Heisman Trust planned to have extra trophies
When the Heisman Trophy was handed out Tuesday evening, it was easily apparent to viewers that the coronavirus had forced changes to the traditional gathering in New York City to celebrate college football’s highest individual honor.
For the first time, the award was given virtually, with the four finalists in three venues. Eventual winner Devonta Smith and his Alabama teammate Mac Jones were together, Trevor Lawrence was at Clemson and Kyle Trask was at Florida — with family members, friends, coaches and former winners chiming in from around the country via video.
Each of the venues featured a Heisman Trophy in the background. The trophies were not replicas but a real Heisman designed to be taken away by the winner, said Tim Henning, the associate director of the Heisman Trophy Trust.
“The trophy that Devonta held up during the Heisman Trophy ceremony, that will be his Heisman to keep,” Henning told USA TODAY Sports.
To prepare for the virtual ceremony, the Heisman Trophy Trust tasked the trophy’s manufacturer, Jostens, with making four trophies, thinking that total would be enough to cover the then-unknown number of finalists. With two Alabama players earning finalist nods, only three trophies were needed.
“We knew right away regardless of where the finalists were, that we needed to have a trophy there for every finalist so that once the winner was named he would have a trophy,” said Henning. “That was never even up for debate.”
With assistance from ESPN, which helped arrange the shooting locations for the virtual event, the trust then shipped the trophies to three venues. Each trophy came in a shipping case that included a plate bearing the name of the finalist in question — the case sent to Alabama included plates for Smith and Jones — and a small hardware kit containing a Phillips head screwdriver.
After the winner was announced, an Alabama staff member needed to unscrew the generic plate, lay on Smith’s name, line up the screws and lock in the plate. Each shipping case also included a self-addressed envelope to send the trophy back to New York City.