You Know Who Won the Heisman: Here’s Why

Heisman Trophy – the Finalists

1. Derrick Henry RB Alabama – After the Ole Miss loss, Alabama stood at the crossroads. Lane
Kiffin, the QB Svengali, couldn’t put enough “lipstick on the pigs” that were Jacob Coker and Cooper
Bateman. Kenyon Drake, a good receiving running back, couldn’t step into the dual RB mode of Trent/Yeldon and Yeldon/Derrick Henry before them. Kiffin and Saban essentially punted the offense
that had worked for both.

No more rotation, passes that went 5 yards beyond the line until late in games when teams came down in the box and hand the ball to Henry 30+ up to 40+ times per game to control down and distance. This doesn’t work if Henry doesn’t average around 6 yards per carry and is able to handle the volume. He’s not the best player of the Saban years at Alabama but he might be the most important in any one year. He leads the major candidates in both rushing and touchdowns (1986 yards/23 TDs).

2. Deshaun Watson QB Clemson – In most years, Watson wins the trophy. He’s an elite QB on the number one team in the country. He beats teams with his accurate arm and agile legs, once he was 100% healthy. Clemson’s defense has been spotty at times, especially with leads, but Watson has calmly carried the team when he has had too.

3. Christian McCaffrey RB Stanford – He just set the all-time record for yards from scrimmage. He’s Stanford’s best: RB, WR, KR and PR.  Heck, he’s might be their best QB or punter for all we know.  He’s a shifty back with great speed, acceleration and more power than you’d expect. In most years, McCaffrey like Watson, wins the trophy. (1847 yards rushing with over 3000 all-purpose yards).  He broke Barry Sanders record for yards from scrimmage, in 2 more games admittedly, but that’s usually more than enough to secure the “Stiff-Armed Statue.”  Henry’s dominance in nationally broadcast SEC games clearly left a deep impression.

4. Dalvin Cook (1658 yards & 18 TDs) and Leonard Fournette (1741 yards & 18 TDs) – Grouped together are two dominant backs both forced to carry offenses, Fournette and Dalvin Cook, like Henry, that have precious little to offer at QB.  Cook has the best pure running skills (footwork, vision, speed, acceleration) in the nation and Fournette has an insane size/speed ratio and was about 40% of the LSU offense. The also rans: Ezekiel Elliott, Royce Freeman & Tyler Matakevich would have been worthy finalist as well and make my Honorable Mention