Heisman Trophy finalists: Henry, Watson and McCaffry

The Heisman Trophy will be awarded this Saturday night in NY, where Alabama running back Derrick Henry hopes to become the first running back to claim the award since fellow Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram in 2009. The last three Heisman winners were OR quarterback Marcus Mariota, Florida State signal-caller Jameis Winston, and Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel. He accounted for five touchdowns in a 45-37 win over North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game, giving him 41 touchdowns passing and rushing. Stanford, 11-2, won the Pac-12 championship with a dominating victory over Southern Cal, but finished sixth in the CFP rankings and was left out of the playoffs.

With the Rose Bowl against Iowa still to come on New Year’s Day, McCaffrey is second to Oregon’s Royce Freeman in the Pac-12 rushing race by the thinnest of margins.

The Heisman Trophy recipient will be announced from the PlayStation Theatre in New York City on ESPN on Saturday on ESPN during a program that will begin at 8 p.m.

Bourret said Watson is the first Clemson player to ever be named a finalist for the prestigious award. For what it is worth, in October, Fournette auctioned off one of his game-worn jerseys to support flood relief in SC.

Still, McCaffrey is viewed as a long shot to actually take home the trophy, with many observers tilting toward Henry because Alabama had a stronger season than Stanford did. He ranks eighth nationally in passer rating, completing 69.2 percent of his passes for 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Considering he is not even a year removed from ACL surgery, Watson’s perseverance and strength that he displayed all season will likely be factors that voters take into consideration. His yardage total broke the 34-year-old single-season SEC record set by Georgia great Herschel Walker in 1981. The Heisman Trophy has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid and the chance to go to NY as a finalist is unbelievable, but none of this would be possible without my coaches and teammates. He scored 23 touchdowns to lead Alabama to an 11-1 record and its second straight Southeastern Conference championship.

McCaffrey, Stanford’s fourth Heisman finalist in the last seven years, ran for 1,847 yards on 319 carries with eight touchdowns. Yet many pundits feel that Henry isn’t the best running back in the country.

McCaffrey broke the NCAA record for all-purpose yards in a season with 3,496, surpassing Barry Sanders.

His accomplishments is on par with his leadership, UA coach Nick Saban said.

All this comes after McCaffrey spent the 2014 season as a role player – a rookie trying to grasp pass protection schemes and contribute the handful of times he touched the ball each game.