Will Watson win the Heisman this year?
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Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson holds a football as coach Dabo Swinney celebrates after Clemson defeated North Carolina 45-37 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game in Charlotte, N.C., early…
He also saved his best for last, accumulating 461 all-purpose yards in Stanford’s 41-22 win over USC for the Pac-12 title. That big-game ability, coupled with bad games by Leonard Fournette and Ezekiel Elliott, helped Henry ascend to a Heisman favorite.
Alabama running back Derrick Henry, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson were named the three finalists for the Heisman Trophy on Monday. All three play on conference-winning teams, two of which were selected for the College Football Playoff, and all three have been consistent playmakers throughout the season.
With the Rose Bowl against Iowa still to come on New Year’s Day, McCaffrey is second to Oregon’s Royce Freeman in the Pac-12 rushing race by the thinnest of margins.
The 2014 victor of the Heisman was OR quarterback Marcus Mariota. The pure sophomore is from Gainesville, GA. He carried much of the offense during the Auburn and Florida games, recording a total of 460 yards and two touchdowns.
The native of Gainesville, Ga. has completed 287 of 413 passes for 3,512 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also ran for 887 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he’s also a sophomore. His 4,399 yards of total offense ranks fourth in the nation.
It’s an impressive resume, one that Clemson took pretty literally.
I can’t remember how many times Watson hurdled a defender in the open field, but it was at least twice his senior season.
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. He previously won the award in 2011 and 2012.
Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey runs for a first down against Cal in the first quarter of the Big Game at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015.
Watson always felt that if he played solidly and the team was successful, individual honors would follow. He rushed for 207 yards, had 105 yards receiving and tallied 120 on kickoff returns and 29 on punt returns.
When you break a record the great Barry Sanders set, you’ve done something.
Those wild first two months had draft experts like Mel Kiper Jr. saying Fournette would be the No. 1 pick in the 2016 National Football League draft if he were eligible.
From that vote, you get your three or four or maybe five finalists, and have a re-vote due the same time the Heisman vote is due now.
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Several Stanford football players watched TV in their locker room Monday as the three finalists for the Heisman Trophy were announced.
