College Football Recruits Who Ultimately Could Contend for the Heisman Trophy

He had run around the end from that spot all season.

And he spliced in another highlight on his reel.

In most cases, to be honest, those voters already have a preconceived notion of who they want the Heisman to be, which is why so many ballots are turned in before the end of the season.

The Heisman Trophy purports to identify “the outstanding college football player in the United States”. Ingram won it at the expense of another Stanford running back, Toby Gerhart – just like Henry over Christian McCaffrey – in the closest Heisman voting ever.

Alabama coach Nick Saban sat in the audience in New York City as Henry spent ten minutes thanking everyone from god to his family, team mates and coaches.

Alabama, for all its storied history, didn’t have a Heisman victor until running back Mark Ingram in 2009. Though maybe Jarrett Stidham will be the Baylor quarterback with the Heisman hype? He received 1,832 votes and won five of the six regions, South (368), Northeast (290), Midwest (308), Mid-Atlantic (292) and Southwest (292). His grandfather won a silver medal in the 100 meters at the 1960 Olympics.

I won’t get into the reasons Watson would have been my choice – if you’re reading this you’ve seen him play and don’t need the billion dollar publicity firm called ESPN to shape your thinking.

Despite a record-setting year for Colorado’s own Christian McCaffrey, the Stanford star running back fell just short of winning the Heisman trophy on Saturday night.

But McCaffrey saved the best for last, for the Pac-12 Championship Game, with a Rose Bowl berth at stake and with the eyes of a nation watching his every move. The sophomore was responsible for 15 touchdowns – eight rushing, four receiving, one kickoff return and two passing.

“Since going to those big camps and being one of those top players in the country, I’ve always dreamed about this moment”, Watson said Saturday night before the Heisman presentation.

Running backs — Royce Freeman, sophomore, Oregon; Larry Rose III, sophomore, New Mexico State. “He can play middle linebacker, fullback, receiver, quarterback. When he wasn’t shredding defenses on the gridiron, he played the NCAA Football Video Game”.

This year’s Heisman race became a regional rivalry.

A journey that started years ago on the playgrounds of the small North Florida town evolved under the bright lights of Times Square into college football’s grandest honors.

McCaffrey and the rest of Stanford football puts a bow on their season on New Year’s Day in the 102nd Rose Bowl Game against Iowa. The past two weeks he has carried the ball 90 times, including 44 attempts for 189 yards in Alabama’s SEC title game victory over Florida.

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson). Alabama’s Derrick Henry, center, answers questions for members of the media, Friday, Dec. 11, 2015, in NY. He broke the SEC season rushing record held for 34 years by Herschel Walker, was named MVP of the conference championship game, and now takes his talents to an even bigger stage in the playoff.

Although Henry told McCaffrey and Watson he couldn’t wait to share the Heisman stage with them again next year, there are factors that lean toward turning pro. McCaffrey got 290 first-place votes and 1,539 points. The quarterback reeled off 3,631 yards of offense, becoming the first Cougar signal-caller to rush for 1,000 yards.

This year’s Heisman voting reflected the regional rivalries. McCaffrey won the west with the most first-place votes there.

He will return to Stanford next season as a junior – with another shot at the Heisman. Those are two huge opportunities even though they are so early in the season.