A Southeastern Conference championship trophy awaits the winner Saturday night between No. 1 Alabama and No. 11 Florida in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
A Heisman Trophy could be awarded to the best performance among Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, Crimson Tide wide receiver DeVonta Smith and Florida quarterback Kyle Trask.
According to the Action Network, Jones is the betting favorite for college football’s top individual award, with Smith second and Trask third. BetOnline has Trask second and Smith third behind Jones, who as a youngster in Jacksonville got his picture made with the 2007 Heisman winner, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.
“That was a long time ago, but I definitely remember getting there in line and taking a picture with him and then him signing the picture with me and my family,” Jones said Monday. “I think we still have it somewhere in the house. It was a cool experience. Obviously Tim was a great player who also did a lot of great things off the field.”
Jones leads the nation in passing efficiency and guides the only team ever to post a 10-0 regular season containing 10 wins over Southeastern Conference opposition. Each of those victories transpired by at least 15 points, with a 42-13 whipping of Auburn marking the closest of the Crimson Tide’s last six contests.
HEISMAN CONTENDERS
MAC JONESWhy he should win it: Jones is on pace for an NCAA single-season record for passing efficiency (203.9) and has thrown 27 touchdowns while being intercepted three times.Why he shouldn’t: Isn’t DeVonta Smith always open to some degree, and how tough can it be handing off to Najee Harris and watching him run for 1,084 yards?KYLE TRASKWhy he should win it: Trask has completed 259 of 369 passes for 3,717 yards with 40 touchdowns and five interceptions. His 40 aerial scores are 10 more than anybody else.Why he shouldn’t: Junior tight end Kyle Pitts gives Trask the biggest mismatch of any player in college football, and how much will losing at home to a 3-5 LSU hurt?DEVONTA SMITHWhy he should win it: Smith has 1,327 receiving yards in a year when nobody else has 1,200. He’s also racking up the highlights with one-handed catches and punt returns.Why he shouldn’t: Receivers can’t control as much as quarterbacks in a game, which is reflected by quarterbacks having claimed nine of the past 10 Heisman Trophies.
This has been the most prolific offense of the Nick Saban era and in Alabama history, yet Jones continues to be labeled a “game manager” by many.
“Coach Saban would probably say the same thing about me,” Jones said with a laugh. “I come in and manage the game. I obviously have a lot of great players around me.”
That includes senior running back Najee Harris and certainly includes Smith, who leads the nation with 1,327 receiving yards and had an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown to break open last week’s 52-3 rout of Arkansas. Smith is trying to become the first receiver to win the Heisman Trophy since Michigan’s Desmond Howard in 1991.
“Obviously he’s got electric breaking speed, and he’s a great route-runner,” Florida coach Dan Mullen said. “He’s a very, very polished football player with running his routes and the discipline of his routes, and then he’s got the hands to make some spectacular catches.
“That’s a pretty good combination that makes him a very dangerous player out there on the field.”
Florida photo by Tim Casey / Florida fifth-year senior quarterback Kyle Trask led the Heisman Trophy race in recent weeks but slipped after last Saturday’s 37-34 home loss to LSU.Trask may have to lead the Gators, who are 17-point underdogs, to a stunning triumph to snatch the trophy from going to Tuscaloosa. Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tebow are former Florida quarterbacks who have won the Heisman, but Trask has the most unique story of them all after serving as a backup throughout high school (to current Miami Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King) and throughout college until getting his opportunity last year through a Feleipe Franks injury.
It’s an unlikely route that both Gators fans and opponents can appreciate, including Saban.
“I know he’s had a tough road coming up kind of like Mac has, and I have a lot of respect for guys who stick with it and persevere and overcome a lot of adversity,” Saban said. “Kyle has certainly done that, and he has had as fine a season as any quarterback in the country. I can’t say enough positive things about him, because I have a lot of respect for guys who sort of come up the hard way.”
Voting for the Heisman Trophy opened Monday and will close next Monday at 5 p.m.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.
Alabama photo by Kent Gidley / Alabama senior receiver DeVonta Smith leads the nation in receiving yards and added this 84-yard punt return for a score last weekend at Arkansas.