SEC Football: Each team’s top Heisman Trophy candidate for 2020

Najee Harris, Alabama football (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Najee Harris, Alabama football (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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South Carolina football
South Carolina football flag (Photo by Mary Ann Chastain/Getty Images) /

The Heisman Trophy is essentially an offensive award. That might not be on the books, but it is the unspoken rule of the trophy. In recent years, it has become a quarterback award. So what is a defensive player doing on this list? A defensive player might not win, but they can get an invitation.

Hugh Green finished second in 1980, Warren Sapp, Steven Entman and Ndamukong Suh were also Heisman finalists. Sapp finished sixth and Entman and Suh both finished fourth. There is room for an outstanding defensive lineman to get a ticket to New York.

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Jordan Burch has not played a snap for the South Carolina Gamecocks and he might already be the best player on the team. He’s a stud five-star from the Gamecocks’ back yard in Columbia, S.C.

If you think about South Carolina football and head coach Will Muschamp, a run for them means lights out defense. With the depth they have at the defensive line this season, Burch could have some ridiculous numbers this season.

In order for Burch to get an invite to New York, he would have to be in the hunt for the single-season sack record belonging either to Terrell Suggs or Derrick Thomas, depending on how you view the record.