Alabama’s Derrick Henry named Heisman Trophy finalist

The biggest award of the college football season will be handed out this Saturday night in New York City.

McCaffrey is attempting to do what runners-up John Elway (1982), Toby Gerhart (2009) and Andrew Luck (2010-11) could not: Become Stanford’s first Heisman victor since Jim Plunkett in 1970. Former Heisman victor Herschel Walker revealed the names of the finalists on ESPN’s “SportsCenter”.

If LSU sophomore running back Leonard Fournette is feeling a tinge sad because he wasn’t among the three players invited to NY for Saturday’s Heisman Trophy ceremony, he shouldn’t be. In the SEC title game on Saturday he carried 44 times for 189 yards. The announcement was made on Monday evening.

It seemed like just yesterday he was the player for Gainesville, who in every game drew all the attention when he was on the field.

As versatile as McCaffrey has been as the only FBS player since 1996 to compile 1,500 rushing, 500 receiving and 1,000 kickoff return yards in a single season, his TD total (13) is alarmingly low for someone wishing to win the Heisman.

Shaw wouldn’t speculate on whether the Southern votes for Henry and Watson might be split, to McCaffrey’s advantage.

McCaffrey ranks second in rushing yardage (1,847), and his 3,496 all-purpose yards broke the single-season record set by Barry Sanders in 1988.

Two years ago, he was leading Valor Christian High School to a fifth consecutive Colorado state high school championship. Then, in the Pac-12 title game against USC, McCaffrey gained a combined 461 yards, and earned 11 first place votes for the Heisman.

Watson has improved all season long.

Bourret said Watson is the first Clemson player to ever be named a finalist for the prestigious award. The true sophomore from Gainesville, Ga., passed for 3,512 yards and 30 touchdowns while also rushing for 887 yards and 11 scores.

Tide coach Nick Saban said Henry arrived on campus with the same work ethic that’s carried him to the brink of a Heisman.

Watson has more than proven himself on college football’s lone undefeated team heading into the College Football Playoff.

The 6-foot-1, 232-pound Matakevich had 126 tackles this season – including 15 for a loss – and, along with five interceptions, 4½ sacks and five pass breakups, helped lead the Owls to a surprising 10-3 record and a berth in the Boca Raton Bowl against Toledo. In his last seven games, he rushed for 1,321 yards (188.7 per game). Henry has been inconsistent at times this season and McCaffrey’s team isn’t even playing in the College Football Playoff. Special teams are always important, but you usually don’t see special teams make quite as much of an impact on a game as this one, especially in the first half.