Boise State's next Heisman candidate is ...

The Heisman Trophy ceremony takes place this Saturday, and for the first time in nearly three years, a Boise State quarterback is nowhere near the discussion.

This is not Joe Southwick's fault as 122 of the 124 starting quarterbacks in the country are not in the Heisman discussion. But it does pose an interesting question: Who will be Boise State's next darkhorse Heisman candidate? Or, will there ever be another Boise State Heisman candidate?

For sure, Kellen Moore was around during a perfect storm of excellence, both in the way that he threw the ball and in the way that Boise State won games. Of the many different elements of his rise up the Heisman boards, some of the most important were that he was a four-year starter, he won a BCS bowl his sophomore season, he played quarterback, he played quarterback on one of the most prolific offenses in the country, he won almost every game he ever played. Can anyone catch lightning in a bottle like that again?

Among Boise State quarterbacks, Nick Patti is an option, but he's going to have to start making a Heisman name for himself in the very near future. If he builds up some cred and the Broncos dominate for a couple years in the Big East, maybe he'll be mentioned in 2016.

Jay Ajayi could work if he has a couple monster seasons along with a couple undefeated runs through the Big East. If Ajayi had 2,000 rushing yards and the Broncos were a Top Ten team, would Heisman voters be able to ignore that?

Or has Boise State's Heisman window closed for good?