Hearing a television announcer discuss the Heisman Trophy possibilities for Florida quarterback Kyle Trask a few weeks ago, my 16-year-old daughter Julia Caroline offered the following observation: "Wonder if anyone ever thinks that if Felipe Franks hadn't gotten hurt last year against Kentucky, no one might ever have heard of Kyle Trask?"
To carry that to an extreme for Tennessee fans, if Trask had not played so well last year down the stretch, Franks might not have transferred to Arkansas for this season, where he led a second-half comeback against the Vols, much as he led Florida to a last-second victory over UT in the Swamp in 2017.
But my daughter's question regarding the impact one player's injury may have had on another's career could be applied to at least two more Heisman contenders from Alabama - quarterback Mac Jones and wide receiver DeVonta Smith, regarded by many as the favorite to win the little bronze statue that annually goes to the player perceived as the college game's best that season.
For Jones, there was the chance, at least for a brief time last season, that the man he replaced at quarterback for the last few games of the 2019 season - Tua Tagovailoa - might return for this season to prove he wasn't as injury-prone as he sometimes seemed through an otherwise spectacular college career.
Had that happened, Jones would have seen a lot of mop-up duty this fall instead of tossing 32 TDs to just four interceptions, including five touchdown passes against Florida in last weekend's Southeastern Conference title game win.
As for Smith, his 19 total touchdowns and 15.4 yards a reception were made only more impressive with his numbers against the Gators last Saturday - two TDs, 15 catches and 184 receiving yards.
But what if fellow Crimson Tide wideout Jaylen Waddle hadn't suffered a season-ending injury against Tennessee in late October? Some of those yards and scores that Smith has accumulated would surely have wound up with Waddle, arguably the most dangerous player in the game, especially on special teams, before his injury. Maybe Smith would still have played best when it mattered most. But you wonder.
And all of this ignores the fact that the preseason favorite to win the Heisman - Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence - missed several games due to COVID-19 issues, or everyone else in the crowded Heisman field might have been playing for second.
As it is, Lawrence still heads into the College Football Playoff with 22 passing TDs, seven rushing scores and a magnificent game against Notre Dame in last week's Atlantic Coast Conference title game in which he threw for 322 yards and ran for 90 more.
Had Lawrence been able to play at Notre Dame in the two-overtime loss during the regular season, it's doubtful the Irish would have won and quite probable that Lawrence would be the heavy Heisman favorite today instead of viewed by many as no better than the third choice after Smith and Jones. Furthermore, had Clemson swept ND, Texas A&M would almost certainly have been in the CFP instead of the Irish, which television might have hated before hand, but would surely have preferred by the second quarter.
And we haven't even mentioned Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, the Georgia transfer who would surely have been in the mix if not for the Buckeyes playing such a shortened season due to coronavirus complications.
Alas, as in other years, what Fields, Lawrence, Trask and the Bama trio of Jones, Smith and running back Najee Harris - he of the 27 total touchdowns, including five in the SEC title game - do come the playoffs won't count. Heisman voting ended on Monday evening. Though the announcement won't come until Tuesday, January 5th, no resume' padding can be accomplished by anyone, which certainly hurts the chances for Fields and Lawrence.
Of course, this whole college season has been a bit off because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of games has varied widely as has the number of players available for games. About the best you can say is that we've almost gotten through it, a champion will presumably be crowned in the final minutes of January 11th, or perhaps the first few minutes of Jan. 12th in Miami and there has been no real evidence that playing through the pandemic threatened or cost lives, which was always the argument for not playing.
But whoever wins this Heisman, the national championship or both, there's a good chance that at least for this season, their path to glory was made easier by someone or some thing that could have shared or limited their spotlight, but didn't due to the fickle finger of fate.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.