My Take: The Heisman ballot
Not to take anything away from DeVonta Smith, but the Heisman voting process needs to be amended.
And I thought Top 25 voting this season was difficult.
Narrowing down a Heisman Trophy ballot was a tortuous ordeal this season, not that it wasn’t satisfying to reach the end and have the good folks with Deloitte (who tabulate the votes) congratulate “Connor O’Neill” for voting.
I don’t think there was much statistical separation between the four finalists, who were also the four main candidates in my mind. DeVonta Smith probably had the best stats; Trevor Lawrence might have had the “worst.” Lawrence also missed two games with COVID-19 and played one full game out of nine for which he was healthy.
Players shouldn’t be penalized for being taken out of blowouts.
Also: Players — quarterbacks in particular — should be lauded for lifting inexperienced teammates around them.
Can you name one Clemson receiver this season. I’ll give you Amari Rodgers. Can you name another one?
Lawrence had Clemson’s worst offensive line in five years in front of him and turned himself into a running threat. He had inexperienced receivers and Travis Etienne’s worst season in three years.
Now define the qualifications to win the Heisman:
“The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. The winners of the trophy epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work.”
Ignore the Oxford comma and tell me that Lawrence isn’t the perfect representation of those things.
So without further ado, my ballot was:
1. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
2. Kyle Trask, Florida
3. DeVonta Smith, Alabama
In the event that you missed the announcement Tuesday night, the actual winner was DeVonta Smith.
I’m honestly not sure there is a right or wrong order here. Maybe the only certain thing is that Smith had to be in your top three. I’m not sure how anybody could’ve watched Alabama this season and not come away from it thinking he was the most-dynamic player on the field.
But if you put enough weight on quarterbacks in football, I can see how you’d wind up voting for all three QBs and leaving Smith out.
What I do know is that the voting system is flawed and this season highlights that more than any other — at least, that I can remember.
I don’t understand why college football’s top individual honor is a regular-season award. I mean, I get part of it. I get that the bowl results and individual performances in them outside of the CFP games can all be next-to-meaningless.
But we’ve had seven seasons with the College Football Playoff and only Lamar Jackson won the Heisman without his team being in the final four — and that was the year it would’ve gone to Deshaun Watson if voting had occurred after he beat Alabama in the national championship.
The guys being considered for the Heisman are going to be playing one or two games after the award is given in normal years.
If votes were submitted after the CFP semifinals, my ballot would’ve been:
1. DeVonta Smith, Alabama
2. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
3. Kyle Trask, Florida
I’m glad to see the award go to a non-quarterback – it’s definitely felt like it was morphing into a QB-only award. Maybe in the next five years we’ll see a … gasp … defensive player win it.
It was fantasy to think a player like Zaven Collins, the linebacker from Tulsa, would be considered for the award. He’s been the most-versatile and complete defender in the country this season … and didn’t finish in the top 10 for voting.
The last non-QB to win the award was Derrick Henry for the 2015 season. The last time the winner wasn’t a QB or an Alabama skill player was Reggie Bush in 2005 (Mark Ingram won in 2009).
It wasn’t until pre-writing this thing this afternoon that I went back and looked at last year’s column I wrote about my vote — and my God, what a simpler time and easier vote — and chuckled at the last two lines. After I made the point that the offseason/preseason favorite never wins and to think of off-the-grid candidates, I ended with:
Eh, on second thought …
Forget all that. Give me Trevor Lawrence next season.
So, almost.
And if you want a futures pick?
It’s been a whole two seasons without an Oklahoma QB winning it. Spencer Rattler will end that next season.
4 good players. Hard for me to separate them.
Trevor has earned it!