For the past few weeks, it seemed like a day didn’t go by that an email wasn’t receieved from one of the college football awards.
After 42 years in the business, there’s only a few that I don’t vote in.
All are important, but there is only one Heisman Trophy, the most coveted award. Quarterbacks have dominated in recent years, but in all honesty, your scribe always has voted for who he thought was the best college football player in the country.
I once voted for a defensive tackle. He didn’t win.
I never wait until after conference championship games. It is based on the season’s body of work.
The Heisman ballot comes by way of two private emails, one with your log-in information and the second with that year’s password.
As a rule, my vote is cast immediately.
I have watched and studied the whole season, and I know who my top three are before receiving the first email.
The Heisman folks ask us to not reveal our votes until after the announcement on ESPN, although several media outlets do polls. But even my good friends don’t call to ask who I voted for anymore.
I won’t tell until it is over.
When I cast my ballot — you list in order your top three — I didn’t think my guy would win.
He wasn’t a quarterback or a running back.
So now you know, I voted DeVonta Smith for the Heisman Trophy.
No. 2 was Trevor Lawrence and No. 3 Mac Jones.
It may have been the first time I ever hit the trifecta.
Smith didn’t just win the award, he crushed it like it was Alabama vs. anyone.
He received 447 first-place votes and a total of 1,856 points, meaning he was almost on every ballot. If he wasn’t on a ballot, then maybe those folks don’t deserve to vote.
Lawrence had less than half the first-place votes of Jones with 222, but his point total of 1,187 points means he was on a bunch of ballots.
Mac Jones, too, as he totaled 1,130 points and had 138 first-place votes.
It seemed like a large portion of Amite City, La., attended a watch party to see their favorite football player win the Heisman. It was a feel-good moment there and across most of the country.
Smith was part of Nick Saban’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2017, a class that included Tua Tagovailoa, Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs, to name a few.
Smith was 6-1 and skinny, weighing in at 160 pounds soaking wet.
He’s still 6-1 but weighs 174 and has track speed, great hands and can cut on a dime.
He caught 105 passes for 1,641 yards and 20 touchdowns this season. Four times he’s been in double-digit catches.
As a side note, his worst game of the season was against Arkansas when he had three catches for 22 yards. It was only the second time all season he didn’t score a touchdown by reception.
He did have an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown. He was untouched on his gallop up the middle of the field.
He became the third Alabama player to win the award with Nick Saban as head coach. The Tide never had a Heisman winner before Saban.
Smith is also the seventh SEC player to win the Heisman in the past 14 years.
After it was announced that he was the winner, Smith seemed to sit in stunned silence for several seconds. The last time a receiver won the award was Desmond Howard in 1991.
He thanked God first and then encouraged other young players by telling them they can overcome obstacles.
Blessed with natural speed and great hands, Smith had to gain 14 pounds of muscle to put him in a position to win the Heisman, and he did it convincingly.