Who’s winning the Heisman Trophy this season?
Though it isn’t certain, it will probably be a quarterback.
After all, only one non-quarterback has claimed the honor since 1999. That number used to be two, but Reggie Bush happened.
Here’s hoping that trend breaks this season, because it’s getting pretty ridiculous at this point.
It’s boring going into each season with a shortlist of quarterbacks from the best teams in the nation and just waiting around to see which one doesn’t blow it enough so he can be handed the trophy.
Sure, sometimes there are wrinkles like Johnny Manziel bursting onto the scene last year and Mark Ingram hoisting in 2009, but for the most part, isn’t the Heisman pretty useless?
If defensive players don’t even get a legitimate chance unless they have a fake dead girlfriend, is it really an award for the best collegiate football player, or can it just be renamed the best offensive player award?
But wait, that wouldn’t work either, because unless a receiver logs the most special teams stats anyone has ever seen, he probably won’t be considered.
Oh look, I didn’t even mention offensive linemen, but since when is that new?
I’ll probably be let down again this season with Manziel’s name still being thrown around. He lost a tough game against Alabama last week, but if he mimics his numbers from last season, it won’t even matter.
Then there’s Clemson’s Tahj Boyd, Ohio State’s Braxton Miller, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and my personal favorite, Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater. All quarterbacks who could each easily lead their respective teams to undefeated regular seasons.
The conferences those four play in are all more stat padding friendly than the Southeastern Conference, so don’t expect their names to go away anytime soon.
Put them together with Johnny Football, and that’s five legitimate quarterback Heisman candidates before looking at any other
positions.
If the apocalypse happens and Manziel, Boyd, Miller, Mariota and Bridgewater all fall out of contention, then maybe, just maybe, a non-quarterback could
have a chance.
That non-quarterback might just be in our own back yard too. If Odell Beckham Jr. keeps averaging 110 receiving yards and a
touchdown per game while returning another four or five special teams touchdowns, he might be the guy.
But then again, they’d probably just give Mettenberger
the credit.
Spencer Hutchinson is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from West Monroe.