STARKVILLE — Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill peeled to his left.

Taking a handoff from freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader just inside the Kentucky 16-yard line, Hill veered outside and down the sideline.

As a gaggle of Wildcat defenders bore down on the shifty Columbus native, Hill leapt up and over teammate Osirus Mitchell and Kentucky defensive back Cedrick Dort Jr. into the end zone for a touchdown.

“Kylin has done an unbelievable job with his preparation heading into the season both mentally and physically,” coach Joe Moorhead said Monday. “I think it’s as much mental as it is physical, where he can wear you down with his style of running, but a lot of that is the will to rather than the skill to.”

Just one of a handful of award-worthy plays Hill has made in the early stages of this season, it remains a touch preemptive for his recent run to be deemed Heisman-worthy, as the ever-growing conversation for college football’s most prestigious honor begins to heat up.

That said, with a third of the season over with, it’s worth examining whether he is a Heisman candidate at all.

Despite leading the SEC in rushing yards, rush attempts, average rush yards per game, and attempts per game, Hill has been noticeably absent from virtually all Heisman straw polls despite his recent success.

Last Monday, the Westgate Las Vegas revealed a list of 43 players it deemed candidates for the award. Hill wasn’t on it.

And while it’s admittedly early to crown a Heisman winner, it’s worth examining Hill’s case for the annual award based on past running backs who’ve done so.

Over the past 30 years, seven tailbacks have won the Heisman — USC’s Reggie Bush, Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne, Texas’ Ricky Williams, Ohio State’s Eddie George, Colorado’s Rashaan Salaam and Alabama’s Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram.

Of those, all seven rushed for at least 1600 yards, 16 touchdowns and recorded 200 or more attempts that season.

Through four games, Hill has been sensational. He currently ranks third in the country in rushing with 551 yards on just 91 carries, sitting behind only Colorado State running back Marvin Kinsey Jr. (556) and Oklahoma State tailback Chuba Hubbard (642).

In comparing Hill’s numbers to those who’ve come before him in the Heisman conversation, he projects for 1,791 yards, 16 touchdowns and 296 carries in a 13-game slate (assuming MSU makes a bowl) — putting him right at or above the average numbers of past winners.

More relevant, Hill is on pace to post better numbers than two of the three running backs who have won the award this century. If his stats hold to projection, Hill’s total rushing yardage and yards per game average would eclipse both Mark Ingram’s and Reggie Bush’s marks from their Heisman-winning seasons in 2009 and 2005, respectively.

And while projections are just that, a closer look at Hill’s first four games may offer a more accurate glimpse at where his numbers stack up.

In their initial four games, the seven past winners averaged 570 yards — 127.54 per game — eight touchdowns and 89 carries.

Of the recent winners, Henry, Ingram and Bush averaged 420 yards, six touchdowns and 61.67 carries over that span.

By contrast, Hill has totaled 551 yards, five touchdowns and 91 carries in games against Louisiana, Southern Miss, Kansas State and Kentucky — giving him higher marks than all of the past three winners.

“That’s amazing to me,” Hill said of being in the realm of Henry, Ingram and Bush. “That’s a true blessing. Big credit to the coaching staff for getting me prepared for this wonderful season that I’m having, but I’m not finished yet. I’ve got a long way to go to finish. Never know what might happen.”

Numbers aside, there’s a level of hierarchical bias to the Heisman voting.

Of the seven past winners, the average final AP Poll slot for their teams was 4.57. Further, only Texas finished worse than No. 6 during their player’s Heisman-winning year, as the Longhorns concluded the 1998 season ranked No. 15 in the nation.

Those teams also averaged 11.57 wins, and none lost more than three games.

As it relates to Hill, MSU’s best ever finish in the AP Poll came in 1940 when the Bulldogs were ranked No. 9 after Allyn McKeen guided the program to its first ever postseason victory in the Orange Bowl.

In the 78 seasons since that win, the Bulldogs have finished better than 15th once: 2014, when Dak Prescott led MSU to its first ever No. 1 ranking before dropping three of its final four games to close the season at No. 11.

MSU has also reached the 10-win plateau just three times — 1940, 1999 and 2014 — meaning the Bulldogs would have to post the best record in program history for Hill to have a shot at the award.

At 3-1, the Bulldogs head into their first true road test of the season against No. 7 Auburn. The Tigers enter the contest with the nation’s 20th best rush defense, allowing just 89.5 yards per game on the ground.

Should Hill continue his recent tear and MSU spring an upset Saturday in a place it has won just twice since 2001, he could find himself in the early-season Heisman conversation. But as was the case for his diving touchdown in last Saturday’s win over Kentucky, it’s still way too early for a Heisman moment, let alone a winner.

“He is probably going to have to put up ungodly numbers to actually have any legit shot,” one anonymous Heisman voter told The Dispatch. “But to be mentioned among the candidates for the Heisman Trophy, all he’s got to do is keep doing what he’s doing.”

Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.