Trevor Lawrence did not win the Heisman Trophy.
As most Clemson football fans expected, quarterback Trevor Lawrence did not win the 2020 Heisman Trophy. Once again, Heisman voters prove they have no idea what they are watching when it comes to the best player in the country.
You can call me a loser, I don’t care, but this is the second time in the past six years that a Clemson football player has been the best player in the country, and the prize that should represent that player went to someone.
Although many fans continue to say that they have not cared about this award since Deshaun Watson was stolen a few years ago, the fact is that players care about it, and like Watson, Trevor Lawrence was stolen.
How good was Trevor Lawrence in 2020? Well, unlike Mac Jones, Kyle Trask and winner DeVonta Smith, Lawrence was not surrounded by NFL talent in the first round. Instead, Lawrence was playing for reserve players arriving in the summer and helped them reach career seasons as veterans.
Don’t take anything from Smith, Jones or Trask, as they were all fantastic in 2020, but none of them were Trevor Lawrence.
You saw in the Cotton Bowl how bad Trask was without his initial pass holders, luckily for Mac Jones, you won’t have to see him without his. Smith was not WR1 on his own team until Jaylen Waddle left with an injury and then Smith did what any great player does and grabbed his chance.
If Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson were not worthy, would any Clemson player win a Heisman?
There is no doubt that Dabo Swinney played a big role in Trevor not winning the award, and by that, I mean, there were many voters out there who expressed their dislike for Swinney in Trevor for this award.
We have seen voters like Dan Wolken and David Hale write successive hits on Swinney and there is no doubt that their votes have been influenced. There was much more to the country than just these two, they were simply the best known.
Heisman’s chances in early 2021 project the holder, the second DJ Uiagalelei, listed as the second favorite, behind Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler. He will also face UNC quarterback Sam Howell, Miami’s D’eriq King and USC quarterback Kedon Slovis.
If a quarterback who reached 34-2 as a college starter, shot for 10,098 yards with 90 touchdowns and just 17 interceptions never had a legitimate chance of winning the prize, how would someone in orange and purple do that?
Although Trevor Lawrence was not the Heisman winner, he still has the opportunity to bring home the Maxwell Award for the national player of the year and the Davey O’Brien Award for the best defender in the country.
Fortunately, these voters will do a much better job of recognizing the best college football player than Heisman did.