Congratulations to Kyler Murray, the winner of the 2018 Heisman trophy. In fact, congrats to all three of the finalists. This was an exceptional group of finalists and in any other year, both Dwayne Haskins and Tua Tagovailoa would have been worthy winners.
Now, The Sports Examiner doesn't have a real Heisman ballot, but I thought it would be fun to continue the tradition and give you my final mock ballot. After all, I do a season-long Heisman watch, it makes sense for me to finish it. Let's get started.
I would like to highlight a few players before I get to the big three. First off is Jonathan Taylor, who is my fourth place player. Taylor had a fantastic sophomore season and led FBS in rushing yards. Unfortunately, his Wisconsin Badgers had an exceptionally disappointing season and Taylor's Heisman stock dropped as a result. Next up is Kentucky's Josh Allen. It's extremely hard for a defensive player to win the Heisman (Notre Dame's Manti Te'O is the only one this century to come close) but Allen made a great case. The nation's best defensive player anchored a feared unit while notching more forced fumbles than any other player. The third player I want to highlight is WSU's Gardner Minshew. Were it not for a loss to Washington, which cost them a spot in the Pac-12 title game, Minshew might well have been invited to New York City. Next up we have Notre Dame's Ian Book, who was probably the least heralded Heisman contender. What really hurt him was that he started the season as the #2 guy to Brandon Wimbush. Book eventually won the job and led Notre Dame to an undefeated season and CFP spot but it wasn't enough to get him any Heisman love. Finally, let's talk about Clemson's Travis Etienne. After Trevor Lawrence took over the starting QB spot from Kelly Bryant, Etienne became the focal point of the Tigers' offense and broke out in a big way. He finished fifth in rushing yards, fifth in yards per attempt, and third in rushing touchdowns.
3. Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State- Ohio State fans are going to be miffed about this, but Haskins only gets third. Yes, he did lead FBS in passing yards and passing touchdowns but finished fourth in QBR, trailing Murray, Tagovailoa, and Georgia's Jake Fromm. Haskins was brilliant this year and was probably the nation's most outstanding player the last two weeks of the season. However, this is a season-long campaign and we have to take everything into account here. During that time period, Haskins was outshone by a number of other players, including the other two finalists, West Virginia's Will Grier, and Houston's Ed Oliver.
2. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama- I want to start by saying watching Tua play football this year was such an enjoyable experience. He has an incredible arm and is quite possibly the most spectacular college QB I've ever seen. Not since Johnny Football have I been so taken with a player. That being said, we have to take into account that Tua was not instrumental in his team finishing undefeated. His backup Jalen Hurts almost certainly could have done that (Hurts lost only one regular season game as a starter in two seasons). Yes, Tua was a big reason why Alabama was the best team in the country, but he had not even thrown a regular season fourth-quarter pass. He never had to win a game, Alabama was just that good. He had a chance in the SEC Championship game against Georgia after 'Bama fell behind early. Unfortunately, he left the game with an injury and Hurts led the Crimson Tide to a comeback win. I really think that game cost Tua the Heisman, he finally had his chance to prove himself the most valuable player in the country and missed it.
1. Kyler Murray, Oklahoma- The same day Tua lost the Heisman was when Kyler Murray won it. All season long Murray had been posting incredible stats and creating video game highlights but he had always trailed Tua. Hours before Tua failed to beat Georgia, Murray and Oklahoma avenged their only loss of the season by dispatching Texas in the Big 12 title game. Murray dazzled in this game by throwing for 379 yards and three scores. He finished the season third in passing yards, second in completion percentage, first in yards per attempt, and second in passing touchdowns. The only other player who can match his stats is Haskins (with Washington State's Gardner Minshew coming close) and the only one who can match his resume is Tua. Thus, Murray is your 2018 Heisman trophy winner.
Thanks for reading everyone.
Now, The Sports Examiner doesn't have a real Heisman ballot, but I thought it would be fun to continue the tradition and give you my final mock ballot. After all, I do a season-long Heisman watch, it makes sense for me to finish it. Let's get started.
I would like to highlight a few players before I get to the big three. First off is Jonathan Taylor, who is my fourth place player. Taylor had a fantastic sophomore season and led FBS in rushing yards. Unfortunately, his Wisconsin Badgers had an exceptionally disappointing season and Taylor's Heisman stock dropped as a result. Next up is Kentucky's Josh Allen. It's extremely hard for a defensive player to win the Heisman (Notre Dame's Manti Te'O is the only one this century to come close) but Allen made a great case. The nation's best defensive player anchored a feared unit while notching more forced fumbles than any other player. The third player I want to highlight is WSU's Gardner Minshew. Were it not for a loss to Washington, which cost them a spot in the Pac-12 title game, Minshew might well have been invited to New York City. Next up we have Notre Dame's Ian Book, who was probably the least heralded Heisman contender. What really hurt him was that he started the season as the #2 guy to Brandon Wimbush. Book eventually won the job and led Notre Dame to an undefeated season and CFP spot but it wasn't enough to get him any Heisman love. Finally, let's talk about Clemson's Travis Etienne. After Trevor Lawrence took over the starting QB spot from Kelly Bryant, Etienne became the focal point of the Tigers' offense and broke out in a big way. He finished fifth in rushing yards, fifth in yards per attempt, and third in rushing touchdowns.
3. Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State- Ohio State fans are going to be miffed about this, but Haskins only gets third. Yes, he did lead FBS in passing yards and passing touchdowns but finished fourth in QBR, trailing Murray, Tagovailoa, and Georgia's Jake Fromm. Haskins was brilliant this year and was probably the nation's most outstanding player the last two weeks of the season. However, this is a season-long campaign and we have to take everything into account here. During that time period, Haskins was outshone by a number of other players, including the other two finalists, West Virginia's Will Grier, and Houston's Ed Oliver.
2. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama- I want to start by saying watching Tua play football this year was such an enjoyable experience. He has an incredible arm and is quite possibly the most spectacular college QB I've ever seen. Not since Johnny Football have I been so taken with a player. That being said, we have to take into account that Tua was not instrumental in his team finishing undefeated. His backup Jalen Hurts almost certainly could have done that (Hurts lost only one regular season game as a starter in two seasons). Yes, Tua was a big reason why Alabama was the best team in the country, but he had not even thrown a regular season fourth-quarter pass. He never had to win a game, Alabama was just that good. He had a chance in the SEC Championship game against Georgia after 'Bama fell behind early. Unfortunately, he left the game with an injury and Hurts led the Crimson Tide to a comeback win. I really think that game cost Tua the Heisman, he finally had his chance to prove himself the most valuable player in the country and missed it.
1. Kyler Murray, Oklahoma- The same day Tua lost the Heisman was when Kyler Murray won it. All season long Murray had been posting incredible stats and creating video game highlights but he had always trailed Tua. Hours before Tua failed to beat Georgia, Murray and Oklahoma avenged their only loss of the season by dispatching Texas in the Big 12 title game. Murray dazzled in this game by throwing for 379 yards and three scores. He finished the season third in passing yards, second in completion percentage, first in yards per attempt, and second in passing touchdowns. The only other player who can match his stats is Haskins (with Washington State's Gardner Minshew coming close) and the only one who can match his resume is Tua. Thus, Murray is your 2018 Heisman trophy winner.
Thanks for reading everyone.
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