegedly given to the nation’s most outstanding player.

“Cornerback Charles Woodson won for Michigan in 1997, but he also played receiver and returned kicks.

“The truth is, the Heisman skews heavily in favor of players who score touchdowns.

“When might a defense-only player win?

“ ‘I don’t think it will ever happen,’ Chris Huston, who operates HeismanPundit, said this week. ‘It’s not that voters don’t like defensive players. Football is not set up for them to make their cases. The less you touch the football, the harder it is to win the Heisman.’ ”