Heisman Watch: Bryce Young Finishes the Season Atop the List

Stoney Keeley ranks the top 33....yes, top 33 (and then some)....Heisman contenders ahead of Saturday night's ceremony.

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Another season of the Heisman Watch is in the books – it’s hard to believe that another college football season has passed, but here we are. This season, I wrote about and ranked 33 players in my weekly look at college football’s biggest individual prize. In my highly scientific algorithm, I simply ranked players 1-5 each week. If you finished 1st, you got five points, so on and so forth. That’s why you’ll see some names on the back end of this list that are head scratchers – some guys might’ve had a couple of really strong weeks before fizzling out. Some guys might’ve gotten strong late but didn’t have the consistency all season long. Ultimately, the Heisman Watch usually gets it right around the top of the list, and that’s all that matters.

Even the most scientific and thorough formulas can miss every once in awhile. So, allow me to mention (honorably) the guys here that my method snubbed: Stetson Bennett, Treylon Burks, John Metchie III, Lew Nichols III, Sean Tucker, Sincere McCormick, and Will Anderson. I don’t know how in the hell I wrote this column every week all season and didn’t mention Will Anderson once. I’m a moron. Anyway, let’s open up my notebook for the season and review everyone I wrote about throughout 2021 as we get to Bryce Young, who I believe will and should win the Heisman on Saturday.

FINAL SOBROS HEISMAN WATCH POINTS STANDINGS

One Game Wonders

Tyrion Davis-Pryce (1) – 287 rushing yards and three touchdowns against Florida. Yeehaw.
Sean Clifford (1) – 401 passing yards and four touchdowns against Villanova.
Ty Chandler (2) – 213 rushing yards and four touchdowns against Wake Forest.
Spencer Rattler (4) – Five touchdowns against Western Carolina proved to be Rattler’s only chance to pad his stats this season before he eventually lost his starting job ’cause he stinks.
CJ Verdell (5) – 161 rushing yards and three total touchdowns in Oregon’s massive upset of Ohio State
Hassan Haskins (5) – Haskins had a solid season for Michigan, but it was five touchdowns against Ohio State to get into the Big Ten Championship that landed him on the Heisman Watch.

Worth Mentioning

27. Tyler Badie (1) – With 1,604 yards, Badie is the leading rusher in the SEC for 2021, and third in the entire FBS.
26. TreVeyon Henderson (1) – Henderson’s yardage (1,172) isn’t necessarily elite, but he was a key cog in that Ohio State offense.
25. JT Daniels (2) – Funny how things shake down in the Heisman Watch sometimes. If you asked me today, I’d say Stetson Bennett absolutely deserves this spot and Daniels doesn’t even deserve to sniff this list. But, here we are – with me having to explain why he clocks in at #25 here.
24. Will Levis (2) – Levis posted five-touchdown games twice for the Wildcats this season. While he did add a dynamic to the passing game Kentucky hasn’t had, he wasn’t consistent enough to legitimately get into the Heisman conversation.
23. Brennan Armstrong (2) – The Virginia Cavaliers quarterback topped 400 passing yards six times in 2021, en route to 40 total touchdowns.
22. Bailey Zappe (2) – Zappe led the FBS with a staggering 56 touchdown passes and helped get the Hilltoppers to the C-USA Championship.
21. Sam Howell (3) – An NFL-caliber quarterback that posted some solid numbers in spots, while underperforming in others.
20. Hendon Hooker (3) – Hooker’s impact on the Tennessee offense cannot be understated. He took over the starting job early in the season and kicked it into a different gear. He finishes the season tied as the 2nd highest rated quarterback in the FBS.
19. Malik Willis (3) – See ‘Sam Howell.’
18. Breece Hall (3) – The Cyclones stud entered the season as a Heisman dark horse, but Iowa State simply didn’t win enough to get him into the race. Still he finished with a respectable 1,472 yards and an FBS-leading 20 touchdowns.
17. Taulia Tagovailoa (4) – Tagovailoa snuck into the Heisman conversation early in the season before the race had really had the chance to shape out.
16. Zach Charbonnet (4) – Charbonnet started the season hot and looked like he was primed to be a Heisman dark horse with seven touchdowns in the first four games.

The Longshots

15. Bijan Robinson (4) – Robinson was a bona fide contender for the Texas Longhorns before he got hurt and before the Texas Longhorns started to stink up the joint. He still managed to post 1,127 and 11 touchdowns before going down for the season.
14. Caleb Williams (4) – Williams looked like he was going to sneak his way into the Heisman conversation when he took over for Spencer Rattler, but he fizzled out once the level of defenses Oklahoma played increased.
13. Brian Robinson, Jr. (4) – You’re the running back at Alabama – you play good football, you’re going to land somewhere on this list. *shrugs*
12. Aidan Hutchinson (4) – An absolute quarterback sacking machine and a prime disruptor – his 14 sacks were 2nd in the FBS, and he helped get the Wolverines into the Big Ten Championship by wreaking havoc on CJ Stroud and Ohio State.
11. Jake Haener (5) – Started the season strong for Fresno State, earning some early Heisman love, but he fell off the map as soon as Fresno State did.

The Contenders

10. Will Rogers (5) – If you’re the quarterback in a Mike Leach offense, you’re going to post some stats, but I don’t think Rogers gets the credit he deserves for elevating that unit.
9. Tyler Allgeier (6) – Not sure Allgeier got the respect he deserves for the work he did in BYU’s offense, leading the FBS with 20 rushing touchdowns, and hanging 1,414 rushing yards on the board.
8. Jameson Williams (7) – Williams got white hot down the stretch, topping 100 yards in six of Alabama’s final eight games. Despite getting just 17 catches through the first five games, he still turned it on and finished the season with 1,445 yards and 15 touchdowns.
7. Sam Hartman (8) – I don’t think Hartman got the credit he deserved for the prolific season he had – 47 total touchdowns for a prolific Wake Forest offense.
6. Desmond Ridder (12) – Ridder had an excellent season for the Bearcats, finishing the undefeated season and getting to the College Football Playoff.

The Finalists

5. Kenny Pickett (12) – Pickett was the ACC Player of the Year for good reason. That Pitt offense was as explosive as they come. Pickett finished 5th in the FBS with 4,319 passing yards and 42 touchdowns (that mark is second only to Young’s 43 in the power five conferences).

4. Matt Corral (15) – I don’t know that any player in the SEC meant as much to his team as Corral did to Ole Miss. It was a special season in Oxford and he was one of the main reasons for it. Corral finished with 3,339 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, 597 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.

3. Kenneth Walker III (20) – Walker’s production, 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns, is among the best in the FBS. A 25-yard outing against Ohio State dropped him down the list, but he absolutely should have still gotten the invite to New York.

2. CJ Stroud (21) – The hourglass simply ran out on Stroud. He was probably the best shot at upsetting Young for this award, but he got off to a bit of a slow start, and didn’t perform well in the season finale against Michigan. Stroud finished 8th in the FBS in passing yards with 3,862 yards and a whopping 38 touchdowns.

1. Bryce Young (35) – Young was always around the top of this list, though at times this season, Corral, Walker, and Stroud all looked like they were going to push him for it. Ultimately, his sheer production prevails, and the two weeks he had to close the season certainly didn’t hurt – gutting out a win to take the Iron Bowl, and then setting a passing record in the SEC Championship against one of the best defenses in college football history. Young finished the season with 43 touchdown passes.

If you haven’t already, be sure to go subscribe to the College Football Roundup Podcast, on which Steven McCash and myself break down all the action from the college football world and look ahead to the week to come.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley