NCAA Football: 25 Heisman Trophy finalists who should have won in hindsight
By John Scimeca
Adrian Peterson‘s numbers from his freshman year as an Oklahoma Sooner are astounding: 339 carries, 1,925 yards, and 15 touchdowns.
At the end of the season, USC defeated OU 55-19 in the Orange Bowl to clinch the national championship. This title was later vacated by the NCAA for many violations — let’s just say, Reggie Bush, etc., but no one has taken a second look at quarterback Matt Leinart, who was undoubtedly aided by Bush in his 2004 Heisman-winning campaign.
What’s interesting about the 2004 Heisman voting is that Peterson and Sooners quarterback Jason White finished as No. 2 and No. 3 in the standings, respectively.
Yes, Leinart had a great junior season with the Trojans (with numbers comparable to White), but his win begs two crucial questions:
- Did Leinart benefit from his two main Heisman competitors being teammates, thus splitting some votes between each other?
- Before Johnny Manziel, did Peterson suffer from freshman bias from Heisman voters?
Moving on from these two points, Peterson has done something remarkable in his NFL career: he’s had staying power as a running back. Many star ball carriers at the college level may go on to have a four or five-season NFL career; they’ve endured many brutal hits as high school and collegiate stars.
But, somehow, Peterson is still relevant in 2019 as a member of the Washington Redskins. Peterson’s accolades as a professional are dazzling: he rushed for 296 yards in one game as a rookie, an NFL record, he became only the fifth player to rush for 3,000 yards in his first two seasons, and in 2013 he became the fastest player to reach 10,000 yards in NFL history.
It’s amazing to think that, even 15 years later, Peterson’s career continues to show us how we failed to recognize greatness in his 2004 freshman season at OU.