The Heisman finalists have been announced and there are definitely some questionable picks and players that had amazing seasons were snubbed from making the list. Which players were snubbed the most though? Let’s discuss who should’ve made the list and why they should’ve made it.
#1 Hendon Hooker, Quarterback Tennessee
The Heisman Trophy is predominantly a quarterback award and the committee forgot potentially the best quarterback from this year. Prior to the South Carolina game and his torn ACL Hooker was the undisputed front-runner for the Heisman, for good reason too. He was the sole reason for Tennessee’s success throughout the season and that showed once he got injured the team struggled immensely to get back to speed and the defense showed that they could not hold with anyone. The offense didn’t necessarily struggle in his absence but it was nowhere near as electric as it was with Hooker and they could no longer go blow for blow with teams when their defense struggled, which was often.
Even with missing a game and a half, Hendon Hooker put up 3,565 total yards and 32 total touchdowns with only two interceptions on the whole year. You can make an argument it was because of his record compared to the rest of the finalists, but they should not be held against him. His first loss came to the without a doubt best team in the country, Georgia, and that was largely due to them having the best defense in college football and Tennessee’s defense not being able to stop Georgia. Then his second loss came because the defense was nowhere to be seen and allowed nine total touchdowns to a Spencer Rattler lead offense and Hooker got injured in the third quarter, so the offense had no response. He definitely should’ve made the list over a guy like Stetson Bennett, Hooker was no doubt snubbed from the list.
#2 Blake Corum, Runningback Michigan
Blake Corum was the sole reason for Michigan’s success prior to his injury and was without a doubt the best running back in college football this season, before his injury. The Michigan offense could not be stopped mostly due to how many tackles Blake Corum could break and how much breakaway speed he had. Even when teams game planned for him they could still not stop him, because of how dominating he was. He was one of the favorites to win the award, then after rushing for 100 yards in the first half he would go down to a knee injury that required surgery.
He was held out of playing the second half, and against Ohio State and that caused players to have a chance to pass him in the Heisman race. Even with missing one and a half weeks, he still put up 1,463 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns on 5.9 yards per carry. If not for the injury he would’ve 100% been a Heisman finalist, but the week and a half he missed caused the committee to overlook him, and he was most definitely snubbed.
#3 Bijan Robinson, Runningback Texas
Bijan Robinson is one of the most dominant players in all of college football and his play this year showed it, but his team’s success did not. Robinson put up 1,894 total yards and 20 total touchdowns this season on 6.1 yards per carry and was seemingly unstoppable week in and week out. His team, however, was stoppable as they lost four games in the season and were barely ranked to finish out the year. Bijan Robinson definitely had a Heisman-worthy season but his team’s failures caused the committee to overlook him, and he was snubbed over a guy like Stetson Bennett.
