Heisman Trophy Finalists 2015: Derrick Henry Leads Talented Crop

The other finalists include Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.

On the Tuesday broadcast of “Pardon the Interruption” on ESPN, co-host Michael Wilbon reacted to the three Heisman Trophy finalists being named, calling Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey “the best player in college football by far”.

Watson, of Gainesville, Georgia, has passed for 3,572 yards and 30 touchdowns this season while also rushing for 887 yards and 11 scores.

Henry leads the nation with 1,986 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns for Alabama, which is 12-1 and the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff.

On Saturday, McCaffrey had 461 all-purpose yards in a 41-22 win over USC in the Pac-12 championship game.

If McCaffrey beats both Derrick Henry from Alabama, who is now in first, and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is in third, he would be the first Heisman victor for Standord since Jim Plunkett won it 45 years ago.

The presentation of the award will be this Saturday, Dec. 12 in NY. He now has 3,496 and averages a nation-best 268.9 yards/game. Henry broke Herschel Walker’s SEC record for rushing yards in a single season, and has tied the record for rushing touchdowns in a season.

Watson is fourth nationally in total offense with 4,399 yards, which is more than in-state rival SC had as a team. Showing his versatility, he also amasses 1,109 yards on kick and punt returns.

Now, most years, there’s one candidate who appears to be above the rest, but this year’s Heisman vote could be one of the closest in recent history.

The Skinny: Stanford head coach David Shaw is admittedly biased, but he has a strong stance about his running back, Christian McCaffrey. In the SEC title game on Saturday he carried 44 times for 189 yards.

Boykin, a finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, looked like a lock for the ceremony when the Horned Frogs were 8-0 and coming off a Thursday night victory against West Virginia in which Boykin’s elusiveness, passing and improvisation reached their peak.

Clemson and Alabama are ranked first and second in the College Football Playoff standings.

Henry came up especially big when the Crimson Tide needed him most.

According to current NCAA total defense stats, Watson played against eight top 50 defenses this year compared to six for Henry. Of the last 15 winners, 13 were quarterbacks.

And here are a few potential snubs, based on who was in the running late in the season.

Among those missing out on a trip to New York City were Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield; Louisiana State running back Leonard Fournette, who was the early season favorite; and Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds.