Trevor Lawrence did not win the Heisman Trophy.
As most Clemson football fans expected, Trevor Lawrence (quarterback) did not win the Heisman Trophy in 2020. Once again, Heisman voters prove that they have no idea what they are looking for if it is the best player in the country.
You can call me a painful loser, it does not matter to me, but it’s twice in the last six years that a Clemson footballer has been the best player in the country, and the award that is supposed to make such a to represent player is to someone else.
While many fans will continue to say that they have not cared about this award since Deshaun Watson was robbed a few years ago, the fact remains that players care about it, and like Watson, Trevor Lawrence was robbed.
How good was Trevor Lawrence in 2020? Unlike Mac Jones, Kyle Trask and winner DeVonta Smith, Lawrence was not surrounded by NFL talent in the first round. Instead, Lawrence throws in players who were back-up in the summer, and he helped them achieve career seasons as seniors.
Take nothing away from Smith, Jones or Trask because they were all fantastic in 2020, but none of them were Trevor Lawrence.
You saw in the Cotton Bowl how bad Trask was without his first passers, lucky for Mac Jones, you do not have to see him without his. Smith was not WR1 in his own team until Jaylen Waddle went out with an injury, and then Smith did what great players do and grabbed his chance.
If Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson were not worthy, would any Clemson player ever win a Heisman?
There’s no doubt that Dabo Swinney played a big part in Trevor not winning the award, and by that I mean, there were a lot of voters out there who picked out their dislike of Swinney on Trevor for this award.
We have seen voters like Dan Wolken and David Hale write hit after hit on Swinney and there is no doubt that their votes have been affected. There was much more in the country than just these two; they happened to be the most striking.
The early 2021 Heisman chance predicted the starter, second DJ Uiagalelei, who was listed as the second favorite behind Oklahoma fullback Spencer Rattler. He will also have to contend with UNC full-back Sam Howell, Miami’s D’eriq King, and USC full-back Kedon Slovis.
If a quarterback who went 34-2 as an appetizer in college, threw for 10,098 yards with 90 tackles and only 17 interceptions never had a legal chance at the award, how does anyone in orange and purple do that ?
While Trevor Lawrence was not the Heisman winner, he still has the opportunity to win the Maxwell Award for National Player of the Year and the Davey O’Brien Award for the country’s best fullback.
Hopefully the voters will do a much better job of recognizing the best player in college football than the Heisman did.