In a star-studded Alabama team, DeVonta Smith has emerged as the best college football player. Smith became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy in 29 seasons on Tuesday night, breaking the monopoly that defenders had on college football’s most prestigious award by defeating three of them.
“I want to thank my teammates,” said Smith during his acceptance speech. “With the success of the team comes individual success, without you, I would not be where I am today, winning this award.”
Smith finished with 447 votes for first place and 1,856 points to easily beat Trevor Lawrence of Clemson (222, 1,187), Alabama team mate Mac Jones (138, 1,130) and Kyle Trask of Florida (61, 737).
The senior Crimson Tide is the fourth recipient to win the Heisman, joining Desmond Howard of Michigan in 1991, Tim Brown of Notre Dame in 1987 and Johnny Rodgers of Nebraska in 1972.
Quarterbacks have won 17 of the previous 20 Heisman trophies, including the last four.
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Smith is the third Alabama player to win Heisman, all since 2009. Like Tide’s running backs, Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015), Smith will play in the national championship as a Heisman winner.
No. 1 Alabama faces No. 3 Ohio State on January 11 in the College Football Playoff title game in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Heisman’s vote was completed on December 21, so playoff performance was not a factor. But Smith made those who supported him feel good about a brilliant three-touchdown game against Notre Dame in the CFP semifinals last weekend.
Smith has 105 receptions for 1,641 yards and 22 touchdowns in total going into the final game of his college career – which will also be his third game in the national championship.
Smith earned a place in Alabama’s history as a freshman, taking Tua Tagovailoa’s 41-yard pass in overtime against Georgia to give Tide the 2017 national championship.
For the next two seasons, Smith was still often the forgotten star in Tide’s talented 2017 recipient class, which included All-American Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs. Both players decided to skip their senior seasons and enter the draft last year. Both were selected in the first round.
Smith returned to school to complete his course and form an explosive combination for Tide with junior Jaylen Waddle. Then Waddle suffered a leg injury at the end of the season on October 24.
As Tide’s undisputed number one receiver, Smith shone. In the week following Waddle’s elimination, Smith had 11 receptions for 204 yards and four touchdowns against the State of Mississippi.
Smith’s rise with one hand in TD against LSU was not only his trademark, but one of the best of the 2020 season.
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A former four-star recruit from Amite, Louisiana, Smith came to Tuscaloosa from LSU’s backyard, disappointing many Tigers fans in his hometown.
He only had seven receptions as a freshman and, although he scored the touchdown of the victory in the national title game, the game’s story was the guy who launched it.
Tagovailoa was the candidate for Alabama’s Heisman for the next two years.
Low-key Smith quietly led Tide in receptions and yards last year as a junior and became a second-team All-American.
Smitty – as teammates and coaches call him – did not emerge as a candidate for Hesiman this season until Waddle fell.
Beginning with that game in the state of Mississippi, Smith had a four-game break with 35 receptions for 749 yards and 11 touchdowns that solidified another nickname for the six-foot-five-pound coach: Slim Reaper.