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Watson falls short in Heisman bid

Alabama running back Derrick Henry, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson are the three finalists for this year’s award.

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Henry becomes the first running back to win it since Ingram in 2009. He narrowly beat out Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson for the award. Mccaffery has also account for fifteen touchdowns this season (two passing, eight rushing, four receiving, 1 return).

Derrick Henry swept the College Football Awards on Thursday night and continued his winning ways tonight when he was announced as the victor of the 81st Heisman Trophy.

In seven games against top-25 teams, Henry ran for 1,261 yards and 13 touchdowns on 198 carries for a 180.1 yard per game average.

Henry, who admitted he was nervous before the ceremony, delivered a seven-minute speech in which he thanked everyone from his family to Scott Cochran.

The junior has a long list of accomplishments in 2015 including a first team All-American selection by the Walter Camp Foundation and USA Today, 2015 SEC Offensive Player of the Year and first team All-SEC by the conference’s head coaches. That is the new single season record for the SEC. McCaffrey finished second in all regions except the one he won and the mid-Atlantic, where Clemson’s Watson was second. “His 6’3”, 242-pound frame would total a whopping 90 carries in those final two games to lead Alabama into the College Football Playoff.

Henry’s dominance on the ground seemed more convincing than McCaffrey’s breaking Barry Sanders’ 27-year record in all-purpose yards or Watson’s impressive showing of 41 touchdowns. Leonard Fournette, RB LSU: 1st 10, 2nd 25, 3rd 30, TOTAL 110 7. Henry excelled that month, rushing for 200 or more yards in three of four games.

“Looking at the stats, Christian McCaffrey should win this thing”, said Brian Bonn, who taught McCaffrey at Valor Christian and also shot many of his high school highlights for Valor Sports Network. The versatility of McCaffrey is what makes him such a rare player, and the criteria of “outstanding player” is clearly why he is in the conversation.

Henry snapped a streak of five-straight years that saw a quarterback take home college football’s most-storied award.

Mayfield put together a great season, but I had a hard time putting Mayfield’s name on my ballot.

He is a running back in the same way James Bond is a civil servant.

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Seniors have won 56 Heisman trophies, but this will be the ninth consecutive season with a non-senior victor – the last was Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith in 2006 – and everything is lined up for 2016 to be more of the same.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports