Those are the only Clemson players to finish in the top 10 of the Heisman voting since the award began in 1935. The three finalists are Clemson QB, Deshaun Watson, Alabama RB, Derrick Henry and Stanford RB, Christian McCaffrey.
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Clemson and Alabama are ranked first and second in the College Football Playoff standings.
McCaffrey has flown under the radar while leading the Cardinal to an 11-2 record and the Pac-12 conference title.
The victor of the 2015 Heisman Trophy will be announced in New York City on Saturday, December 12th on ESPN. The pure sophomore is from Gainesville, GA. He may not have accrued more yardage or touchdowns than the other two, though a quarterback like Watson has an inherent advantage in always having the ball in his hands, but he definitely put them in positions to win every 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. His season boasted a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 96-yard kickoff return to arrange another touchdown.
Watson is fourth nationally in total offense with 4,399 yards, which is more than in-state rival SC had as a team.
That’s the amount of time that elapsed from Deshaun Watson’s final pass for Gainesville High in the 2013 state semifinals until he was named a 2015 Heisman Trophy finalist on Monday.
Henry continued to simply dominate the SEC following the win over the Tigers, racking up a total of 1,986 yards and 23 touchdowns on 339 total carries on the season, all while breaking the SEC rushing record set by Georgia’s Herschel Walker in 1981 (1,891 yards).
Alabama’s Mark Ingram was the last running back – and only Crimson Tide player – to win the Heisman Trophy when he did so in 2009.
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.
McCaffrey, the son of former Broncos receiver and current Broncos radio analyst Ed McCaffrey, ran for 300 yards last season, but he came into the national spotlight this season by finishing with 1,847 rushing yards and 540 receiving yards. Showing his versatility, he also amasses 1,109 yards on kick and punt returns. McCaffrey, however, boasts the most impressive stat line of any player in the country this season and broke Barry Sanders’ record for all-purpose yards gained in a single season on Saturday. In fact, two of the three finalists are running backs, the other being Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey. Plunkett was the first player selected in the 1971 NFL Draft.
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Louisiana State running back Leonard Fournette, who just weeks ago was considered by some experts as a shoe-in to win the award, will not be a finalist in NY – nor will Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield.
