Tim Tebow, Barry Sanders Among 12 Best Heisman Trophy Winners

And in a bit of a fun twist, one of McCaffrey’s backfield mates is Sanders’ son, Barry Sanders Jr. The third is a do-it-all quarterback for the top-ranked, and only undefeated team, in the country.

“This was a very talented year”, said McCaffrey, who added that he could think of “at least 10” players who deserved to be named Heisman finalists. The 2015 reboot features Crimson Tide tailback Derrick Henry, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Deshaun Watson of the unbeaten Clemson Tigers.

Practicing his Heisman stiff arm, Henry sidestepped a question about his plans after the season and whether or not they involved entering the NFL Draft, saying he’s only concerned about his team’s next game against Michigan State. Henry (6-foot-3, 242 pounds) hopes to cross paths with Campbell (5-11, 232) at that function.

Henry is considered the prohibitive favorite, especially because his 1,986 yards broke Herschel Walker’s 1982 single-season SEC rushing record by four yards, as well as winning the Maxwell Award as college’s most valuable player and the Doak Walker Award as the top running back on Thursday.

Anybody ever tried to tackle a freight train?

“They dominated the game”, he said.

A year ago Saturday, Watson went under the knife to fix a torn ACL in his left knee, the painful hangover two weeks after slicing up SC to cap the Tigers’ 2014 regular season.

After his media obligations, he planned to see the sights with his parents and high school coaches, Pat Dunlap and J.T. Medley, who made the trip. If I win it, I win it, and if I don’t I’m not going to be upset.

“And Yulee, everybody’s really happy for me”. But I’d really love to meet him. “But I watched some of the highlights from when he played with the Oilers and thought, ‘Oh, my God.’ Earl Campbell was a different breed, man. Every since I saw those highlights, I’ve been watching on Youtube all the time”.

Shoot, Henry should be given some kind of award for just making Saban smile. Maybe midway through the season I started playing better, the team got more confident. With the way quarterbacks have won eight of the past nine awards, the stiff-armed statue should be remade in the image of a player in mid-throw. Watson has been named the ACC player of the year and is a dual threat behind center, as he has rushed for 887 yards and 11 touchdowns as well. His 68.2 rushing yards per game is fourth nationally among quarterbacks. McCaffrey would be the 12th Pac-12 player, and Watson would be the ninth from the ACC.

Watson has led Clemson to a 13-0 record and the College Football Playoff. If you’re looking for Heisman moments aplenty, you vote McCaffrey. “Nobody’s doing what he’s doing”.

“There’s so many players who could have or should have been here”, said McCaffrey, specifically mentioning Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Florida State’s Dalvin Cook.

McCaffrey set the NCAA record for all-purpose yards with 3,496 this season.

“The thing that is unique is that he has great patience in letting the blocks set up”, said Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez.

Who was the first Alabama Heisman finalist?

“I felt 100 percent confident (running the football) in fall camp”, Watson said. According to Odds Shark, Henry was listed as a -500 favorite Friday with McCaffrey trailing in second place at +325.

That’s hardly conclusive evidence of another Alabama victory, but it speaks to the challenges facing McCaffrey in the Heisman’s version of the Electoral College.