Young among 4 Heisman finalists
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud were announced Monday as the finalists for the Heisman Trophy.
The Heisman will be presented Saturday in New York, returning to its usual routine and date after it was forced to delay and go virtual last year due to the pandemic.
After a 2021 season in which a Heisman front-runner took a while to emerge and the race seemed wide-open into November, Young closed strong to become the favorite.
The sophomore broke the SEC championship game record with 421 yards passing in a victory against Georgia’s vaunted defense on Saturday. For the season, Young has thrown for 4,322 yards, 43 touchdowns and just four interceptions while guiding the Crimson Tide to the top seed in the College Football Playoff.
Young could become Alabama’s fourth Heisman winner, second consecutive, but first quarterback.
Hutchinson would be the first defensive player to win the Heisman since Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997.
Hutchinson has 14 sacks, helping Michigan earn its first playoff appearance and end an eight-game losing streak to rival Ohio State.
Pickett returned to Pitt for a fifth season in 2021, taking advantage of the NCAA’s eligibility give-back for playing through the pandemic in 2020, and had a record-breaking year. Pickett passed for 4,319 yards with 42 TDs to eclipse school marks and led the Panthers to their first ACC title.
Stroud completed 71% of his passes for 3,862 yards, 38 TDs and five interceptions as the Buckeyes finished 10-2 in his first season as a starter.
Johnny Rodgers, the 1972 Heisman Trophy winner and a member of the College
Football Hall of Fame, was in an Omaha hospital intensive care unit with COVID19. Rodgers’ business partner, Denny Drake, said the former Cornhuskers running back was hospitalized Thanksgiving with the virus, the Omaha World-Herald reported. Rodgers also developed pneumonia but seemed to improve after a few days in the hospital, Drake said. However, he took a turn for the worse last week and was placed in the ICU. Rodgers, 70, has since improved and is “feeling much better,” Drake said.
NBA: Bulls F DeMar DeRozan entered the league’s health and safety protocols and missed Monday night’s game against the Nuggets. DeRozan becomes the third Bulls player currently in the health and safety protocols, joining Coby White and Javonte Green. DeRozan was recognized earlier in the day as the Eastern Conference player of the week for averaging 30.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and shooting 58.7% from the field while the Bulls went 3-0 last week. He’s fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 26.4 points per game.
NFL: Ravens Pro Bowl CB Marlon Humphrey will miss the season after suffering a right pectoral muscle tear during Sunday’s loss to the Steelers.
NHL: The Flyers fired coach Alain Vigneault, who was in the third year of a five-year contract. The Flyers have lost eight straight and have the second-worst record in the Metropolitan Division at 8-10-4.
WNBA: The Mercury announced that they’re not renewing the contract of longtime coach Sandy Brondello, who led the team to the league finals last season. Brondello had guided the Mercury since 2014, winning the franchise’s third title that year. She had a 150-108 record in eight seasons, making the playoffs every year. The Mercury lost 3-1 to Sky in the finals.