QBs dominate trophy history
But until the system changes …
A quarterback is most likely to win. Mayfield made it 15 times in the past 18 seasons. Louisville’s Lamar Jackson — the 2016 winner — also was a finalist this season.
A running back will win occasionally, as Alabama’s Derrick Henry did in 2015. I’m not sure Penn State’s Saquon Barkley isn’t the best player this season and was second on my ballot, but he wasn’t a finalist. No less than Jack Ham has called him the best back in Penn State history, which is quite an honor at a school that should be known for producing backs as much as linebackers. Barkley appeared to have the Heisman locked up when he returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown at Ohio State Oct. 28, but his production dipped after that, mostly because his offensive line was mediocre. Stanford running back Bryce Love was the third finalist this year.
I’m OK with Mayfield winning even though USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Wyoming’s Josh Allen are quarterbacks who will be drafted ahead of him next spring. Mayfield’s statistics were astonishing, as were Jackson’s, Love’s and Barkley’s. Mayfield, who finished third in the voting last season and fourth in 2015, is on his way to shattering his NCAA passing efficiency record. He threw for 4,340 yards and 41 touchdowns with five interceptions and also ran for 310 yards and five touchdowns. His team is in the four-team College Football Playoff and has a chance to win the national championship. That separates him from Jackson, Love and Barkley.
I also was OK that White beat out Fitzgerald in 2003 for the same reason. I wrote a column back then explaining why I voted White first and received more hate mail over that than anything I’ve written with the possible exception of saying NASCAR fans were way over the top for worshipping Dale Earnhardt Sr. as if he were a god instead of a mere mortal. But the White vote was easy. He touched the ball on every play, had 40 touchdowns and eight interceptions at the time of the voting and led his team to the national championship game. Fitzgerald touched the ball an average of 7.25 times and played on a four-loss Pitt team that was going to the Continental Bowl. White had a bad game in the Big 12 Conference championship game against Kansas State, but Fitzgerald had a bad game in a home loss to Miami late in the season with just three catches for 26 yards. Absolutely, it was an easy call.
“All the guys sitting up there tonight played on teams with great records and are getting ready to play in a big bowl,” Fitzgerald said on Heisman night. “I think the losses probably hurt me the most.”
White didn’t just finish ahead of Fitzgerald. He beat out Mississippi’s Eli Manning (third in the voting), North Carolina State’s Philip Rivers (seventh) and Miami of Ohio’s Ben Roethlisberger (ninth), all quarterbacks who were picked in the first round of the 2004 draft. Manning went No. 1 overall.
White never played in the NFL because of two bad knees. That’s fine. As is, the Heisman isn’t designed to go to the player with the best pro potential. It’s supposed to go to the player who had the best season.
As long as that’s a quarterback or running back, of course.