The Buzz: Heisman news and views
Time for our weekly feature that rounds up the latest Heisman news and updates from around the media world.
The Buzz
In a way, today could be considered the 80th anniversary of the Heisman Trophy.
On October 3, 1936, John W. Heisman passed away at the age of 66 after battling pneumonia. At the time, the legendary coach was the director of New York’s Downtown Athletic Club, a post he had held for six years. Serving in this capacity, Heisman organized and founded the Touchdown Club of New York, and later the National Football Coaches Association.
A little over a year before his death, Heisman had the foresight to set in motion the structure and voting system to bestow an award upon the best collegiate football player in the country. It’s a system that lives on to this day. Although he initially opposed the idea of recognizing an individual over a team, Heisman ultimately felt that to win the award was the consummate team accomplishment. The first Downtown Athletic Club trophy was given to the University of Chicago’s Jay Berwanger on November 29, 1935.
Soon after he passed away, the officers of the Downtown Athletic Club unanimously voted to honor Heisman’s memory by renaming the DAC Award the “Heisman Memorial Trophy” and Yale’s Larry Kelley was the first to be handed a trophy bearing Heisman’s name the following November.
It was a fitting tribute, as no one more thoroughly studied the dynamics of football or witnessed more closely the game’s evolution or effected more change in the game’s development than did Heisman. In the decades since his passing, his name has become synonymous with football excellence and his trophy an enduring witness to his legacy.
Here’s to another 80-plus years of honoring his name and memory.
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Meanwhile, the 2016 Heisman race rages on. Here’s how the pundits saw it shaking out after this past weekend:
— USA Today writes that despite losing to Clemson, Lamar Jacksonof Louisville showed why he was the best player in the country. Further, he remains on a blistering statistical pace.
Louisville has seven more regular-season games (an appearance in the ACC title game is now unlikely), which puts Jackson on pace to throw for 3,900 yards, run for 1,650 and have 68 total touchdowns before any postseason play.
— SBNation called the Louisville-Clemson matchup featuring marquee quarterbacks Jackson and DeShaun Watson an “instant classic”.
— The Sporting News compared Watson and Jackson as NFL prospects.
— The AP says that Watson’s Heisman hopes were energized by the win over Louisville.
— Can Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett close the gap with Jackson?, asksCleveland.com.
Whether or not Barrett is ultimately flashy enough to win the Heisman is a fair question. But he’s going to have the numbers that keep him in the conversation, and he’s quarterbacking a national title contender.
— Urban Meyer thinks Barrett is a Heisman candidate.
— Campus Insiders has its top 10 candidates heading into week 6.
— Houston’s Greg Ward Jr., is sparking some Heisman talk.
— North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky is playing mistake-free football, notes NCAA.com.
— Washington quarterback Jake Browning has elevated himself into the Heisman race, according to the Seattle Times.
— SECCountry.com says that Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs‘ Heisman campaign is alive and well. Here’s why:
Odds and Ends
— Cam Newton suffered his first documented concussion on Sunday against Atlanta.
— John W. Heisman’s Georgia Tech team beat Cumberland, 222-0, 100 years ago this Friday. Stay tuned for more on that later this week.
— Tim Tebow is adjusting to life in the minors.
— The deadline for phase one of Wendy’s High School Heisman is today.
— Herschel Walker was named the greatest college football player ever in a recent ESPN coaches poll.
— All three of Nebraska’s Heisman winners were on the sideline for the Cornhuskers win over Illinois.
NFL Heisman Update
Mark Ingram carried 18 times for 56 yards and a touchdown as the Saints beat the Chargers, 35-34.
Marcus Mariota went 13 of 29 for 202 yards with one interception as the Titans fell to the Texans, 27-20.
Derrick Henry had 3 carries for 9 yards against Houston.
Cam Newton threw for 166 yards and a touchdown on 14 of 25 passing before leaving the game with a concussion in Carolina’s 48-33 loss to Atlanta.
Jameis Winston completed 17 of 35 passes for 179 yards with two interceptions and one rushing TD as Tampa Bay lost to Denver, 27-7.
Carson Palmer went 23 of 36 for 288 yards with a TD and a pick in Arizona’s 17-13 loss to the Rams.
Sam Bradford and the Vikings take on the New York Giants on Monday Night Football tonight.
Video of the Week
Tebow’s Dream
