When Jameis Winston won the Heisman Trophy 11 years ago, he was the youngest ever to do it — a record he held until Lamar Jackson won it in 2016, beating it by just four days. It was a memorable moment for Jameis that he will never forget. Hours before the Heisman Award was set to announce its newest member, he took to Instagram, posting a reel to reminisce over that very moment.
The brief video starts with the announcement of Jameis winning the highly coveted college trophy, showing him giving hugs to his parents. It then cuts to his legendary speech where he remarks, “This Heisman isn’t just for Jameis Winston; it’s for Florida State… If we are going to do it, then we are going to do it big!” A phrase that became synonymous with Jameis during his time at FSU.
The video capped off with Jameis holding his trophy high and proud. He even wrote a caption to accompany the post: “A moment I’ll never forget. Looking forward to welcoming a new member to the #Heisman family.”
It was a nice touch for the current Cleveland Browns quarterback. The fan reaction to the post was great as well. Some fans recounted the season, while others had jokes for Jameis.
The Heisman award this season has been one of the most hotly contested topics in college football. Like every year, there are four finalists; but only two really stand a chance. However, none are under the age of 21 — so for this year, Jameis and Lamar can sleep easy.
Let’s start with the outsiders, who are surprisingly both quarterbacks—usually, it’s quarterbacks as the heavy favorites. Cam Ward is a 22-year-old senior from Miami, while Dillon Gabriel is a 23-year-old from Oregon. Both are outstanding quarterbacks whose teams have had great seasons, but their numbers just aren’t on par with the other two finalists.
Ashton Jeanty is a 21-year-old running back out of Boise State who has had a historic season. He almost broke the regular season rushing record set by Barry Sanders.
Jeanty rushed for 2,288 yards and an incredible 28 touchdowns. While it did come against lesser competition in the Mountain West Conference, the numbers are still mesmerizing. Not to mention, Jeanty held his own in games against tougher competition. He rushed for 401 yards and four touchdowns against ranked opponents.
Travis Hunter is the other leading candidate out of Colorado and is the odds-on favorite to win. Also, a 21-year-old, Hunter is a two-way player who plays both wide receiver and cornerback. And he’s excellent at both.
He had over 1,000 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns as a receiver, to go along with 31 tackles, four interceptions, and a forced fumble as a defender. Hunter has forever achieved the status of college football immortality and will be remembered as a legend.
Although, some don’t believe Hunter is worthy of the award. Some critics have expressed that he is just “average” on both sides of the ball, and that a player like Jeanty who is great on one side should win the award. We’ll see what the voters decide at 8 pm EST on December 14th. One thing is for sure: Jameis Winston will welcome the winner with open arms to the Heisman family.
2024-12-14 19:28:19