IN THE RUNNING
Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey is one of three finalists for the Heisman.
In the vast expanse of college football, the landscape shifts and rifts open between ideas of what it means to be good. Styles and trends come and go. And the Heisman Trophy, with all of its history and pomp, is meant to settle one big debate: Who is the best college football player in the country?
This year’s Heisman Trophy probably will open another heated argument. It will be awarded Saturday in New York to Stanford sophomore running back Christian McCaffrey, Alabama junior running back Derrick Henry or Clemson sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson.
But in a sport that can hardly determine a consensus best team in the country, the best player can be even more elusive.
“I don’t know if it’s a trend or a really special year. But I like that it’s changed up a little bit,” said Dave Matter, who covers Missouri and the SEC for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “The past two or three years there really was no doubt who would win. But this year is definitely more interesting.”
The debate has full steam. Does the Heisman Trophy go to the best player in America? The most valuable? The most successful? Those things don’t always match. What exactly makes a great football player?
Stanford’s McCaffrey, an all-purpose star who holds Colorado’s high school record for career touchdowns with the 141 he scored for Valor Christian, can do just about everything on a football field. He has 3,496 all-purpose yards this season — breaking the record NFL Hall of Famer Barry Sanders set at
“The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. ”
Heisman Trust mission statement
Oklahoma State in 1988.
Alabama’s Henry, a wreckingball back, bruised his way to 1,986 yards rushing this season, the most in the Football Bowl Subdivision. McCaffrey has 1,847 yards rushing.
Clemson’s Watson is the best offensive player on the only undefeated FBS team. The No. 1-ranked Tigers are the last of the unbeatens for a reason — Watson has thrown for 3,512 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Three great football players with wildly different profiles. Comparing them can say more about the viewer than the player himself.
“The trophy is supposed to recognize the most outstanding football player. It’s very vague,” said Graham Watson, a national reporter for Yahoo Sports and the Dr. Saturday blog. “To me, the Heisman has always been about the player whom the team needs the most — the most important player. That’s why you see quarterbacks win it so often.”
How do you compare an optionstyle quarterback with a pro-style passer, for example? They play the same position. Yet they’re wildly different players.
The Heisman’s mission statement says the trophy should go to “the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance and hard work.”
But there’s no statistic for diligence and integrity. Voters are left to their own interpretation.
“Christian McCaffrey can do it all,” Watson said. “He’s a great blocker even — stuff that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. The guy who can do all the stuff that he does and play for a high-level team is so impressive.”
Only two running backs in the past 15 years have won the Heisman Trophy. But McCaffrey and Henry are trending favorites.
McCaffrey is more than a running back. He’s a throwback. He will take direct snaps from center, block like a fullback, scramble like Tim Tebow on a read-option play and line up outside the ends as a receiver.
“There aren’t many positions the young man can’t play. I’d say offensive and defensive line are it,” Stanford coach David Shaw said last month after the Cardinal routed Colorado 42-10 in Boulder.
Henry, meanwhile, has a built-in advantage. He plays for the best team in the SEC, college football’s powerhouse league. And he’s often on national TV during prime time — when voters can watch him play. McCaffrey plays on the West Coast, where televised games often air after midnight on the East Coast. They call it “Pac-12 After Dark.”
“You never know how many people are paying attention to the late games in the Pac-12,” Matter said. “So with a team like Stanford, voters might start asking: Why aren’t they in the playoff ? Was McCaffrey a reason they lost to Oregon? Was he the reason they lost to Northwestern?”
McCaffrey and Henry made lateseason pushes for votes, including standout performances in their respective conference championship games.
Against Auburn and Florida, Henry carried the ball a total of 90 times for 460 yards and two TDs. He grinded down defenses.
McCaffrey, against Notre Dame and USC the past two weeks, gained 689 all-purpose yards.
“We haven’t seen anybody do what McCaffrey’s done since Reggie Bush,” Matter said. “But it seems like there’s a Derrick Henry on Alabama every year.”
The winner Saturday, by whatever comparison voters use to decide, will say more about college football than the stats alone. The winner will define what the sport values most in 2015.
“They’ll go with the guy they like the best. That’s it,” Watson said.