COLUMBUS, Ohio — When the Home Depot College Football Awards show airs live on ESPN from the Atlantic Dance Hall at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Thursday night, it will do so without one of the biggest names in the sport in attendance. And come Saturday night, you won’t find Ezekiel Elliott in New York City, either, as the Heisman Trophy is presented to one of three finalists in the Big Apple.
Given the expectations the Ohio State running back carried into the 2015 season, Elliott’s absence on this weekend’s award circuit would have seemed unfathomable mere months ago.
After entering the year as the front-runner for college football’s most prestigious award following his historic run through the College Football Playoff, Elliott has gone from Heisman preseason favorite to postseason afterthought despite still being, statistically, one of the best players in college football. In 12 games, the 6’1″, 225-pounder rushed for 1,672 yards and 19 touchdowns, ranking fifth and second in the country in each respective category.
“He should be in New York,” Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer said following Elliott’s 214-yard, two-touchdown performance in Ohio State’s 42-13 win over rival Michigan to close the regular season. “He’s one of the best players in America. He should be a Heisman guy.”
Yet, Elliott won’t even be in Florida on Thursday, where lesser individual accolades like the Doak Walker Award and Maxwell Award will be presented. Nor…
Continue Reading: What Went Wrong with Ezekiel Elliott’s Heisman Chances in 2015
