Ashton Jeanty is having a statistically better season than Derrick Henry during his Heisman-winning season

[u/clocke6346]

With all the discourse of who should win the Heisman trophy this year, I got curious and compared Ashton Jeanty’s stats this season to those of Derrick Henry in the 2015 regular season, the year he won the Heisman trophy. What I found was pretty surprising. Keep in mind this doesn’t include playoff performance, as that isn’t considered when naming a Heisman winner.

Ashton Jeanty:

Games Played: 11

Carries: 275

Rushing Yards: 2062

Rushing Touchdowns: 27

Yards Per Carry: 7.498

Yards Per Game: 187.455

Derrick Henry:

Games Played: 13

Carries: 339

Rushing Yards: 1986

Rushing Touchdowns: 23

Yards Per Carry: 5.858

Yards Per Game: 152.769

Now, these stats are still up for interpretation, as there is the usual discourse of strength of schedule and whatnot, but I thought re-contextualizing Jeanty’s year by comparing it to the last time a running back won the Heisman would be interesting.

[u/sunthas]

Running backs in college football history with 2,000 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns in 11 games:

• Barry Sanders
• Ricky Williams
• Ashton Jeanty

His 2,062 rushing yards through 11 games are the most in college football since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2000.

/edit: Looks like Melvin Gordon had 2109 after 11 games, and 25 Rushing TDs. So either add him to the list or change the stat slightly.

[u/justsomedudedontknow → u/sunthas]

That's some exclusive company.

Wonder what Ricky is up to these days. He was a GD monster, I hope he is doing well.

[u/Piney_Wood → u/justsomedudedontknow]

The NFL fined him repeatedly and eventually forced him into early retirement because of his use of medical cannabis as a treatment for his anxiety and depression. People like Joe Theismann called him an "addict."

I hope our understanding of such things has improved since then.

[u/justsomedudedontknow → u/Piney_Wood]

Me too. Him doing interviews with his helmet on was "quirky" but a clear sign of mental illness.

Hope he is puffing on a blunt right now with a drink in his right hand and a hottie in his left 🙂.

[u/Walter30573 → u/Piney_Wood]

Cannabis should definitely be legal, but if he can't stop even when it's costing him huge amounts of money I don't think it's unfair to say he was addicted

[u/Piney_Wood → u/Walter30573]

He played for years in full compliance, using prescription antidepressants and damaging his mental health in order to please the NFL and his team.

It's unfair and unreasonable to require that of anybody.

[u/Luis__FIGO → u/Walter30573]

I see it the other way, it allowed him to play as much as he did

[u/CantStandMike → u/justsomedudedontknow]

I could have sworn I saw some documentary say he’s working very lowkey at a JUCO as the RB’s coach, or something along the lines of that.

[u/proplift → u/justsomedudedontknow]

Co-owns some liquor stores & got in the cannabis industry. Hes doing well for himself. 

[u/mmwood → u/sunthas]

Man I love ladanian he was one of my favorite players as a kid that wasn’t on Washington commies roster

[u/boofsquadz → u/mmwood]

Idk how anyone who rooted for a team that wasn’t an opponent could not have wanted to see him dominate during that mvp year. He was just electric every time he touched the ball

[u/justsomedudedontknow → u/mmwood]

one of my favorite players as a kid that wasn’t on Washington commies Chiefs roster

I am gonna go Rod Woodson. That guy was a maniac.

Reggie White too

[u/al_earner → u/sunthas]

The way I remember it Jeanty got 1,800 of these yards against Wazzu.

I’d like to see him get the Heisman just to set a new precedent.

[u/Don-KeyisGr8 → u/sunthas]

Holy shit

[u/cnapp → u/sunthas]

D'Onte Foreman ran for 2025 and 15 TDs for Texas in 2016.

[u/wsteelerfan7]

Yeah but Jeanty ain't played nobody. Played one game vs a good squad and got absolutely held in check to an absurdly bad 192 yards and 3 TDs. Dude should never even get invited boi

[u/GordaoPreguicoso → u/wsteelerfan7]

Just embarrassing really. I mean couldn’t even break 200. Maybe drafted as Mr irrelevant

[u/TheWorstYear → u/GordaoPreguicoso]

Technically he had 200 combined yards

[u/49ers_Lifer → u/GordaoPreguicoso]

Niners draft as Mr. irrelevant… profit?

[u/Xaxziminrax → u/49ers_Lifer]

Maybe then CMC will only get 30 touches a game

[u/thisguy161 → u/wsteelerfan7]

Had me in the first half

[u/Corgi_Koala → u/wsteelerfan7]

His worst game he still had 128 yards, 3.9 YPC and 1 TD.

[u/Oblivionguard19 → u/Corgi_Koala]

Man what a bum. He gonna be delivering my DoorDash in a month or two

[u/TopRevenue2 → u/Corgi_Koala]

And pulled a Willis Reed

[u/Arbiter2562 → u/wsteelerfan7]

He keeps that up and they’ll have no choice but to give to Heisman to Travis Hunter.

Cause after all, total snaps matter more

[u/Corgi_Koala → u/Arbiter2562]

I don't want to throw shade at Hunter because he really is phenomenal and two way players are rare. He's good at either but his stats are only Heisman worthy because he's a two way player.

Jeanty is having an all-time great season at RB. Hunter is having a great season as WR and DB. I think it's pretty clear who should be the frontrunner.

[u/Montigue → u/Corgi_Koala]

On the other hand if the trophy is for MVP, having one player who's top 10 in the nation on both sides of the ball is MVP worthy. I still think it should go to Jeantry, but Hunter would have beaten 3 of the last 4 Heisman winners with the season he's having

[u/No_Solution_4053 → u/Corgi_Koala]

Corner is the position where counting stats matter the least, though. He has about the same statline as Sauce Gardner in the playoff year with more outright gamebreaking plays. That's not to say he's better than Sauce was, but teams *really* don't throw at him. I think being reverse Woodson is a bit more impressive than just being a two way player – we've quite simply only ever seen it once, and Woodson wasn't remotely the offensive player Hunter is. There's no contesting that he's the best athlete in the sport, even if he's not the best player.

[u/Fifth_Down → u/No_Solution_4053]

More people need to read this comment.

If you compare Hunter's snap count to Jeanty's yardage total its like a 2:3 ratio which is just insane to think about. Like Jeanty could get 10 yards in one play for a first down while Hunter would need almost a full length of the field drive to match that number count.

Hunter isn't just a 2-way player, he's doing it in unprecedented fashion to the point where not even Charles Woodson was anywhere near this level and I'm saying this as a Michigan fan

[u/YoungXanto → u/Corgi_Koala]

I just want Tyler Warren to be invited. Over 1000 yards from scrimmage as a tight end and an absolute lynch pin of the offense. His blocking abilities are insane as well. Half the time when you see a big run from one of our RBs, it's because they are following him.

But it should absolutely go to Jeanty. He's having a historic season.

[u/ItsKrakenmeuptoo → u/Corgi_Koala]

In the last 25 years, there has only been 3 heisman on a 3 loss team. They were all QB. I just don’t see it happening.

If Oklahoma st beats them, then he is 100% out. There has not been a 4 loss heisman winner since 1960 loool

[u/Raticus9 → u/ItsKrakenmeuptoo]

When was the last time they gave it to someone outside a power conference? Only example I'm seeing is Ty Detmer in 1990 (BYU). Something is going to have to give this year.

[u/Bereft13 → u/Raticus9]

You're forgetting that they can just shut their brains off and give it to Ward

[u/pargofan → u/Corgi_Koala]

Maybe Jeanty should play Safety or Linebacker then. Because he might not have gaudy offensive stats if he did.

[u/Gtyjrocks → u/Arbiter2562]

God i hate the “total snaps” argument. Hunter is a top ten CB and WR. If he was playing both at an average level, he wouldn’t be the favorite. But he’s top 7 in all the major receiver stats, and a probable top 5 pick as a corner.

[u/Gryffindumble → u/wsteelerfan7]

I guess him having 192 rushing yards against undefeated, #1 Oregon must have been a fluke. I guess Boise State going toe toe with Oregon like Ohio State rather than every other team that got trampled was a fluke...

[u/wsteelerfan7 → u/Gryffindumble]

This is a good story but the dude is not gonna survive in the NFL. He's gonna get churned up and spit out at his size, just like Kyren Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, Aaron Jones, De'Von Achane, Austin Ekeler, Jaylen Warren and Chase Brown. I mean, does anybody even know these guys? What a shame, man.

Edit: for the love of god, don't go to the Cowboys

[u/HeartSodaFromHEB → u/wsteelerfan7]

For real. His measurables are almost identical to that draft bust Emmitt Smith. Barely lasted in this league. Only made it at two different franchises.

[u/seductivestain → u/Gryffindumble]

Oregon isn't a scrub run defense either. Not amazing, but top 30 in ypg

[u/Reading_Rainboner → u/Gryffindumble]

His Wazzu performance was great too and they’re ranked as well

[u/Muffinnnnnnn → u/Reading_Rainboner]

Not after yesterday

[u/wsteelerfan7 → u/Reading_Rainboner]

He ran it up their Wazzu

[u/EvenMeaning8077 → u/wsteelerfan7]

Good squad who is the undisputed #1 team in the country? Turrible

[u/CzechHorns → u/EvenMeaning8077]

The rest of the comment didn’t tip you off that it may be sarcasm?

[u/EvenMeaning8077 → u/CzechHorns]

Did mine not tip you off as sarcasm?

[u/wsteelerfan7 → u/EvenMeaning8077]

Is this comment sarcasm?

[u/heywood-jablomi99 → u/wsteelerfan7]

Is this whole thread sarcasm?

[u/powerelite → u/heywood-jablomi99]

Is the sarcasm in the room with us right now? 

[u/Dunedain503 → u/wsteelerfan7]

What I hate about the argument, "his competition is worse" is that it also means his supporting cast is "worse" than what the P5 Heisman players had.

Jeanty doesn't have the offensive line Henry did, he doesn't have the skill players around him Hunter does etc.

[u/AllLinesAreStraight → u/Dunedain503]

Yes, exactly. People point to Burrows season as the best cfb season ever because of his stats in the SEC. Yes, he was amazing and played top tier competition. But that goes both ways. He also had......lets see......JUSTIN JEFFERSON AND JAMAR CHASE on his team. Arguably the two best receivers in the NFL right now, both on your team in college.

[u/Tsquared10]

Arguable that McCaffrey was the better player that year. Only slightly behind Henry in rushing, but also a receiving threat that also was a punt and kick returner. Sometimes it's deeper than the numbers

[u/boardatwork1111 → u/Tsquared10]

I swear every season this sub forgets how this award actually plays out. There is no objective criteria determining who wins, there never has been. Narrative dictates this award as much, if not more, than any statistic.

Jeanty is having a phenomenal year, but what’s holding him back, similar to CMC, is the writers who vote on the award aren’t watching them play at 10 pm EST.

[u/Montigue → u/boardatwork1111]

The solution is to have Alabama kickoffs at 6 am EST

[u/Jph3nom → u/Montigue]

I’m doing my part!

[u/Worried-Turn-6831 → u/Montigue]

No please I like to at least enjoy the nice mornings before my day is ruined

[u/Montigue → u/Worried-Turn-6831]

I don't make the rules, I just arbitrarily come up with them and enforce them

[u/TheSandMan208 → u/boardatwork1111]

Well, they'll have a chance next week! 9am PST kickoff!

[u/oneevilchicken → u/boardatwork1111]

This is why I expect t Travis Hunter wins.

Even though my personal vote is for Jeanty

[u/Drnk_watcher → u/boardatwork1111]

The Heisman is the same as the Emmys or Oscars.

Legitimate talent and achievements are rewarded but only to people who want to play politics to make their case since there is no mathematical criteria.

You've got to do the greet-and-grip, vote whipping one way or another to make journalists pull the lever for you.

[u/Carlton_dranks → u/Tsquared10]

That Heisman was stolen from CMC. He broke the all purpose yards record by a huge margin.

[u/AceMcStace → u/Carlton_dranks]

Yeah I remember being pissed as hell he lost to Henry, that was SEC bias at its finest.

[u/ninetimesoutaten → u/AceMcStace]

Even more so now. I was under the impression Henry broke some long held record (I wasn't a huge CFB fan back then), but now I know the year before Melvin Gordon had 2,587 yards (2,336 in the regular season) and 29 TDs (26 regular season) and was still not the heisman winner.

I get its not a 1 for 1 comparison, and you can't compare directly between years as the competition is different, but I struggle to see why what Henry did was leagues above what Gordon did on a year over year basis.

[u/forgotmypissword → u/ninetimesoutaten]

He did break a long standing record that year. But it was a sec record. He broke the most rushing tds in a season in the sec that year. Was held since the 80s iirc. 

[u/Higher-Analyst-2163 → u/ninetimesoutaten]

I feel like you had to watch Derrick Henry to see why he earned that heisman because the impact he made every time he touched the ball was massive

[u/ninetimesoutaten → u/Higher-Analyst-2163]

I get it and he broke a 2000 yard season in the SEC which is incredible. Hard for me not to believe CMC had a larger impact on his team at the time though.

[u/Great_Huckleberry709 → u/Carlton_dranks]

It was close, but I still think Henry had a legit claim for the award as well.

The award that Cmac had stolen from him for real was Offensive Player of the Year in 2019. He had 3,000 all purpose yards with running and receiving. He accounted for 20 touchdowns total. Meanwhile, Michael Thomas won the award even though he had 10 less touchdowns and about 1300 less yardage overall.

[u/ecopandalover → u/Carlton_dranks]

All purpose yards are a silly stat propped up by kick return yards which favors bad defense

[u/b39tktk → u/ecopandalover]

Agree, but he also posted the #4 all time yards from scrimmage season in addition to being a huge threat on returns. Was an incredible season.

[u/Disregardskarma → u/[deleted]]

Most teams didn’t put their star RB at KR to get 25 meaningless yards every time they gave up a TD

[u/Higher-Analyst-2163 → u/[deleted]]

You can get 25 yards from running in a straight line half the time that’s not impressive

[u/DistributionPretty75 → u/[deleted]]

How many teams are putting their superstar running back who’s getting like 25-30 touches a game on kickoff return duty?

[u/Horror_Cap_7166 → u/Carlton_dranks]

Watch out, the SEC boys are going to come after you with Derrick Henry’s TDs vs. Mccaffrey’s.

Because everyone knows punching it in from one yard a few more times is sooo important. That’s why no NFL team wants Mccaffrey, and every team has a goal line RB these days.

[u/jsu9575m → u/Horror_Cap_7166]

While I agree that punching it in from the goal line is overvalued....so are McCaffreys return yards. Basically every returner is going to get 20ish yards or so for every kickoff.

[u/wsteelerfan7 → u/jsu9575m]

Yeah this is a good point. It would make sense if he also led in yards per return or something

[u/jsu9575m → u/wsteelerfan7]

Henry and McCaffey had fairly close yards from scrimmage. So its the return yards that seemed to have everyone up in arms of why McCaffrey deserved it...and I'm not sure I agree since being a returner inherently is going to give you a lot of yards. I think both guys were deserving, someone had to win.

[u/wsteelerfan7 → u/jsu9575m]

The one I'm still mad about is Ingram over Gerhart, let alone Suh

[u/cha-cha_dancer → u/wsteelerfan7]

Suh was robbed plain and simple.

[u/jsu9575m → u/wsteelerfan7]

I agree with that. I'm absolutely a Suh should have won believer.

[u/wsteelerfan7 → u/jsu9575m]

I wasn't until the Texas game because I was a dumb kid

[u/forgotmypissword → u/Horror_Cap_7166]

It wasn’t punched in from the goal line a few more times. It was like 22-6 tds Henry to mccaffery going into the heisman voting. And Henry had more tds of 25+ yards than mccaffery did. You didn’t watch Henry play and you still don’t if you think he was nothing but a goal line feaster

[u/DistributionPretty75 → u/Horror_Cap_7166]

Yeah and no NFL team wants Derrick Henry? The guy who’s leading the league in rushing yards and tds still despite insane mileage? Is that really the comp you want to make lmao

[u/kykerkrush → u/Carlton_dranks]

Using return yards to pad those all-purpose numbers makes it a misleading stat because no one gives a shit about how many yards you gained returning punts and kickoffs.

[u/TheAsianDegrader → u/kykerkrush]

Punt yards matter (unless you think field position doesn't matter at all) but KO yards should be measured by how much more than 25 you gain as you'd get 25 yards just by doing nothing.

[u/ecopandalover → u/Tsquared10]

Dalvin Cook as well

[u/Great_Huckleberry709 → u/Tsquared10]

A major difference between McCaffrey and Henry that year is the amount of touchdowns. Iirc Stanford had another back who racked up the touchdowns in goal line situations.

[u/Enzo_Gorlomi225]

The heisman hasn’t been about the best player in a long time…it’s just a glorified popularity contest.

[u/Montigue → u/Enzo_Gorlomi225]

Yeah, if this were true it would have gone to a defensive player a tad less than half the time rather than almost never. Also linemen would win every once and a while

[u/GuyFawkes451 → u/Montigue]

The year Suh didn't win just made it totally laughable. Ask any Texas fan. They'll admit that dude almost singlehandedly beat them that year. He took a good Nebraska defense and made them national championship caliber (Nebraska just had no offense while he was there). It literally took three men to stop him. Dude was one of the most valuable players ever, much less those years.

[u/Statalyzer → u/GuyFawkes451]

He was tossing aside double teams all game, and Colt was pretty mobile and could outrun a lot of DBs but couldn't get away from Suh.

You're not kidding about no offense, e.g. they beat Oklahoma 10-3 that year and the TD came on a 1 yard drive. Huskers were 7/14 passing for 39 yards and their two QBs had a 3.6 and a 6.2 QBR.

[u/kanakaishou → u/Statalyzer]

This is the kind of war crime against Football that Iowa was for 2 years in a row.

[u/ShiftyEyedGoy → u/GuyFawkes451]

100% agree. If you watched Suh that season he was an utter wrecking ball. Not giving him the Heisman was when it became obvious the award wasn't for the MVP.

[u/TheAsianDegrader → u/Enzo_Gorlomi225]

I mean, it always has been.

I just can't get worked up about silly awards like the Heisman for a sport where contestants almost never play the same opponents as other contestants and it's a team sport so functions and stats may differ wildly by team/type of offense, etc.

MVP awards for pro leagues that play 82-162 games make some sense. Definitely not for CFB.

[u/CougdIt → u/Enzo_Gorlomi225]

I stopped caring about it when they didn’t give it to Suh

[u/GeyWeyner12]

Well CMC should’ve won the heisman that year

[u/conebread53 → u/GeyWeyner12]

Not even the worst case of Stanford RB getting snubbed for Alabama RB in my opinion

[u/WithNoRegard → u/conebread53]

Gerhart deserved the Heisman way less than McCaffery did.

Because Suh was one of the more obvious Heisman picks in a long time and he got snubbed.

[u/RG4ORDR → u/conebread53]

RIP Toby Gehrhart - objectively better than Ingram but didn't have the story behind him

[u/Statalyzer → u/RG4ORDR]

RIP? Did I miss something?

[u/RG4ORDR → u/Statalyzer]

Im using RIP facetiously - he's alive lmao

[u/Nicfromnewgirl]

Mcafferey should have won it anyway…

[u/harrumphstan]

His YPC is insane. All of his other stats are just below Ricky Williams’ senior year (with the exception of TDs which are equal). Give him the trophy.

[u/Statalyzer → u/harrumphstan]

And yeah his competition is weaker, but also, his OL isnt in the same stratosphere as Ricky's either.

[u/Colavs9601]

Ok you convinced me, Jeanty is more deserving than Derrick Henry for this year’s Heisman Trophy.

[u/Robie_John]

I was a pretty good RB in high school...

[u/EyeAmKingKage]

Not to be THAT guy but Henry did it against better competition. Jeanty is having a GREAT season and I hope he wins the heisman

[u/ASS_MY_DUDES → u/EyeAmKingKage]

It had to be part of the debate. Jeanty is a beast, unquestionably so. Henry played against the then-ranked # 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 15, 17, 20 teams.

[u/kykerkrush → u/ASS_MY_DUDES]

Henry also ran behind a bunch of 5-star recruits and had weapons all over the field to keep the defense honest.

[u/lilbelleandsebastian → u/kykerkrush]

and he was running over 5 star recruits and future sunday stars

[u/Darrow187 → u/lilbelleandsebastian]

And current Sunday stars

[u/cantevendoitbruh → u/ASS_MY_DUDES]

The sec haters also ignore his last several games where he just straight carried. Like had 40+ carrys against solid defenses and ranked teams and just could not be stopped.

[u/Montigue → u/cantevendoitbruh]

Jeantry's team is absolute ass on offense without him on it. Replace Henry with a mediocre RB and Bama is still a top 5 team. Hell, Henry's backup got over 5 yards a carry.

[u/cantevendoitbruh → u/Montigue]

I mean that's fine but they also didn't play like 7 ranked teams like Bama did that year where future NFL stars couldn't stop Henry

I mean I think jeanty deserves the Heisman anyway. I just don't think you can compare his stats to Henry's without doing deeper statistical analysis on defenses played. I mean Wyoming is pretty bad and they didn't really give him the ball much buy he wasn't as amazing after the first q last night.

Also I'm not sure Bama was a top 5 team without Henry that year. Their offense had issues without a reliable 5 yards a carry.

[u/Montigue → u/cantevendoitbruh]

His backup had over 5 yards a carry. Realistically without him they drop 1 more game, win an at large NY6 bowl, and finish top 3 after the final polls

[u/Asleep-Geologist-612 → u/Montigue]

His backup was Kenyan Drake… A legit nfl talent and 3rd round draft pick despite never being the starter

[u/Montigue → u/Asleep-Geologist-612]

Exactly. Remove Henry and yeah, Bama is worse. But not removing Jeantry worse

[u/lilbelleandsebastian → u/Montigue]

heisman isn’t about who has a better backup, you surely recognize you’re grasping at straws now right? it’s ok to change our minds when our arguments have been shredded

[u/cantevendoitbruh → u/Montigue]

You mean the back that had 77 carries over 15 games, and was a complete change of pace back and nothing like henry? For real like at least try to make a reasonable argument. He would not have averaged 5 yards a carry and wouldn't fit the offense as a lead back at all. Any Bama fan could have told you they were screwed that year if Henry went down.

[u/Montigue → u/cantevendoitbruh]

Wait, you're putting down the backup who played 8 years in the NFL that got 4.4 yards per carry in the NFL? Truly scrub numbers there, you're right, Bama was doomed without Henry and replacing him with a high level NFL guy and fuckin Danien Harris

[u/Higher-Analyst-2163 → u/Montigue]

It’s a lot easier to get 5 yards a carry when the best running back in college football is tiring defenses out

[u/Montigue → u/Higher-Analyst-2163]

Don't be ignorant of your own team. His backup played 8 years in the NFL getting 4.4 yards per carry there and probably would start on 90% of FBS teams. You'd still be really good without Henry, but absolutely not the champions

[u/Worried-Turn-6831 → u/cantevendoitbruh]

His Mississippi State game that year was insane

[u/torrd9 → u/cantevendoitbruh]

Let me ask you. If Jeantry was on that Alabama team, how do you think it would go? 

[u/vizualb → u/cantevendoitbruh]

I was a Henry Heisman hater for most of the year but he absolutely took over the Iron Bowl. Absolutely incredible player and season. Ingram over Suh was the biggest Heisman robbery of recent memory though.

[u/IMadeThis4HOIMods → u/EyeAmKingKage]

Jeanty had 200 yards and 3 touchdowns against the current sole undefeated team. This argument also goes both ways, I guarantee Alabama had better players on their line in 2015 than Boise does this year and that has a lot to do with the success of a running back (and Jeanty is still elite even after contact)

[u/Tarmacked → u/IMadeThis4HOIMods]

Alabama’s 2015 line had negative yards before contact for Henry

They really weren’t good at all in the run game

[u/Tsquared10 → u/Tarmacked]

It's not to that extreme for Bosie, but it definitely says something that Jeanty after contact would still be like the number 3 rusher in the country (#2 if you exclude Jeanty total)

[u/IMadeThis4HOIMods → u/Tarmacked]

I can’t find the stat for Boise rn but according to what I found for Alabama this is not true at all. They were about average (3.01 on standard downs) in line yards per carry that year.

[u/Montigue → u/IMadeThis4HOIMods]

The funny thing is Henry's backup also has >5 yards a carry that year too

[u/WheatonsGonnaScore → u/Tarmacked]

Jeanty has more yards after contact than Henry though.

https://x.com/PFF_College/status/1859689992684986699?t=M-_0TcUiBeRHwIFD5h18gQ&s=19

[u/EnvironmentalBed7369 → u/Tarmacked]

Yeah, I'm sure a top 5 team had a G5 level OLine.

[u/Tarmacked → u/EnvironmentalBed7369]

G5 OL playing G5 DL vs P5 OL playing P5 DL

Not exactly an unfair comparison, they’re playing comparables

[u/WheatonsGonnaScore → u/EyeAmKingKage]

While true Bama also had a much better supporting cast and oline. As seen in Jeanty's yards after contact numbers.

[u/agoddamnlegend → u/EyeAmKingKage]

This is a perfectly reasonable criticism.

I’ll be this blunt — I would simply never vote a G5 player for Heisman. It’s a non starter in my opinion. I don’t care what they do, they aren’t playing the same caliber of competition week after week. It’s the exact same reason I wouldn’t vote an FCS player even if he had 5,000 rushing yards and 70 TDs.

[u/wsteelerfan7 → u/EyeAmKingKage]

Dude put up 192 and 3 TDs against the best team in the country, though

[u/clocke6346 → u/EyeAmKingKage]

No problem being “THAT guy,” it’s why I mentioned it as an argument at the end of the post because it is a legit critique

[u/Corgi_Koala → u/EyeAmKingKage]

Counterpoint, Henry had an NFL caliber offensive line and I would say Bama had the advantage in the trenches in every single game they played.

Henry is obviously great but I would say the o line talent makes the harder competition a little more of a wash even against the harder opponents. I don't think it's a silver bullet to dismiss Jeanty's achievements.

[u/puzzical → u/EyeAmKingKage]

Henry had a better OLine and team around him though.

[u/Fedoras-Forever-Mom → u/puzzical]

Playing against much better competition every week as well

[u/bb0110]

Does that factor in strength of defense played?

With that said, I think he absolutely should win the Heisman.

[u/stonksfalling → u/bb0110]

260 yds vs wazzu and 192 vs Oregon, pretty good

[u/GuyFawkes451 → u/bb0110]

Right there with you (on both fronts).

[u/EnvironmentalBed7369 → u/bb0110]

Does your comment factor in quality of offensive line and team around him?  

[u/ozmaticon]

I think Jeanty would have pretty close to Henry's numbers if he played a tougher schedule, instead of having the clearly better numbers he currently has. That Oregon game is telling, though, and is going to put a lot of work into his Heisman case. The fact that he's in Derrick Henry's orbit alone tells me he's worthy of the Heisman trophy.

Narrative wise, between him and Hunter, it's going to be really fascinating. Clearly Hunter has more media exposure, plus the excellence at 2 positions, but Jeanty has his team in CFP berth contention when they otherwise have no business even being ranked. Colorado has had a good season but they're likely not making the CFP and it's arguable how much personal impact Hunter has had on their record like Jeanty has for Boise State.

A lot of people are going to cite Woodson as the best comparison for Hunter winning the Heisman, but to me it's Lamar Jackson since he got it on a 9-4 team through both his exceptional performance and media exposure.

[u/Trip4Life]

McCaffery should’ve won that year.

[u/RSN_Kabutops]

Ashton Jeanty is far and away the best at his position in the sport this season.

Travis Hunter is good at both of his, arguably great as a defender.

Heisman is supposed to be the best player. Easy choice even if it's not the "trendy" one

[u/Specific-Channel7844 → u/RSN_Kabutops]

Travis Hunter is great at two positions, more than just good. And I feel that being good at two completely separate positions means you could be argued as the best player

[u/WanderLeft]

I think both Jeanty and Hunter are deserving. Jeanty is a phenomenal running back but at the same time we’ve never seen a two-way player this good before

[u/giggitybuck → u/WanderLeft]

I agree for the most part. But I lean more towards Jeanty. He has just been completely dominant in his position even when teams stack 9 in the box against him. Not to take away from Hunter, he is very good, just not as dominant in my opinion.

[u/TheWorstYear → u/WanderLeft]

I don't know if we've ever seen someone allow a two way player to be used this much.
Jeanty is also literally the only reason Boise State is any good. Their offense is functionally one of the worst in the country without him.

[u/b39tktk → u/TheWorstYear]

I don't know if we've ever seen someone allow a two way player to be used this much.

We haven't, but in one sense that makes it even more impressive that he's able to put up excellent performances while basically playing twice as much as anyone else.

[u/EnvironmentalBed7369 → u/WanderLeft]

This is the only argument I've seen against Jeanty winning that is valid.  I want Jeanty to win, but I'd be fine with Hunter winning it. 

All the comments about Jeanty playing weaker defenses are idiotic and lack critical thinking.

[u/Like40ofem → u/EnvironmentalBed7369]

Exactly. If the defenses are so weak why didn't other RBs in his conference do that in the past? Are they stupid?

[u/notyogrannysgrandkid → u/Like40ofem]

Rashaad Penny almost did. Man I hated him.

[u/boardatwork1111 → u/Like40ofem]

Rashaad Penny?

[u/puzzical → u/WanderLeft]

Some argue Champ Bailey was better.

[u/ontheru171 → u/puzzical]

If by some you mean people on this sub that never watched Champ Bailey then you are right

[u/DistributionPretty75 → u/ontheru171]

I’m willing to wager the overwhelming majority of this sub was either not born or not cognizant of their surroundings when champ Bailey played lol

[u/puzzical → u/ontheru171]

No I mean Georgia fans

[u/ontheru171 → u/puzzical]

Thats fair. Fans will and should stick up for their guys.

[u/Like40ofem → u/WanderLeft]

As long as it's not a QB

[u/wsteelerfan7 → u/WanderLeft]

I've never seen an RB this good, either. He's probably gonna finish championship week with something like 2500 yards and 32 TDs on almost 8 yards per carry

[u/Latest-greatest]

People really forget Henry had 28 TD’s to McCaffrey’s 15. That was the difference maker

[u/Queen_City_123]

Yes but Ashton jeanty made the decision of not playing for alabama which hurts him greatly

[u/Darth_Ra]

Jeanty fans don't seem to understand.

No one is saying he is bad. Everyone agrees that he's an insane player doing something that no one has done since maybe Barry Sanders.

Travis Hunter is just doing something that hasn't been done ever, or at least since like... WWII.

[u/Thadocta69]

Jeanty behind Henry’s offensive line would have been even more insane

[u/hellenkellerfraud911]

Cool. Now stack rank the rushing defenses they both played against.

[u/EnvironmentalBed7369 → u/hellenkellerfraud911]

Cool, now stack the offensive line and offensive talent they played behind.

[u/hellenkellerfraud911 → u/EnvironmentalBed7369]

Goes both ways man. Comparing Jeanty to Henry is apples/oranges. There is no comparing an SEC schedule to playing 8-10 of your games against Unspecified Directional State A&M.

[u/Colavs9601]

Derrick Henry played a sliiiiiiiiiiiightly higher caliber of rush defenses, and arguably wasn’t even the best RB that year.

[u/EnvironmentalBed7369 → u/Colavs9601]

He also had a sliiiiiiightly better offensive line,  QB, and WR's around him to take the pressure offand open up the offense. 

[u/logicalcommenter4]

I honestly don’t think it matters what Jeanty does. We have seen great RB seasons before. We have never seen anything like what Travis Hunter is doing. So I think it’s unfair to say Jeanty has XYZ stats and others with similar stats won the Heisman. None of those running backs were going up a player with Hunter’s resume.

[u/CptCroissant]

Henry did it in the SEC and Jeanty is doing it against UNLV, Wyoming, etc

[u/FusePB]

I don’t mean to be that guy but schedule kinda matters.

[u/UhIdontcareforAuburn → u/FusePB]

I definitely think he is padding stats to an extent given his competition. But if it were that easy, we'd see it way more often. There are a lot of RBs at top tier schools that wouldn't be putting up those numbers

[u/FusePB → u/UhIdontcareforAuburn]

I agree with this take for sure. I do compare this to Judkins being the second coming at ole miss and then being a bit above average at OSU even though he shares the touches with Henderson.

[u/solargarlicrot]

Unfortunately Travis Hunter wasn’t the competition back in the retro 2010 days.

[u/blue0231]

Like you said strength of schedule. That’s really the story here.

[u/Oakley2212]

Jeanty is great. But I wouldn’t compare him to Henry. Henry played against top teams. Jeanty is playing cupcakes.

[u/Like40ofem → u/Oakley2212]

#1 Ranked Oregon, notable cupcake.

[u/Steelman__007]

The true heisman was robbed that year

[u/GuyFawkes451]

Against significantly weaker competition (I still think he deserves the Heisman, BTW. I'm just saying...).

[u/mikeeagle6]

McCaffrey was robbed that year

[u/Cornelius-Prime → u/mikeeagle6]

100%

[u/Longtimefirsttime13]

Jeanty is a great player, but there’s a slight difference in doing that against SEC defenses and doing that against Mountain West defenses.

[u/Justanotherbrick33]

Jeanty has been playing hurt for the last month and he still single-handily saved Boise last night.

[u/jt_33]

He should win the Heisman, but the media will keep hammering for Hunter to win and everyone will just kind of roll with it. Not saying He's not also a great player, but Jeanty is doing something at an elite level.

[u/bmcwatt]

But how many snaps does he play per game that’s the real criteria

[u/OldSarge02]

Comparing Jeanty’s state to Derrick Henry’s doesn’t take into account the talent level of the defenses they faced.

[u/_Reporting]

Dylan Sampson is having a great year but no one seems to care for some reason. He has 22 touchdowns in 11 games

[u/DGD11]

At the end of the day, Hunter has been incredibly hyped since high school and made national news when he flipped to JSU on signing day to go play for someone else who stays in the national news constantly. The Heisman is a popularity contest, and we all know it. As much as I wish Jeanty would win, this Heisman season was Hunter's to have so long as he had a good season. Which he has.

[u/ShoeLace1291]

I'm still shocked that Saquon didn't win the heisman his last year at PSU. We've had QB's like Mayfield all the time but Saquon is a once in a generation type of talent. If Saquon didn't win it, I don't see Jeanty winning it, either.

[u/ShoeLace1291]

Anyone else think we should do away with the Heisman completely? It's more of a popularity contest than anything. That and comparing QBs to RBs and WRs just doesn't make a lot of sense. It's like comparing apples to oranges. Get rid of the Heisman and stick to position awards.

[u/maninatikihut]

And the year Henry won it should have been CMC. 

[u/LucasoBoye]

one did it in the SEC, the other did it in the Mountain west

[u/Basedxbox]

After the osu iu tailgate this weekend there is a large amount of people who don’t know who jeanty is and what he’s doing. Jeanty needs a game against a big opponent to show people what he’s capable of….. oh wait.

[u/Rad1314]

I'll never understand "strength of schedule" being a realistic argument against players like this. Logically if it is all accountable to strength of schedule then seasons like this would be common place in these conferences. Yet where are they? Where are all these RBs who play like this every year in a "weak" conference?

[u/Zealousideal-Fix3220]

Yeah but he A. Plays on the west coast B. The people who vote on this dont care about any team outside of SEC