Derrick Henry, Deshaun Watson and Christian McCaffrey are Heisman Trophy finalists

But then last weekend happened. Watson will be joined Saturday night’s ceremony in NY by Derrick Henry of Alabama and Christian McCaffrey of Stanford. This wasn’t a flashy, glamorous, or heavily talked about race, but in the end it’s probably as close as it’s been in a few years.

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.

Meanwhile, Stanford head coach David Shaw was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award.

LSU running back Leonard Fournette and Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield did not receive a nomination. Who will win? Who deserves to win? Those are two different questions.

As a high schooler, McCaffrey was a beast, however, college football, especially in Division 1, and especially in the Pac-12, one of the most underrated conferences in the NCAA, was going to be a much more hard game for the son of the former Denver Bronco to dominate.

Henry set the SEC record for rushing yards in a season while leading the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff. He gained 186 yards on 44 carries in the Tides’ 29-15 victory over Florida in the SEC title game, a very powerful last impression. Watson finished fourth in the country in total offense generated with 4,399 yards. That’s like an actor having his name mentioned with Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks. However, quarterbacks have won the award the last five years, and no running back has captured it since 2009. He would be the second for an Alabama player under coach Nick Saban.

But when it comes to telling legendary names to “move over, ” Henry has got nothing on McCaffrey.

McCaffrey is second to Henry in rushing yards with 1,847, but doesn’t rank almost as highly in rushing TD’s recording just eight (t-80th) on the season.

He was a powerful runner between the tackles, a speed demon on the sidelines, a crisp and precise route-running receiver, the nation’s most electrifying and intelligent kick and punt returner, and he even threw two touchdown passes. McCaffrey was a one-man highlight reel this season and a YouTube sensation. Henry has been inconsistent at times this season and McCaffrey’s team isn’t even playing in the College Football Playoff. Watson is only a true sophomore and has had an unreal season for someone who is coming off a torn ACL.

If the Heisman Trophy was awarded today, the victor should be Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, hands down.

The victor of the Heisman Trophy will be announced on Saturday, Dec. 12 at the Best Buy Theater in NY. So why is Henry more Heisman-worthy? And he’s done all of this under two first-year co-offensive coordinators in Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott.