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You know it’s been a competitive year when Leonard Fournette can’t even crack the list of Heisman Trophy finalists following the season he’s had.
And don’t be surprised if Derrick Henry doesn’t bring home the trophy. It could happen.
Well, imagine a world where every Heisman Trophy finalist came from the SEC. We at SDS can picture it, and these are the players who would be on that list:
1. Derrick Henry, Alabama: The Crimson Tide wouldn’t have won the SEC Championship or earned the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff without the SEC Offensive Player of the Year. He leads the nation in rushing yards (an SEC-record 1,986) and touchdowns (23) and is second in the country in yards per game (152.8).
He has also scored a rushing TD in 18 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the SEC and the most by a conference player in the last 25 seasons.
And, oh yeah, he has rushed for 200 yards or more four times this season, making him just the third RB in SEC history to accomplish that. He could be denied the Heisman even though he is having a better statistical season than Alabama running back Mark Ingram did when he won the award six years ago.
2. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State: Named first-team all-SEC by the league’s coaches for the second straight year, Prescott is the only conference player to lead his team in passing and rushing this season. Arguably the greatest player in Mississippi State history, Prescott broke his own single-season school records for completion percentage (66.9) and yards per game (284.4) while passing for 3,413 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushing for 541 yards and 10 scores this year.
3. Leonard Fournette, LSU: Everybody’s Heisman favorite before the Tigers’ loss to Alabama, Fournette has set an LSU record for rushing yards in a season with 1,741 and has run for 18 touchdowns — in just 11 games. A finalist for the Doak Walker Award, the sophomore leads the nation in rushing yards per game (158.3).
4. Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss: If the SEC had a Comeback Player of the Award he certainly would be the leading candidate. The SEC leader this season in receiving yards per game (90.2), Treadwell — who suffered a season-ending broken leg in last year’s loss to Auburn — also finished second in the conference in receptions per contest (6.3) and tied for third in TD catches (8). With a strong showing in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma State, he could become Ole Miss’ all-time leader in career receptions and its single-season leader in catches and receiving yards.
5. Reggie Ragland, Alabama: The senior middle linebacker and Crimson Tide signal caller is also the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. A potential first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft, Ragland has made a team-leading 90 tackles for the nation’s second-ranked defense. He is also still up for the Bednarik Award after being named a finalist for the Nagurski and Butkus Awards.
The SEC’s fab five is certainly an impressive group, but Henry would capture the conference’s Heisman if there actually were such a thing.
We’ll see if he stiff-arms Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson to win the real thing Saturday night.
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
