Why I Voted for Clemson QB Deshaun Watson for the 2016 Heisman Trophy
Lamar Jackson won it, but Deshaun Watson deserved it.
Jackson, the quarterback of the Louisville Cardinals, took home the 2016 Heisman Trophy in an announcement in New York City on Saturday night, edging out Clemson's Watson, the Oklahoma duo of quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Dede Westbrook and Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers.
I had the two flip-flopped on my ballot, with Texas running back D'Onta Foreman getting my third-place vote.
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The reason is simple. Watson checked all of the boxes I value in determining the most "outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity"—the mission of the award.
- Incredible video game statistics
- Value to the team
- Translating individual performance into team success
The last bullet point is what separates Watson from Jackson.
The junior quarterback for the Tigers led his team to its second straight ACC title and berth in the College Football Playoff. He threw for 3,914 yards and 37 touchdowns, rushed for 529 yards and six more scores and didn't prevent his team from reaching any of its goals.
In fact, in Clemson's lone loss to Pitt on Nov. 12, Watson threw for an ACC single-game record 580 yards.
"I don't have a vote, but if I had one, it'd be the easiest vote ever," Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said, according to David M. Hale of ESPN.com. "He represents everything you could possibly want in a Heisman. He's made college football better in his three years."
Alabama head coach Nick Saban doesn't have a Heisman vote either. But he cast his hypothetical ballot for Watson as well.
"After playing him last year, I'm voting for him, but I don't have a vote," he said at the College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday afternoon. "I think he's a fantastic competitor and a great player and played a fantastic game against us. I don't get to see him all that much during the season, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for the guy. He did a fabulous job."
Yeah, the 15 interceptions this year are concerning. But not all turnovers are created equally. As Shakin' The Southland pointed out during the ACC Championship Game win over Virginia Tech, bad luck resulting in interceptions has been a common occurrence this year for Watson:
People who know Watson best recognize just how special he has been this year.
"I think he's had a better season," Swinney said prior to the ACC Championship Game. "I really do. I think he's the best player in the country. It's amazing what he's done. I mean, it really is. You can just take a look at the last three games, he threw for 580 against Pitt, then he comes back at Wake and just lights out and completed 81 percent of his passes [against South Carolina]."
The same can't be said for Jackson.
He lost heads up to Watson in Clemson on Oct. 1 despite scoring three times, fell out of the national championship hunt in a blowout loss to Houston on Nov. 17 and then lost the "state title" game to Kentucky—a four-touchdown underdog, according to OddsShark—the following week, turning the ball over four times.
The last fumble was the most costly, as it came at the Kentucky 10-yard line with 1:45 to play in what, at the time, was a tie game.
Both players are terrific and check off the first two boxes.
Jackson's 51 total touchdowns would tie him for 39th among all teams in FBS. Not individuals. Teams.
Plus we can't deny his value to Louisville. Would the Cardinals have been in the national title hunt for two-and-a-half months without him? With apologies to Louisville quarterback Kyle Bolin, probably not.
But Watson's 43 total touchdowns, leadership qualities and what he's meant to the Tigers on their run to the No. 2 ranking and a spot in the playoff cancel those two factors out, leaving him as the most outstanding player in college football in my mind.
As he rides off into the NFL sunset a year early, I'm reminded of Watson's first game—the season-opener against Georgia between the hedges in Athens in 2014.
In that game, he dropped a dime across the field over a defender for his first career completion (0:35 mark) and followed it up on the next play with his first career touchdown pass—a laser between two defenders.
From that moment, it was clear that Watson wasn't just special—he was destined to become the best player in the game.
He was just that in 2016 and earned my Heisman Trophy vote.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats unless otherwise noted.
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