Some Heisman voting fun facts from previous years:
2019: OSU DE Chase Young had more 1st place votes than the 2 players ahead of him put together (Hurts, Fields....20 votes to 18).
2018: QBs Gardner Minshew and McKenzie Milton finished 5th and 6th, respectively...McKenzie has 373 fewer pass attempts. That's quite a workload disparity, no?
2016: Jabril Peppers is a weird case. Everyone was enamored with his versatility, but what did he actually DO? 3 sacks. 1 INT. 1 pass deflection. 13 TFL. 3 TDs on offense. His biggest plus was being a very good punt returner.
To me, versatility doesn't mean a lot if you can't do many things WELL. I have no doubt that his versatility helped his team and his willingness to do it was commendable, but does that equate a top-5 Heisman finish? 1 INT? 60 tackles? Meh.
2014: Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon's 2,587 yards, 7.5 ypc, and 29 TDs warranted only 37 1st place votes. 12 fewer than the guy who finished behind him (Cooper).
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I'm looking this stuff up and am distracted about something. I'm going to switch gears and list the 2,000 yard rushers (P5 programs).
2628 Barry Sanders, OKST - WINNER
2587 Melvin Gordon, Wis - 2nd
2427 Marcus Allen, USC - WINNER
2219 Derrick Henry, Ala - WINNER
2194 Jonathan Taylor, Wis - 9th
2185 Troy Davis, ISU - 2nd
2177 Andre Williams, BC - 4th
2150 Tony Dorsett, Pitt - WINNER
2148 Mike Rozier, Neb - WINNER
2124 Ricky Williams, Tex - WINNER
2118 Bryce Love, Stan - 2nd
2109 Ron Dayne, Wis - out of top 10
2094 Chuba Hubbard, OKST - 8th
2087 Larry Johnson, PSU - 3rd
2066 Lorenzo White, MSU - 4th
2063 Damien Anderson, NW - 5th
2055 Rashaan Salaam, CU - WINNER
2050 Charles White, USC -WINNER
2036 Tevin Coleman, IU - 7th
2034 Ron Dayne, Wis - WINNER
2028 D'Onta Foreman, Tex - 8th
2019 Christian McCaffrey, Stan - 2nd
2018 J.J. Arrington, Cal - 8th
2012 Ray Rice, Rut - out of top 10
2010 Troy Davis, ISU - 5th
2003 J.K. Dobbins, OSU - 6th
2003 Jonathan Taylor, Wis - 5th
2000 Byron Hanspard, TTU - 6th
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I was thinking that maybe D'Onta Foreman was the most anonymous 2,000 yard rusher....and he definitely is, from a helmet program. But looking over this list and taking into account the timeline of how things happen, I'm left with a question: Why do Heisman voters need a year to get a guy on their radar before they can really reward him for what he's done?
Ron Dayne's biggest yardage year was his FR season. From out of nowhere, he ran over the B1G....and wasn't in the voting at all. Then, he basically has the same season as a SR, and wins the award. Mindless.
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Ray Rice wasn't from out of nowhere, though. He was on an 8-5 team with no notoriety.
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I know every season is different, but I bet a deeper study would expose the voters as slow and inconsistent.