Ingram is also the last running back to win the award as the past five winners have been quarterbacks.
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Stanford standout running back Christian McCaffrey’s stellar season has earned him a trip to NY as one of three finalists for the Heisman Trophy alongside Alabama tailback Derrick Henry, and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. Another stat to note, Henry broke the great Herschel Walker’s record for single season SEC rushing yards. McCaffrey, the Cardinal’s versatile sophomore, rolled up 461 all-purpose yards in Stanford’s win in the Pac-12 championship game.
In his freshman season for Stanford, McCaffrey got a piece of humble pie, rushing for 300 yards and no touchdowns, and caught 17 balls for 251 yards and two touchdowns.
McCaffrey has 1,847 rushing yards with eight touchdowns on 5.8 yards per carry average. However, running the football isn’t McCaffrey’s only contribution to the team.
PRO PROSPECTS: A junior, Henry is widely regarded as the second-best running back who could be available in the 2016 draft behind Ohio States Ezekiel Elliott. He carried much of the offense during the Auburn and Florida games, recording a total of 460 yards and two touchdowns.
Watson has guided Clemson to a 13-0 record this season and is 17-1 as the Tigers’ starter over the last two seasons.
Even if I put my local biased aside, McCaffrey seems to be everything a college football player should be – everything.
“You win the Heisman in November, got to win 10 games”, Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com’s national college football reporter, said earlier this year. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said Watson would be a third-day pick if eligible this season and should see improvement with more time in college. He ranks No. 2 in combined passing/rushing yardage, No. 6 in yards per pass against FBS opponents, and No. 1 in adorable photos taken while acknowledging young fans of the other team during coin flips. Clemson has three wins over teams in the top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings (Notre Dame, Florida State and North Carolina), the only team in the country that can make that statement. He held a lead in ESPN’s Heisman Predictor for weeks, although Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey is now in front there after a dynamic performance in the Pac-12 title game.
The Heisman resumes of Henry, Watson and McCaffrey all have strengths and weaknesses.
The Heisman Trophy goes to the most outstanding college football player each year. He hit a November snag, starting with a 31-yard rushing outing against Alabama on Nov. 7 – a 30-16 loss that began the program’s first three-game losing skid since 1999.
Where would Henry be on your ballot if you were a Heisman voter?
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As for the three finalists, they all had remarkable seasons, making this the toughest Heisman victor to predict in several years.
