The winner of the 2021 Heisman Trophy will be announced on Saturday night. The top four vote-getters for the 87th annual honor have been revealed, but the order of finish won’t be known until the presentation ceremony, which will be televised by ESPN at 7 p.m. CST. Given annually to nation’s best college football player, the Heisman Trophy will go to Michigan DL Aidan Hutchinson, Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett, Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud or Alabama QB Bryce Young this year. If Young wins, he would be the 15th player from the SEC to receive the award. The fifth- through 10th-place finishers in the 2021 voting already have been released, with Alabama LB Will Anderson Jr. in fifth, Ole Miss QB Matt Corral in seventh and Georgia DT Jordan Davis in ninth, giving the conference at least four players in the top 10 for the second time. A look at the SEC’s Heisman Trophy history:
1 Conference has produced three consecutive Heisman Trophy winners, a feat the SEC could duplicate if Alabama QB Bryce Young is the 2021 winner. The Big Ten had a three-year run of Heisman winners with Iowa’s Nile Kinnick in 1939, Michigan’s Tom Harmon in 1940 and Minnesota’s Bruce Smith in 1941. The SEC has produced the past two Heisman winners with LSU QB Joe Burrow in 2019 and Alabama WR DeVonta Smith in 2020.
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1 Ole Miss player had finished in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy balloting in the previous 50 seasons, with Rebels QB Matt Corral making it two in 51 by placing seventh in the 2021 voting. The Ole Miss players known to have finished in the top 10 of the Heisman voting also include QB Charley Conerly, who was fourth in 1947; FB Charlie Flowers, fifth in 1959; QB Jake Gibbs, third in 1960; QB Archie Manning, fourth in 1969 and third in 1970; and QB Eli Manning, third in 2003.
2 Current SEC members produced Heisman Trophy winners before they joined the conference. RB George Rogers, the 1980 winner, played for South Carolina, which joined the SEC in 1992. RB John David Crow, the 1957 winner, played for Texas A&M, which joined the SEC in 2012.
3 Of the SEC’s Heisman Trophy winners wore No. 2 on their jerseys — Auburn QB Cam Newton, Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel and Alabama RB Derrick Henry. Auburn QB Pat Sullivan and Florida QB Danny Wuerffel wore No. 7. Georgia RB Herschel Walker and Auburn RB Bo Jackson wore No. 34. If Alabama QB Bryce Young wins the 2021 Heisman Trophy, he would become the SEC’s second No. 9 to receive the award, joining LSU QB Joe Burrow. The SEC’s other Heisman winners with their numbers are Alabama WR DeVonta Smith No. 6, Florida QB Steve Spurrier No. 11, Florida QB Tim Tebow No. 15, LSU RB Billy Cannon No. 20, Georgia RB Frank Sinkwich No. 21 and Alabama RB Mark Ingram No. 22.
3 Sets of SEC teammates have finished in the top 10 of the same Heisman Trophy voting in the past two years after it is known to have happened twice in the first 85 years of the award. In 1967, Tennessee placed C Bob Johnson at No. 6 and QB Dewey Warren at No. 8 in the balloting. In 2018, Alabama placed QB Tua Tagovailoa at No. 2 and DT Quinnen Williams at No. 8 in the balloting. In the 2020 Heisman voting, Alabama WR DeVonta Smith finished first, QB Mac Jones third and RB Najee Harris fifth, and Florida QB Kyle Trask finished fourth and TE Kyle Pitts 10th. In the 2021 voting, Alabama LB Will Anderson Jr. placed fifth with QB Bryce Young recording a top-four showing.
4 Straight top-10 finishers for Georgia in the Heisman Trophy voting have been defensive players, including DT Jordan Davis, who placed ninth in this year’s voting. The most recent offensive player from Georgia to finish in the top 10 is QB Eric Zeier, who was seventh in 1994. Georgia’s top-10 finishers between Zeier and Davis were CB Champ Bailey, who came in seventh in 1998; LB Jarvis Jones, 10th in 2012; and LB Roquan Smith, 10th in 2017.
6 Of the SEC’s Heisman Trophy winners played for national championship teams in the season they received the award — Florida QB Danny Wuerffel in 1996, Alabama RB Mark Ingram in 2009, Auburn QB Cam Newton in 2010, Alabama RB Derrick Henry in 2015, LSU QB Joe Burrow in 2019 and Alabama WR DeVonta Smith in 2020. Alabama QB Bryce Young remains in the running to join this group with the Crimson Tide selected to participate in the CFP to complete this season.
12 SEC players have finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting, a spot Alabama QB Bryce Young could hold in 2021. The conference’s fourth-place finishers have been:
· Tennessee HB George Cafego in 1939
· Georgia RB Frank Sinkwich in 1941
· Ole Miss QB Charlie Conerly in 1947
· Kentucky QB Babe Parilli in 1950
· Kentucky T Lou Michaels in 1957
· Auburn FB Ed Dyas in 1960,
· Alabama LB Lee Roy Jordan in 1962
· Ole Miss QB Archie Manning in 1969
· Alabama RB Johnny Musso in 1971
· LSU QB Bert Jones in 1972
· Kentucky QB Tim Couch in 1998
· Florida QB Kyle Trask in 2020
13 Runner-up finishes in the voting for the Heisman Trophy by SEC players. Alabama QB Bryce Young could have finished second in the 2021 balloting. The conference’s Heisman runner-ups have been:
· Georgia RB Charley Trippi (behind Army RB Glenn Davis) in 1946
· Tennessee RB Hank Lauricella (behind Princeton RB Dick Kazmaier) in 1951
· Tennessee RB Johnny Majors (behind Notre Dame RB Paul Hornung) in 1956
· LSU HB Jerry Stovall (behind Oregon State QB Terry Baker) in 1962
· Georgia Tech QB Billy Lothridge (behind Navy QB Roger Staubach) in 1963
· Georgia RB Herschel Walker (behind Southern Cal RB Marcus Allen) in 1981
· Tennessee QB Heath Shuler (behind Florida State QB Charlie Ward) in 1993
· Tennessee QB Peyton Manning (behind Michigan CB Charles Woodson) in 1997
· Florida QB Rex Grossman (behind Nebraska QB Eric Crouch) in 2001
· Arkansas RB Darren McFadden (behind Ohio State QB Troy Smith) in 2006
· Arkansas RB Darren McFadden (behind Florida QB Tim Tebow) in 2007
· Alabama QB AJ McCarron (behind Florida State QB Jameis Winston) in 2013
· Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa (behind Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray) in 2018.
14 SEC players have won the Heisman Trophy, which Alabama QB Bryce Young could do for the 2021 season. The conference’s Heisman Trophy winners have been:
· Georgia RB Frank Sinkwich in 1942
· LSU RB Billy Cannon in 1959
· Florida QB Steve Spurrier in 1966
· Auburn QB Pat Sullivan in 1971
· Georgia RB Herschel Walker in 1982
· Auburn RB Bo Jackson in 1985
· Florida QB Danny Wuerffel in 1996
· Florida QB Tim Tebow in 2007
· Alabama RB Mark Ingram in 2009
· Auburn QB Cam Newton in 2010
· Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel in 2012
· Alabama RB Derrick Henry in 2015
· LSU QB Joe Burrow in 2019
· Alabama WR DeVonta Smith in 2020
14 SEC players have finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting, a position that could be filled by Alabama QB Bryce Young in 2021. The conference’s third-place Heisman finishers have been:
· Georgia Tech RB Clint Castleberry (behind Georgia RB Frank Sinkwich and Columbia QB Paul Governali) in 1942
· Kentucky QB Babe Parilli (behind Princeton RB Dick Kazmaier and Tennessee RB Hank Lauricella) in 1951
· LSU RB Billy Cannon (behind Army RB Pete Dawkins and Iowa QB Randy Duncan) in 1958
· Ole Miss QB Jake Gibbs (behind Navy RB Joe Bellino and Minnesota OL Tom Brown) in 1960
· Ole Miss QB Archie Manning (behind Stanford QB Jim Plunkett and Notre Dame QB Joe Theismann) in 1970
· Georgia RB Herschel Walker (behind South Carolina RB George Rogers and Pitt LB Hugh Green) in 1980
· Georgia RB Garrison Hearst (behind Miami QB Gino Toretta and San Diego State RB Marshall Faulk) in 1992
· Alabama WR David Palmer (behind Florida State QB Charlie Ward and Tennessee QB Heath Shuler) in 1993
· Florida QB Danny Wuerffel (behind Ohio State RB Eddie George and Nebraska QB Tommie Frazier) in 1995
· Ole Miss QB Eli Manning (behind Oklahoma QB Jason White and Pittsburgh WR Larry Fitzgerald) in 2003
· Florida QB Tim Tebow (behind Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford and Texas QB Colt McCoy) in 2008
· Alabama RB Trent Richardson (behind Baylor QB Robert Griffin III and Stanford QB Andrew Luck) in 2011
· Alabama WR Amari Cooper (behind Oregon QB Marcus Mariota and Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon) in 2014
· Alabama QB Mac Jones (behind Alabama WR DeVonta Smith and Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence) in 2020
14 Fifth-place finishes for SEC players in the Heisman Trophy balloting, including in this year’s voting, with Alabama LB Will Anderson Jr. placing fifth. The SEC’s other fifth-place finishers have been:
· Georgia Tech RB Eddie Prokop in 1943
· Alabama QB Harry Gilmer in 1945
· Alabama QB Harry Gilmer in 1947
· Ole Miss FB Charlie Flowers in 1959
· Alabama QB Pat Trammell in 1961
· Alabama QB Terry Davis in 1972
· LSU RB Charles Alexander in 1978
· Georgia S Terry Hoage in 1983
· Florida QB Shane Matthews in 1991
· Alabama QB Jay Barker in 1994
· Florida QB Tim Tebow in 2009
· LSU DB Tyrann Mathieu in 2011
· Alabama RB Najee Harris in 2020
15 SEC defensive players have finished in the top 10 of the Heisman Trophy balloting since the return of two-platoon football in 1965, when the unlimited-substitution rule went into effect, including two this year. The highest finish for an SEC defensive player since 1965 is fifth, a feat equaled by Alabama LB Will Anderson Jr. in 2021 after it was achieved by Georgia DB Terry Hoage in 1983 and LSU DB Tyrann Mathieu in 2011. Anderson is joined in this year’s top 10 by Georgia DT Jordan Davis, who placed ninth in the balloting. The other SEC defensive players with top-10 finishes have been:
· Tennessee LB Steve Kiner, ninth in 1969
· Alabama LB Cornelius Bennett, seventh in 1986
· Alabama LB Derrick Thomas, 10th in 1988
· Alabama DE Eric Curry, ninth in 1992
· Georgia DB Champ Bailey, seventh in 1998
· LSU DT Glenn Dorsey, ninth in 2007
· South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney, sixth in 2012
· Georgia LB Jarvis Jones, 10th in 2012
· Alabama DE Jonathan Allen, seventh in 2016
· Georgia LB Roquan Smith, 10th in 2017
· Alabama DT Quinnen Williams, eighth in 2018
16 Consecutive years have featured at least one SEC player in the top 10 in the Heisman voting, including this year. This is the conference’s longest streak of having at least one player place in the released voting totals. The previous record was a 12-year string that lasted from 1956 through 1967. The 2005 Heisman balloting is the most recent in which no player from the league placed in the top 10.
28 More points for Alabama RB Mark Ingram than for Stanford RB Toby Gerhart at the top of the 2009 Heisman Trophy balloting, the closest finish in the award’s history. Ingram had 227 first-place votes, 236 second-place votes and 151 third-place votes for 1,304 points. Gerhart had 222 first-place votes, 225 second-place votes and 160 third-place votes for 1,276 points. First-place votes are worth three points, second-place votes two points and third-place votes one point. An SEC player also was involved in the second-closest finish. In 1985, Auburn RB Bo Jackson finished 45 points ahead of Iowa QB Chuck Long.
29 SEC players have been finalists for the Heisman Trophy, with Alabama QB Bryce Young joining the list this year. The Heisman Trophy award presentation has included finalists since 1982. The procedure has changed this year for finalists, with the top four vote-getters invited. Previously, the top three vote-getters were invited to the award presentation annually. Whether more were invited was determined by how close the fourth-place finisher’s vote total was to the third-place finisher and so on through the voting until a clear demarcation of support was reached.
The SEC’s Heisman finalists have been:
· Alabama: David Palmer in 1993, Jay Barker in 1994, Mark Ingram in 2009, Trent Richardson in 2011, AJ McCarron in 2013, Amari Cooper in 2014, Derrick Henry in 2015, Tua Tagovailoa in 2018, Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith in 2020 and Bryce Young in 2021.
· Arkansas: Darren McFadden in 2006 and 2007.
· Auburn: Bo Jackson in 1985, Cam Newton in 2010 and Tre Mason in 2013.
· Florida: Emmitt Smith in 1989, Danny Wuerffel in 1995 and 1996, Rex Grossman in 2001, Tim Tebow in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and Kyle Trask in 2020.
· Georgia: Herschel Walker in 1982 and Garrison Hearst in 1992.
· Kentucky: Tim Couch in 1998.
· LSU: Tyrann Mathieu in 2011 and Joe Burrow in 2019.
· Ole Miss: Eli Manning in 2003.
· Tennessee: Heath Shuler in 1993 and Peyton Manning in 1997.
· Texas A&M: Johnny Manziel in 2012 and 2013.
62 More points for Nebraska QB Eric Crouch than for Florida QB Rex Grossman in the 2001 Heisman Trophy balloting, the closest an SEC player has come to winning the award without winning it. Crouch had 162 first-place votes, 98 second-place votes and 88 third-place votes for 770 points. Grossman had 137 first-place votes, 105 second-place votes and 87 third-place votes for 708 points.
72 Heisman Trophies were presented before a sophomore won the award. Florida QB Tim Tebow became the first sophomore with a Heisman in 2007, and three more have won it since — Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford in 2008, Alabama RB Mark Ingram in 2009 and Louisville QB Lamar Jackson in 2016. Alabama QB Bryce Young could become the SEC’s third sophomore to win the award this year.
78 Heisman Trophies were presented before a freshman won the award. Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel became the first freshman with a Heisman in 2012. A second freshman, Florida State QB Jameis Winston, won the award in 2013.
90.7 Percent of the Heisman voters in 2019 made LSU QB Joe Burrow their first-place choice, the highest rate in the award’s history. The smallest percentage of first-place votes for an SEC winner came in 2009, when Alabama RB Mark Ingram was the first-place choice of 24.5 percent of the voters.
95.5 Percent of the Heisman voters in 2019 included LSU QB Joe Burrow on their ballots, the highest rate in the award’s history. The smallest percentage for an SEC winner came in 1966, when Florida QB Steve Spurrier appeared on 57.2 percent of the ballots.
309 First-place votes were received by Florida QB Tim Tebow in the 2008 Heisman Trophy balloting, more than any other player that year, yet Tebow finished third for the award. Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford won with 300 first-place votes and 1,726 points. Texas QB Colt McCoy finished second with 266 first-place votes and 1,604 points. Tebow had 1,575 points, the most in Heisman history for a third-place finisher. Tebow’s 309 first-place votes in 2008 are the most received by a player who did not win the Heisman. Bradford got 315 second-place and 196 third-place votes, McCoy got 288 second-place and 230 third-place votes and Tebow got 207 second-place and 234 third-place votes.
316 Third-place votes were received by Alabama WR Amari Cooper in 2014, when he finished third behind Oregon QB Marcus Mariota and Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon in the Heisman Trophy balloting. It’s the most third-place votes an SEC player has received.
1,846 More points for LSU QB Joe Burrow than for Oklahoma (and former Alabama) QB Jalen Hurts in the 2019 Heisman Trophy balloting, the largest margin of victory in the award’s history. Burrow had 841 first-place votes, 41 second-place votes and three third-place votes for 2,608 points. Hurts had 12 first-place votes, 231 second-place votes and 264 third-place votes for 762 points to finish as the runner-up.
1,871 Points were collected by Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa in 2018, the most in Heisman history for a player who did not win the trophy. Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray won the 2018 Heisman with 2,167 points — 517 first-place, 278 second-place and 60 third-place votes. Tagovailoa received 299 first-place, 431 second-place and 112 third-place votes. He polled the most second-place votes that an SEC player has received in the Heisman voting.
2,608 Points were garnered by LSU QB Joe Burrow in the 2019 Heisman Trophy balloting, the most accumulated by a player in the award’s history. Burrow set a high mark with 841 first-place votes. Burrow picked up 93.8 percent of the points available in the voting, the highest in the award’s history.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
