Heisman Trophy hype ‘special’ to Ward but not high on his radar
An envelope arrived on the desk of Houston coach Tom Herman early last November. It was from the Heisman Trophy Trust, officially naming UH quarterback Greg Ward Jr. a candidate for college football’s premier individual award. “I just looked at it and put it down,” Ward said. “It’s really not important to me.” The response was exactly what Herman has come to expect.
“It was the best reaction,” Herman said.
As the Cougars prepare to begin the season, Ward is again being mentioned as a Heisman candidate, among a loaded group that includes four of the top six finishers in last year’s voting.
But does Ward, a 5-11, 187-pound senior, really have a shot?
There are certain unwritten rules when it comes to the Heisman.
Quarterbacks and running backs have won the award 24 of
the past 26 years.
Voters tend to favor flashy statistics and lean heavily toward players whose teams are highly ranked and in the national title discussion.
And almost always, the winner plays in one of the Power 5 conferences.
“You’re not going to be considered for the Heisman at the University of Houston on a 7-5 team,” Herman said. “I don’t care what your numbers are.”
Herman noted players from smaller conference “made strides” last year, with quarterback Keenan Reynolds of Navy, which joined UH in the American Athletic Conference, finishing fifth in the Heisman voting.
Exception to the rule
The last player not from a major conference to win the Heisman? BYU’s Ty Detmer in 1990.
Otherwise, it has been slim pickings for smallconference players trying to crack the Heisman code.
Since 1991, players from outside the power conferences have accounted for 10 percent of the 125 top-five finishers. Of that group, only five — Detmer, Marshall Faulk (San Diego State), Steve McNair (Alcorn State), Colt Brennan (Hawaii) and Jordan Lynch (Northern Illinois) — finished among the top three vote-getters.
Ward became just the fourth UH quarterback to be named a Heisman candidate, joining Andre Ware, who won the award in 1989, David Klingler and Case Keenum.
At the time he was named an official candidate, the usually reserved Ward paused for a moment to call being mentioned among the top players in the nation “special” and “mind-blowing.”
With UH again expected to have one of the most prolific offenses in the country to go with a preseason top15 national ranking, Herman said Ward is likely to be mentioned in the Heisman discussion.
“If you start at quarterback in our offense, I think you are probably going to get mentioned in the Heisman Trophy race,” Herman said. “It’s a very quarterback-centric offense. What we do revolves around him and his ability to be a threat in the run game but also be a very good passer. He’s going to put up numbers worthy of being in that conversation.”
Ward set 14 school or AAC records last season, accounting for nearly 4,000 yards in total offense. He set a school single-season record with 21 touchdowns scored, which ranked fifth nationally, and joined Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, who finished third in the Heisman voting, as the only FBS quarterbacks to throw for at least 2,500 yards and rush for at least 1,000.
“If you are one of only two at your position in the country to hit milestones like that, you should be considered one of the best in the country,” Herman said.
This year’s Heisman race figures to be stacked with several top returners from a year ago, led by Stanford running back and Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey, LSU running back Leonard Fournette, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and Watson.
Ward’s current Heisman odds are listed at 50-1 by the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
19-2 as a starter
While Herman is quick to correct those who call Ward “a dark-horse candidate,” many college football observers are beginning to take notice. Ward is on the preseason list for every major quarterback or offensive award. And this week he is on a regional cover of Sports Illustrated.
Along with Ward’s flashy passing and rushing totals, another key statistic stands out: He’s 19-2 as a starter, the best winning percentage by a quarterback in UH history. The lone loss during UH’s 13-1 season in 2015 came with Ward on the sideline at Connecticut with an ankle injury.
“You can’t overlook a guy who is 19-2 as a starter,” Herman said. “If he stays healthy and guys play well around him again like last year’s team, I think he will be on everybody’s radar for any award, really.”
Ward will get a shot to make an early impression with voters in the Sept. 3 opener against Mayfield and third-ranked Oklahoma in the Advocare Texas Kickoff at NRG Stadium.
In typical Ward fashion,