Henry, McCaffrey and Watson named 2015 Heisman Trophy finalists

Alabama running back Derrick Henry (2) leaves the field after the second half of the Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game against Florida, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015, in Atlanta.

This year’s finalists are Alabama running back Derrick Henry, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Clemson quarterback DeShaun Watson.

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Deshaun Watson rarely panics, not as a high school star in Georgia watching his mother fight cancer or as Clemson’s quarterback working to come back from knee surgery. He had 18 receiving touchdowns by October 24, which is more than anybody else scored all year long. Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland learned the hard way in one early practice encounter. So now you get a place where this kid is an outsider looking in.

STUDY SHOWS DISPARITY: A study of this year’s bowl-bound schools shows the overall academic success of players is the same as last year while the graduation disparity between white and African-American football players grew slightly. He wasn’t one of five finalists for the Walter Camp player of the year award announced last week.

Watson and Clemson will play Big 12 champion Oklahoma and Alabama will face Big Ten Champion Michigan State in the semifinal round of the College Football Playoffs on December 31. McCaffrey broke Barry Sanders’ record but he needed two more games to do so than Sanders. He also has 163 carries for 887 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in 2015.

The durable Henry has logged an even heavier workload than usual in the past two games.

He was capable of much more, as his 46 carries against Auburn and 44 against Florida proved. Yet, the Heisman voting is the most archaic.

“My main focus is on finishing and helping this team win, ” Henry said after the SEC championship game.

“I’m just going to take it all in and enjoy every minute”, Henry said. Its a team effort.”.

The numbers demonstrate that Henry’s been at his best against Alabama’s better opponents, especially since the Ole Miss loss, when the Tide had no margin for error. He finished the regular season with 1,986 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Saban said he hasnt coached “many players that actually set a better example to affect other people.”.

That big-game ability, coupled with bad games by Leonard Fournette and Ezekiel Elliott, helped Henry ascend to a Heisman favorite. In just his senior year at Valor, McCaffrey ran for 1858 yards and 27 touchdowns, as well as grabbing 39 passes for 721 yards and 16 more touchdowns.

200-YARD CLUB: Henry’s 200-yard games certainly left an impression on voters, and he tied an SEC record with four of them. The Cardinal did have a recent run of three straight seasons with the runner-up.