The Heisman Trophy is the reward for the most outstanding player in college football for that season. It’s the most coveted, individual trophy in all of college football. It’s usually awarded for quarterbacks and running backs, not positions that aren’t worthy of this reward such as defensive players, offensive and defensive linemen, or receivers. Typically, the most exciting players tend to win this award, and the quarterback is usually the most famous player on the field. So, for any other position to be nominated, let alone win, is an unbelievable accomplishment. The finalists were Mac Jones (Quarterback for Alabama), Trevor Lawrence (Quarterback for Clemson), DeVonta Smith (Wide Receiver for Alabama), and Kyle Trask (Quarterback for Florida). The winner ended up being Devonta Smith, which was a surprise to no one.
Now, this win for Devonta Smith was not only incredibly significant for the game of football but incredibly significant for Smith himself. This win was completely deserved. Every time you turned on the game and Alabama was playing, your eyes immediately went to Devonta Smith, wherever he was on the field. If Alabama and Devonta Smith weren’t playing on the channel you were watching, then you scrambled for the remote. That’s how exciting Devonta Smith was. Not only was he just flat out intoxicating, but he was game changing as well. In any game he was playing, as long as he got the ball, Alabama was still in it. That is incredibly rare for a player in college and downright impossible for a wide receiver as this game has a quarterback bias. It seems to always want to hype up our quarterbacks and leave every other position in the rearview window. But, this makes sense because the quarterback is the one with the ball in their hands for the majority of the game and is most likely to be the game changing player. However, when there is a player who can change the course of a game while only getting the ball 20% of the time, that is a special type of player. Devonta Smith is that type of player which is why he is so deserving of this win. It’s important for the game because it shows that as long as you have a hard work ethic and belief in yourself, you will be something special in whatever it is that you do. The skinny receiver from Alabama showed us that. Also, this will bring up Smith’s draft stock in the upcoming draft. He will be a top ten pick for sure, and a Heisman in his trophy cabinet definitely won’t hurt.
However, the rest of these guys deserve a good amount of praise. They went out to play a season that will forever have an asterisk on it, and they never stopped working. Jones, Lawrence, and Trask all helped their teams excel in ways that earned them the praise that they rightfully deserve. Now, all four players will be entering the upcoming draft, and they all have shown that they have the talent, work ethic, and poise that gives them the opportunity to fully excel in the professional league. Trevor Lawrence put up another remarkable season and has cemented himself as a true quarterback prospect. He is now college’s golden boy with golden locks, and he will be one of the most electric players to look out for in the NFL if he can keep up his dominance which isn’t always an easy thing to do. Mac Jones also had an amazing season and was one of the reasons why Alabama achieved another perfect season. He, along with Kyle Trask, are the few quarterbacks in this class that don’t have a lot of hype surrounding them, but both have serious potential if they are put in the right system. Kyle Trask put up a record breaking season for the Florida Gators and if he just puts his head down and works, he could make a team very happy. All three quarterbacks have tremendous upside but also have some weaknesses as well. Mac Jones cannot run for the life of him as evident by his negative rushing yards this season. Trevor Lawrence has a few problems with ball placement while Kyle Trask has some shoddy footwork and lower body mechanics. Devonta Smith also has some weaknesses — durability and being able to deal with the physicality of the NFL. The NFL is a whole different beast, and Devonta Smith needs to be able to handle that physicality as a relatively skinny wide receiver.
Now, these Heisman candidates, just like every other year, are at the forefront of the upcoming NFL Draft, and all four have clear upsides and downfalls, but everyone can agree that these four players made this college football season something to remember, especially in a year filled with things we want to forget.
