Why Alabama QB Jalen Hurts deserves to be a Heisman Trophy finalist
As a Heisman Trophy voter, my ballot was due today. For me, the winner was a no-brainer. But what I struggled with was second and third place.
I’m prohibited from broadcasting who I voted for until the Heisman is awarded Saturday, so out of respect I’ll keep my 1, 2 and 3 to myself for now. Regardless, I think that Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson will win handily.
A dangerous dual threat, Jackson threw for 3,390 yards — despite a mediocre completion percentage of 57.9 — with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 30-to-9. On top of that, he finished as the country’s eighth-leading rusher with 1,538 yards and an additional 21 TDs. His 410.7 yards of total offense per game was second nationally.
Yes, the Cardinals finished 9-3 and on a two-game losing streak, but Jackson’s individual stats are no less jaw-dropping.
Perhaps more important, no other player in America really made a convincing case. While it may be easy to poke holes in Jackson’s candidacy, it’s even easier to do so with any potential challengers for the award.
At the game’s most important position, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield led the land in passer efficiency rating, but even he admitted that his favorite target, receiver Dede Westbrook, is more deserving. Clemson’s Deshaun Watson has fired 15 INTs — his rushing totals have essentially been halved from a season ago, too — in 13 games.
This was supposed to be the year of the running back, but most of the household names failed to live up to the hype.
LSU’s Leonard Fournette battled injuries. So did Georgia’s Nick Chubb (below). Oregon’s Royce Freeman and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey didn’t come close to matching their numbers from 2015. Dalvin Cook of Florida State was about the same.
Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
A wideout hasn’t won since Michigan’s Desmond Howard in 1991, and the aforementioned Westbrook is the best of the bunch this season. While his performance was worthy of the Biletnikoff Award — I happen to vote for that one, too — it wasn’t quite Heisman-esque. That being said, 74 catches for 1,465 yards and 16 scores is fantastic.
The Wolverines also claim the only defensive player to win, Charles Woodson in 1997, so let’s go back to Ann Arbor.
Defensive back Jabrill Peppers was indeed Woodson-like for Big Blue. On defense, he was a hybrid monster making plays all over the field. On offense, he scored 3 rushing touchdowns. As a return man, he scored another.
Was he an All-American? Absolutely. But was Peppers truly the best player in the country? That’s a stretch. Not only did Woodson score TDs rushing, receiving and returning — for a UM team that won a share of the national title, of course — but he also picked off 7 passes. Peppers doesn’t have the same résumé.
Beyond Jackson, it’s a muddled mess for second and third place. Hence, it’s time to dig deeper for the runners-up.
the truest of freshmen
Alabama is 13-0, champion of the SEC and as dominant as ever on its way to a third straight College Football Playoff. A big reason why is the emergence of quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has taken the Crimson Tide offense to the next level.
When ‘Bama coach Nick Saban first arrived in Tuscaloosa, he featured a pro-style system that relied on conventional sets — fullbacks and tight ends were plentiful — for a ground-and-pound approach. For the most part, traditional dropback passers were at the controls handing off to bruising backs and throwing from the pocket.
However, offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has morphed the Tide into a no-huddle, hurry-up, spread-based scheme with Hurts.
Not even the starter for Week 1, he had too much talent to stick on the bench for a year and soon unseated the since-departed Blake Barnett. In his debut against then-No. 9 USC on a neutral field, Hurts (below) threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for 2 more.
Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
The product of Channelview (Texas) High School has now accounted for 34 total TDs in 13 games and answered the scariest question in college football: How good could a Saban-coached team be if he had a genuine difference maker pulling the trigger? He’s already won rings with the likes of Greg McElroy, AJ McCarron and Jake Coker.
This is how good: The Crimson Tide look borderline unbeatable at this juncture and just won the SEC Championship Game 54-16.
As a passer, his TD-to-INT ratio (22-to-9) is better than Ole Miss’s Chad Kelly (19-to-8), whose season was cut short due to injury. He was by all weights and measures the premier player in the conference at the position, though.
As a rusher, his 841 yards and 12 scores are better than Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs (713 and 9), who has confounded defenses in this league with his scrambling ability for four years. While Dobbs was never able to get the Volunteers over the top — he at least shares in the blame — Hurts continues to clear hurdles effortlessly.
Oh, by the way, Hurts is a true freshman. At this time a year ago, he was playing prep ball back in the Lone Star State.
Heisman voters have progressed to some degree recently. Florida’s Tim Tebow was the first sophomore to win in 2007. Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel was the first redshirt freshman to win in 2012. It’s no longer reserved for upperclassmen.
If quarterbacking such a loaded roster were such an easy task, then Barnett wouldn’t have fallen on his face in Week 1 prior to being pulled in favor of Hurts. Almost instantly, ‘Bama transformed into the offensive juggernaut we’ve seen the last three months. Penalizing him for having such a strong supporting cast is short-sighted.
Can I make a case for Hurts winning? Not really. It’s Jackson’s year. Nevertheless, he’s earned a trip to New York for the ceremony.
John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
