If I had a vote on the Heisman Trophy ballot, I would have been torn between the work of both Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook of Florida State. Henry broke records, set standards and was the one player in the country who continued to get better as the season wore on – with all due respect to Deshaun Watson of Clemson. Cook was Florida State’s offense for most of the season. The sophomore running back got better as games progresses and played some of his best football against the country’s best teams. In the end, it was Henry who helped Alabama to the second seed in the College Football Playoff and when it comes down to impact, players who put their teams in position for greatness overall get a bigger piece of coverage. That is why Henry is going to New York and Cook, who by his own right had an unbelievable season, is staying home. Regardless of how FSU fans like it and will claim there is an ESPN bias involved in this, it was the right decision. If Cook were to have been invited to the Heisman Trophy show at the Downtown Athletic Club, then LSU’s Leonard Fournette, despite some shaky moments down the stretch, deserved to travel to the Big Apple as well. The Heisman Trophy, although the most important award in college football, is subjective and won solely based on a popularity contest. Had it been selected by numbers and performance over the years, both Peyton and Eli Manning would have won the award, Darren McFadden wouldn’t have finished twice and a guy named Gordy Lockbaum would have taken home the hardware. It is one of the most honored tradition and one of the most controversial. While every living Heisman winner has a vote and the media is given a chance to pick its “favorite,” there is no clear “fair” way to select a winner, As taken from the Heisman Trophy Trust website, the criteria for determining the winner of the award is as follows… The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity…
Continue Reading: NCAA College Football 2015: Heisman Hype, Muschamp’s Joke and OSU’s Desires
