Devonta Smith Was the Right Choice for the Heisman Trophy

I have wanted to write about Devonta Smith winning the Heisman since last week, but then all the madness happened. I'm still angry, upset, unnerved and scared by what happened. Those monsters that incited, and took place in those riots need to be arrested and removed from office. But, with the CFP title game on tonight, what better time than now to finally give my thoughts on Smith winning the Heisman. Oh, and he also won the AP Player of the Year award too.

I have to admit, I was rooting for Smith to win. I am not an Alabama fan by any means. In fact, I do not like any of the four teams that played in the playoff, and I may only watch the title game for a bit tonight because I truly couldn't care less who wins. But of the four guys, and in a season marred by COVID and other random injuries, I figured why not give it to someone other than a running back or QB.

We see the RBs and QBs win all the time. I think there have been very few instances where a non running back or QB has won the Heisman, and that is BS to me. In fact, the last non RB or QB to win was Charles Woodson in 1997, the GOAT by the way. Some names that have won it since then, Eric Crouch, Jason White, Troy Smith, Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Jameis Winston, Johnny Manziel and Marcus Mariota. Some guys that were up for it in those seasons, Manti Teo, Rocket Ismail, Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald and Amari Cooper. I'd take the guys that did not win it over the others if we just look at career success. But when I dug a little further into this season, when I looked at the finalists and decided to watch each one play, it was clear that Smith was the best, and most deserving player. Kyle Trask had a fine season for Florida, but without Kyle Pitts he was a mess, and he looked real bad in their bowl game. Mac Jones is an okay QB, but he is a system guy. He didn't change the position like Tua did when he was at Alabama. Jones is a lot like Jalen Hurts was when he was at Alabama, just not as athletic. He ran the system. He got the ball to Smith, and then Smith did great things with it. And Trevor Lawrence, he did not deserve to win just because of his career. This is a season award, not a college career award. He also missed two games because he got COVID. The people stumping for Lawrence are the same that claimed Peyton Manning deserved the award when Charles Woodson won it because Manning had a "better college career" than Woodson. I don't see any championship rings on Manning's fingers. I saw one on Woodson's. The only season Lawrence could have won it, in my opinion, would have been for his freshman season.

When I watched Smith I came away most impressed. The separation he was able to get, the speed in the open field, it was unmatched. When Jaylen Waddle went down early in the year a lot of people thought Bama's offense would slide. They got better, and that was because of Smith. Sure it helps to have Najee Harris in the backfield, but the way Smith took over a secondary, made the defense have to constantly game plan for him, it helped Alabama stay great on offense. He was the unsolvable problem for opposing defenses. He was the one that opened things up for Harris and Jones and the rest of that offense. But that wasn't the only thing he did. Smith put up gaudy numbers this year. In 12 games, not counting tonight obviously, he had 105 catches, 1,641 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. He averaged 15.6 yards a catch. He averaged almost 9 catches a game and 136 receiving yards a game. In the semifinal game he had 7 catches, 130 yards and 3 TD's. In the SEC title game he had 15 catches, 184 yards and 2 scores. Against LSU he had 8 catches, 231 yards and 3 scores. He averaged 28.9 yards a catch in that game. And against their biggest rival, Auburn, he had 7 catches, 171 yards and 2 scores. The kid put up video game numbers. It is unreal. I would have been happy if a Michigan receiver did anything close to half of what Smith was able to accomplish. And when you compare his stats to the other finalists, it isn't even really close. Trask threw for 4,200 plus yards and 43 TD's, but struggled against top flight teams, especially Alabama and Oklahoma. Mac Jones just barely threw for 4,000 yards, had 36 TD passes, but almost half of that wouldn't have been possible without Smith. And Trevor Lawrence only threw for 3,100 plus yards, 24 TD's and missed those 2 games. He also did not look great in their last game.

Devonta Smith was, far and away, the best player in college football this year. He more than deserved this award. It is kind of crazy he is the first wideout since Desmond Howard to win the award. I assume he will have a good game tonight, but we will see. He is going up against a solid secondary, but every other secondary, good and bad, he has faced, he has torched. Congrats to Devonta Smith, a much deserved Heisman win for a non QB or running back.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Everything That is Wrong With Trevor Lawernce's COVID-19 Diagnosis

Earlier this week the Big Ten had to cancel a game due to a COVID outbreak, and yesterday, Trevor Lawrence tested positive and will miss Clemson's game against Boston College tomorrow.

This is not the trend that the NCAA was hoping for when they pushed ahead for a season this fall. I have mentioned how they could survive if it were smaller schools having to push games around, or outright cancel them, and how if the players weren't "stars", it wouldn't really be a problem. But now the NCAA is having to deal with big name schools and prospects. Notre Dame and Florida have had to postpone games due to outbreaks. Wisconsin is now added to that list, and I am sure there are a good number of more high profile schools coming down the pipe. And while these schools have had to pause their seasons, no real super duper star player has tested positive. Notre Dame's QB didn’t test positive, that we know. Wisconsin's freshman QB did, but he isn't a top tier guy yet. Florida didn't release the names of the players that tested positive, so that means we don't know if their QB or stud tight end got it. And with coaches getting it, like Dan Mullen and Paul Chryst, I do not count Nick Saban because that whole situation is fishy to me, that doesn't really matter because they have so many assistant coaches that can take over if needed. But when a player of Trevor Lawrence's caliber gets it, and has to miss a guy, that should frighten everyone involved with college football. He is the Heisman front runner. He is the star player of the number one team in the country. He was very vocal about wanting to play. He has been on fire. And he is, if he leaves Clemson after this year, going to be the number one pick in the 2021 NFL draft. So the fact that he tested positive twice, that Clemson couldn't find some way to keep it quiet or cover it up, that he is missing a nationally televised game, this is all big news, and it is not good news.

Clemson will most likely beat Boston College tomorrow. They have a backup that was a highly rated recruit, and he does have game snaps due to all the blowouts, but that will not be the topic of conversation going into the game tomorrow. It will all be about Lawrence. I'm sure they will try and figure out how he got it, when he got it and how soon he will be able to return. The return, I bet, will be the biggest topic on all the pregame shows. The ACC has a ten day sit out policy for any kid that tests positive. And you may read this and say, okay, he will miss two games, but it is Clemson, they should roll. Again, I'm sure they will with BC, but they have the game of the week, and season, next Saturday when they face Notre Dame.

At the time I'm writing this those are the 1st and 3rd rated teams in the country. It will almost assuredly be a primetime night game. It will have as many eyeballs on it as possible. But, if Lawrence tested positive on Wednesday, and then again on Thursday, that would mean that the tenth day would fall on the night of that game. What will TV and the NCAA do if he isn't better? What if his "mild symptoms" get worse during the week? What if he tests positive again? What if he breaks quarantine because he thinks he feels okay enough to go out? Or what if Clemson's game this weekend is too close for comfort, and Dabo wants his prize recruit to come back before he is healthy and ready?

That, and the TV stuff, is what scares me most. Nick Saban wasn't supposed to coach last weekend against Georgia, but by some miracle, he tested negative when he needed to. This meant CBS could run their regular show and Alabama fans could see their coach on the sidelines, and everyone forgot about it. Again, he is a coach, and he has no other prospects. He is the GOAT college coach and he clearly doesn't want to return to the NFL. His career is set. Trevor Lawrence is about to get seriously paid, he is about to be in the NFL, and while he hasn't really needed for anything in his life, he won't have to ever again after he is drafted. But what if this lingers? How will that affect him in the long? What about how the coaches handle this? Dabo Swinney is all about winning, and doing it at any cost. I wouldn't be shocked at all if he rushes Lawrence back for their next game.

This is all very bad. And I fear it will be handled even worse by every adult in the room. This was my biggest worry for a college football season, and NFL for that matter, that these star players would get COVID and miss time, and possibly damage their future. It sucks way more for college kids because, for the naïve, they don't get paid a dime. I hope Clemson and Trevor Lawrence and the NCAA do the right thing, but they have shown too many times before that they won't, and that they don't care about these kids. This was the worst thing that could have happened for Clemson and college football, and I am curious and pessimistic that they will handle it the right way. This is a real bummer.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Clemson is the New Alabama

Last night was an absolute bloodbath in the College Football Playoff title game. And the team I thought would be putting on that beating, I was very, very wrong. I made no secrets about my thoughts on this Alabama team. I thought they were unbeatable. I wasn't one of those idiots that thought they could beat an NFL team, but I thought no one, including Clemson, would beat them in college. They appeared invincible. They ran rough shed through their regular season schedule. The only game they really struggled with was Georgia in the SEC title game, but they still won that one fairly easily in the end.

What I failed to realize was the fact that Clemson was doing the exact same thing all year. They also had one tough game, Syracuse, but they pulled away from that one late as well. As far as the rest of the their schedule, it was a cakewalk. Even when they played ranked teams, they crushed them. I was also a little skeptical of them starting Trevor Lawrence when they did, I am a Kelly Bryant fan. Well, I was completely, and absolutely wrong. Starting Trevor Lawrence was the exact right thing to do. Clearly the coaches knew something that not many other writers and bloggers did. Sure, Lawrence was a 5 star, top QB recruit in the country, but Bryant led this same team to the playoff last year, and he started out the year just fine. I was a bit stunned, and didn't question Bryant's decision to transfer at all.

But man oh man did this Lawrence kid look phenomenal in the 2 playoff games, the only 2 I saw him play in this year. He carved up what was supposed to be a top defense in Notre Dame in the semi final game. He had all kinds of time in the pocket, found the open receiver every time and shredded them. He did this, and so, so much more last night against a much, much better Alabama team. I mean, he looked like he was a fifth year senior out there. He was hitting all the open receivers. He was making pinpoint throws. He ran the read option perfectly. I have not seen a kid this good in my lifetime. Sure, Peyton Manning and Brian Griese and Tom Brady and Cam Newton and Deshaun Watson and so on and so forth were all great. At this very moment, Lawrence is already better, and he isn't even 20 yet. I can't believe he has to play 2 more years of college football. That would be like forcing this Zion Williamson kid to play three years at Duke. Lawrence is as ready for the pros, probably more so, than any of the underclassmen this year that declared for the draft. He is astounding.

All the praise doesn't belong solely to Lawrence. His receivers, his big time guy, are mostly underclassmen. The dude he hit for the 74 yarder to blow open the game is a true freshman as well. He has to play 2 more years of college football before he goes pro. Their running back, Travis Etienne, is only a sophomore. He struggled at first, but when he needed to pull off big gainers, he did. He ended the game with solid stats. He is also an excellent pass catcher. They also have a stable of guys behind him ready to go. Their O line was amazing. They protected the QB and opened up holes in the later stages of the game for the running backs to ice this game away. And that defense, which I have loved all year, made play after plays last night. Sure, they gave up nearly 400 yards of offense, but they held Alabama to 16 points, and zero in the second half. They had multiple goal line stands. They picked off the Alabama QB twice. They pressured him all night. And they were missing their star D lineman, and they didn't play the perfect game. And they still dominated what was supposed to be one of college football's most explosive offenses.

I have watched a good amount of Alabama this year, and that was the worst I have seen them play ever. They looked confused, slow, out manned and like the inferior team. It was astounding. Every time they cut to Saban's face, I was cracking up at how upset and outcoached he was. He is not used to this. He is like a human cheat code due to his dominance. That all shifted last night. Dabo Swinney and staff made him look like a third or fourth year coach. Saban is the greatest coach in college football history, but Swinney is now starting to join that conversation as well. I mean, he destroyed what many thought was one of Alabama's best offenses ever. He also exploited their suspect defense, with a true freshman QB. As much as I may dislike Swinney's fake "good old boy" shtick, I loved watching him never, ever take his foot off the gas. He wanted to shove it in Alabama and Nick Saban's face that he was the better coach with the better team last night. And he proved it.

This is the shift in college football. This is now the time that Clemson takes over as the dominant program in college football. As I said, they get the majority of this team back for the next three years. They are going to dominate the game for the time being. They are the Warriors of college football. They are the new Alabama. They are the best team, and will continue to be as long as Lawrence and Swinney and Brent Venables and Etienne and their deep, deep crop of super talented and very tall receivers are still there. And they have a top recruiting class year after year after year. They will continue to pull in top tier guys. Clemson is the new dynasty. They are the new rulers of college football. They are the force to be reckoned with, and they made that statement very loud and clear with the way they dominated Alabama last night.

That was as eye opening a beating as I have ever seen. Clemson put on a show last night, and the college football watching public needs to get used to them being the best of the best. That is where they are now, if they weren't already. Clemson is amazing.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is looking forward to the day when he can tell his kids about a time before only Alabama and Clemson being the National Champion every year.

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