The Heisman Trophy is arguably the highest award an individual player can earn in college football. This award is often given to those who are the best all-around players on and off the field. This year the finalists were USC’s Caleb Williams, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud, TCU”s Max Duggan, and Georgia’s, Stetson Bennett. These are all quarterbacks from top-tier teams. Some examples of people who have won the Heisman before are Tim Tebow, Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton, Reggie Bush, Bo Jackson, and many more.  All of these men deserve to be a finalist, but there are some controversial opinions about it. 

Tennesse’s quarterback Hendon Hooker was one of the best players this season. Most people thought he would be a finalist. Hooker led Tennesse to be one of the best teams this season. When we compare his stats to Stetson Bennet’s, we will see that Hooker is the better player. Hooker had 285 yards per game compared to Bennett’s 263. Hooker had 27 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, whereas Stetson had 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Hooker also had 430 rush yards, which is over double of Bennett’s. Even though Bennett has a national championship, that doesn’t mean he should automatically be a finalist.

Even though Tennesse did lose to Georgia and South Carolina, this doesn’t mean Hooker shouldn’t have been a finalist. It is also strange to me how all of the finalists are quarterbacks. This is rare, but if you look at all of the past winners, the majority are quarterbacks. Hopefully, in the future, the finalists can be chosen in a better way.