Louisville Football: Lamar Jackson deserves Heisman consideration

2. Voter fatigue is real, but shouldn’t be relevant

Lamar Jackson’s biggest obstacle to a trip to New York isn’t his team, it’s the voters. Voter fatigue is real and it’s the biggest reason that Jackson never received much real consideration this year to begin with.

13 Heisman trophy winners have returned after winning the award. Of those 13 all but five of them have finished in the top five of vote-getters in their return season. Only one of those, Archie Griffin of Ohio State, earned the spot at the top of the podium in back-to-back seasons.

It’s going to take a lot more than a few good games for Jackson to repeat in 2017. There’s simply not enough time for Jackson to be perceived as the favorite this year. However, this wouldn’t be the first time that a former winner received a decent share of the vote. Neither of recent winners Johnny Manziel or Jameis Winston were expected to come anywhere close to winning their second Heisman Trophy, but both finished in the top six of voter-getters the following season.

The 2017 Heisman Trophy should be given to the most deserving player in 2017. 2016 should not have any bearing on what happens this year. While that’s not going to be the case it doesn’t make Jackson any less worthy.