The biggest award of the college football season will be handed out this Saturday night in New York City.
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Henry, the presumptive favorite to win the Heisman, is Alabama’s fifth Heisman finalist in the last seven years, and the school’s seventh overall.
If the Heisman Trophy was awarded today, the victor should be Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, hands down. While McCaffrey may not have the types of numbers and records that Derrick Henry of Alabama does, his performance alone in Stanford’s 41-22 Pac-12 Championship game win over USC (8-5) made him a top Heisman candidate.
Watson threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for 131 yards and two scores to set ACC Championship records for total yards and touchdowns. They hit him hard the whole game; even the defensive backs came up and delivered some hard shots on him. Just know that the Heisman Committee doesn’t “snub” anyone as you might read.
As versatile as McCaffrey has been as the only FBS player since 1996 to compile 1,500 rushing, 500 receiving and 1,000 kickoff return yards in a single season, his TD total (13) is alarmingly low for someone wishing to win the Heisman.
People don’t always remember many years later who won an SEC title, but they always remember national titles.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Watson gives the Tigers an edge that no one else in college football has the best player in the country.
Henry broke Herschel Walker’s SEC record for rushing yards in a season, and McCaffrey shattered Barry Sanders’ all-purpose yards in a season. And he’s done all of this under two first-year co-offensive coordinators in Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott.
Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey (5) heads for the end zone for a touchdown on a 28-yard pass during the second half of a Pac-12 Conference championship.
Clemson QB Deshaun Watson was selected as a Heisman Trophy finalist on Monday.
If it was anyone other than Deshaun Watson making such a graceful and rapid transition from high school sensation to the best quarterback in college football, I wouldn’t believe it could be possible. He sat out last season after transferring to Oklahoma, where he has thrown for an average of 282.4 yards per game this season while completing 68.6 percent of his passes.
The Heisman selection show is certainly a gaudy, exasperating affair for viewers, but it means the world to the players selected to attend. “He has been the leader of the only undefeated team in college football in every way”.
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Watson jumped right up, handed the ball to the referee and ran back to an excited Gainesville sideline. But Henry played against more top 10 defenses (three) than Watson (one).
