The drought of nearly three decades of wide receivers who failed to win the Heisman Trophy came to an end when DeBonta Smith, Alabama’s senior senior, was presented with the award Tuesday night during a virtual ceremony.
Smith is the third Alabama player to receive the best college football award and the first recipient to win it since Desmond Howard, Michigan, in 1991. Smith beat three other finalists, all of whom were quarterbacks: Mac Jones of Alabama, Trevor Lawrence van Clemson and Florida Kyle Trask.
Smith received 447 first votes (1,856 total points). Lawrence (222 first places, 1,187 points) finished second, followed by Jones (138, 1,130) and Trask (61, 737).
Smith leads the FBS in reception (105), reception yard (1,641) and receives touchdowns (20). He dropped only two passes all season.
Like Howard, however, Smith is more than a receiver. He picked him up for once and scored a point for another score this season. Along the way, he set an SEC record for careers and an Alabama record for careers.
Last week, Smith was named The Associated Press Player of the Year, becoming the first wide receiver to win the award.
Not bad for a skinny kid from Amite, Louisiana, who would drop to the floor in high school and do printing when he saw his reflection, because he thought he was too small to play college football.
‘Tay-Tay’, as he is known at home, grew stronger, but he remained a relative featherweight at 6 feet-1 and 175 pounds. Because of his small build, strong hands and skill as a route spinner, he would draw comparisons to former Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis Colts.
In Alabama, coaches and players would simply call him ‘Smitty’. But he also picked up the nickname of the ‘Slim Reaper’.
As a freshman, Smith gained national recognition when he won the overtime game of the 2018 College Football Playoff title game against Georgia. The iconic play – forever known as ‘2nd-and-26’ – could have defined his career, but the reserved Smith shrugged it off when it was trained. As he would later say, “I don’t care too much about the catch anymore. It’s a new year. We’re going on.”
As a sophomore, however, injuries would hamper his development, and he is largely overshadowed by the rise of teammates and co-receivers Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III and Jaylen Waddle. Even after scoring 14 touchdowns as a junior, he managed to fly under the radar.
But this season, that’s all changed. Jeudy and Ruggs leave for the NFL, and Waddle, who was one of the most dynamic playmakers in college football, lost four games this season due to an ankle injury.
Smith was not even in the Heisman chancellor list at Caesars Sportsbook after Waddle was injured in late October, where he was posted 60-1. But when Waddle was eliminated, Smith became the focal point of the passing game and he excelled in the spotlight.
A week after Waddle’s injury, Smith recorded four hits in a win over the Mississippi States. He scored a few touchdowns in each of the next two games, against Kentucky and Auburn, before returning home to Louisiana and scoring three times against LSU.
Smith excelled in the post-season and twice hosted the final against Florida in the SEC Championship game and three more times against Notre Dame during the CFP semifinals in The Rose Bowl Game, hosted by Capital One.
After the Crimson Tide beat the Fighting Irish in the best position to advance to the CFP title race, Alabama coach Nick Saban called Smith a “talented man” and a “hard worker”.
“He’s doing everything exactly right,” Saban said. “He has a good understanding of what he has to do to make plays, and he makes it every chance he gets. So we are very happy to have him.”
Saban, who does not tend to make comparisons, said Smith ‘did as much for our team this year as any player we have ever had’.
Jones, who has thrown 4,036 yards and 36 touchdowns this season, called Smith “the most electric player in college football.”
“He means the most to us here in Alabama,” Jones said. “You can watch the matches and see what type of person he is with how he plays. I was very excited to just be able to get the ball for him. He came back to win a national championship and improve his concept [stock], and I feel like he did exactly that because he just opened up and made explosive plays. ‘
ESPN NFL Concept Expert Mel Kiper Jr. names Smith as the fourth best player on his Big Board, and as the no. 1-wide receiver.
Heisman Trophy in hand, the only thing that needs to be done now is for Smith to end his career as it began: to compete for a national championship.
Smith is 1-1 in championship games in his career. On Monday, he broke the tie against the state of Ohio.