Saint or Sooner, he’s your winner

Published 7:27 pm Sunday, December 10, 2017

I guess it’s safe to come clean by now.

As this is written, technically, the Heisman Trophy winner hasn’t been announced.

We all know who is going to win it, and I know who I voted for, and in just a minute or two I will throw caution to the wind and reveal it to a breathless audience.

I should be OK.

The Heisman folks are really sticklers about the whole secrecy thing. Before casting one’s vote -— now done online, of course — you must electronically pinkie-swear that under no circumstances will you reveal your vote to anyone, particularly someone who might being trying to construct the college football version of an exit poll.

Less clear is what the penalty phase for offenders would be, but there are rumors of sports writers going missing and later found floating in the Hudson River under mysterious circumstances.

So I don’t wish to test them.

Besides, I’m fine with the pre-ceremony secrecy.

Best I remember it, USA Today kind of started the whole “We now project Tim Tebow to carry Ohio” business, but soon all manner of national outlets and web sites had to follow suit because their bosses thought it would be a good idea. Innocent voters spent the week in advance avoiding the telephone. It was worse than telemarketers.

But mark one up for Heisman, Inc. It seems to have won this war. The exit polls don’t even bother pestering us any more.

I say the good guys won.

But I should be OK here.

I’m going to risk it under the premise that no matter how long they stretch out the ceremony it should hopefully be over by the time this finds a driveway or door step.

Still, it’s at this point that I look back over my shoulder to make sure there are no spies lurking, then take a deep breath and flex those typing fingers one more time.

So without further ado …

OK, first the guidelines.

You actually vote for three lads, with the votes weighted third to first.

My three were same three who were in New York as finalists for the ceremony, which is disappointing. I’m better than that. I’d like to believe I can think outside the box better than that and go against the chalk.

I once voted for what was then a I-AA player (now FCS), and Alcorn’s Steve McNair turned out pretty well.

This year, to be honest, was kind of boring for a Heisman race.

Anyway, we’ll get the two runners-up out of the way first. You can expect them to get nice parting gifts. Maybe luggage, perhaps a selfie stick. I’m not clear on how that works or if it would affect their bowl eligibility.

So my No. 3 choice was Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, even though last year I personally saw him play his worst game of the season against LSU in Citrus Bowl.

It’s hard to imagine how the reigning Heisman winner could play as anonymously as Jackson did this year.

His team was pretty meh this time. 

I try to ignore numbers when it comes to Heisman voting — I think I know a winner when I see whose play and charisma really captures college football’s imagination -— but Jackson’s numbers this year were better than when he won it last season.

If you’re interested, however, he threw for 3,489 yards and 35 touchdowns and ran for 1,443 yards and 17 scores. Not bad.

No. 2 would be Stanford running back Bryce Love, who was really good, mostly on hearsay.

There are a lot of tall tales out there, although hardly anybody saw any of them because the Pac-12 prefers to play most of its games at 3 a.m. Friday.

Can’t penalize him for that.

OK, now the main event.

Seriously, the only reason NOT to vote for Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield is that you don’t like his antics.

It probably cost him a few votes, though not mine.

He was the player this year who had America buzzing, who had people wondering what he’d pull off next, what crazy-fool stunt he’d perform to stun you. 

To his credit, he apologized for most of it.

I’m not really offended by Mayfield planting the OU flag at midfield at Ohio State after beating the Buckeyes — boys-will-be-boys stuff. If the heat-of-the-moment obscene gesture he flashed at Kansas is the worst thing he ever does in his life, then polite society should survive little worse for his wear and tear.

Besides, Oklahoma coaches drew the line and benched him for two entire plays of the all-important Big 12 championship game the next week. Isn’t that punishment enough?

They also didn’t let him personally watch the coin flip for that game, which possibly could scar him for life.

Whether these transgressions make him a Brett Favre rascal or Johnny Manziel in training is up to the NFL to fret about.

For now, he’s your deserving Heisman Trophy winner.

l

Scooter Hobbs covers LSU athletics. Email him at

shobbs@americanpress.com