As Alabama prepares for the national championship game on Monday, several Crimson Tide players were honored with individual awards on Thursday at the Home Depot College Football Awards.
As expected, Heisman DeVonta Smith Trophy winner won the Fred Biletnikoff Award (best recipient), while quarterback Mac Jones (Davey O’Brien), left striker Alex Leatherwood (Outland) and running back Najee Harris (Doak Walker) they were also honored for their excellent seasons.
Here is the list of individual prizes whose winners were announced on Thursday:
Davey O’Brien Award: An All-American from the first Associated Press team, Jones pitched for 4,036 yards with 36 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Trevor Lawrence de Clemson, who finished ahead of Jones in the vote for the Heisman Trophy, and Kyle Trask of Florida were also finalists.
Fred Biletnikoff Award: It was fitting that Smith, who was the first wide receiver to beat Heisman since Desmond Howard beat him while playing for Michigan in 1991, also took Biletnikoff home. The other two finalists, Ole Miss’ Elijah Moore and Kyle Pitts from Florida, were also finalists. Smith managed 105 passes for 1,641 yards with 20 touchdowns with the championship game still to play.
Doak Walker Award: Harris ran 1,387 yards (6.1 yards per load) with 24 touchdowns, the best in the country. He has accumulated 303 yards in Alabama’s last two wins, against Florida in the SEC championship (178) and Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinal (125). Iowa’s Breece Hall, the nation’s biggest defender, and Travis Etienne de Clemson were also finalists.
Outland Trophy: Leatherwood is the third member of Crimson Tide to win Outland since 2016, joining Quinnen Williams (2018) and Cam Robinson (2016). One of the main tackling possibilities on the left of the NFL, Leatherwood defeated Liam Eichenberg of Notre Dame and Daviyon Nixon of Iowa. Last season’s winner, Penei Sewell from Oregon, gave up before the season.
Chuck Bednarik Award: Zaven Collins of Tulsa won the award for the country’s best defensive player, ahead of Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II. In eight games, Collins finished with 53 tackles, 11.5 tackles for defeat, four sacks and four interceptions. Collins was also honored with the Bronko Nagurski Prize two weeks ago.
Lou Groza Award: Miami’s Jose Borregales was voted the best kicker in the country after an almost perfect season. He converted 20 of 22 field goals – including 2 of 2 over 50 yards – and converted all 37 attempts for extra points. Will Reichard from Alabama and BYU Jake Oldroyd were the other finalists.
Ray Guy Award: Georgia Tech’s Pressley Harvin III made history as the first African American to win the award, bestowed on the nation’s best bettor. He averaged 48.0 yards per punt and 18 of his 45 punts were shot down within the opponent’s 20 yard line. He defeated Jake Camarda of Georgia and Lou Hedley of Miami.