NCAA Football: 25 Heisman Trophy finalists who should have won in hindsight
By John Scimeca
In 2016, Deshaun Watson led the Clemson Tigers to a national championship before moving on to be selected by the Houston Texans with the No. 12 overall pick the following spring.
In his young NFL career thus far, Watson is shaping up to become a special quarterback. He tied the record for the most passing touchdowns in a single game by a rookie (five), he became the first NFL quarterback ever to throw for 400 yards, four touchdowns, and rush for 50 yards in a single game, and he set a number of other season-long and single-game records in his first two seasons.
With Watson on pace (albeit, early in his career) to be a Pro Football Hall of Famer after lighting up the NFL in his first two seasons, it’s worth asking: How did he not win the Heisman while at Clemson?
In 2016, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy with extraordinary running ability mixed in with sharp precision passing. It’s a mystery, though, how Watson’s prowess did not surpass Jackson’s in the eyes of more voters.
Compare the numbers of the two quarterbacks:
- Jackson: 3,543 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions, 1,571 rushing yards, 6.0 yards per carry, 21 rushing touchdowns.
- Watson: 4,593 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 17 interceptions, 629 rushing yards, 3.8 yards per carry, nine touchdowns.
The team comparison? Jackson was leading a 9-3 Cardinals squad that would go on to lose to LSU in its bowl game. Watson was en route to leading the 12-1 Tigers to the College Football Playoff, where they would win both contests and finish as national champions.
Essentially, Heisman voters in 2016 seemed more impressed with Jackson’s playmaking on the ground than Watson’s, because any other comparison (team performance, passing, leadership) would go in favor of the Clemson star.