In the conversation for coolest trophy in sports, the bronze figurine of a stiff-arming, able-bodied football player is like no other. Though short in stature (13.5 inches tall), and light on its feet (about 25 pounds), the essence of the Heisman Trophy transcends its slight frame. While it’s a great debate, as the Stanley Cup, Vince Lombardi Trophy, and Commissioner’s Trophy are all beautiful entities, there’s just something about the Heisman that rises it above the pack. If I were to pinpoint its preeminence in comparison to the field, I would say that the sensed grit and overall toughness in the heart of the gridiron star is what puts it over the top.
Growing up as a sports-obsessed kid, I always enjoyed seeing athletes, both at the collegiate, and professional level, hoist their treasure. Whether it was a team-based achievement like winning a World Series, or a prize for outstanding individual play, like an MVP, any time an athlete, or group of competitors, received their merited showpiece, I made sure to tune-in to witness the moment. Knowing that the performer, or group of competitors, put their blood, sweat, and tears into earning the right to grip the physical honor, it’s an inspiring event for all viewers, as it serves as a reminder to the folks back home that anything is possible if you’re willing to work.
Along with tuning in to the annual broadcast to see standout players like Reggie Bush, Cam Newton, and Johnny Manziel get recognized as the top player in college football, I would take to video games to further express my adoration for the honor. Within the renowned electronic game series, NCAA Football, published by EA Sports, gamers have the ability to vicariously live the life of a noteworthy pigskin star in the game’s Road To Glory mode. Playing in this mode allows the user to grab control of a single player on the field – almost always a QB or RB – and, throughout the year, attempt to put up the craziest stats in an effort to lead your program to the National Championship, and, of course, win the Heisman. During the season, as you make your mark on the field, there is an active tracker, the ‘Heisman Watch’ that lists the top-5 players in contention for the award. By season’s-end, your goal is to be the unanimous number one on the ladder, so that when it’s time to announce the winner in mid-December, you’re able to sense what it’s like to be the best player in the country. As a lover of this franchise, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve won it, but I CAN say, with the utmost confidence, that garnering the jewel never gets old.
Without it even realizing it, celebrating the award’s prestige as a kid served as quality experience for me as I made my way into the professional world. A month after graduating college from UMass in 2018, I was fortunate to receive a job offer from ESPN as a Sports Content Researcher (Blog behind the backstory of getting this opportunity coming soon). The role was based out of Charlotte, NC, the nest of the SEC Network. In July of that year, I packed my bags with enthusiasm, and moved down South to start my career as a content creator.
After taking a few weeks to learn the ins and outs of sports media at the national level, I began developing my own creative ideas, that, once published on a graphic-builder, would broadcast on TV for all to see. During my senior year at UMass, I habitually blogged about sports (blog about this coming too), which was awesome, but it was hard to compete with seeing your own material up on the big screen.
Around the same time that I began creating for various television shows on a routine basis, the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was getting underway. This meant that content produced on the SEC Network would be centered around pigskin, and pigskin only.
Once the games began, though I was still getting my feet under me and acclimating to my new environment, I soon realized that, some how, some way, I had just become a part of the college football media ecosystem. I went from being the kid who would try to win the Heisman on NCAA Football 08, to spawning into the video game to serve as a promoter for the star SEC players. Instead of watching from afar, and tuning in from childhood living room to see who would win the award, I morphed into a creator whose job was to campaign for a player shining within the SEC. It was all so surreal.
Anyways, as college football enthusiasts know, the 2018 season was a year for non-SEC teams to glow. In the National Championship Game, Clemson defeated SECs own powerhouse, Alabama, and when it came to the most outstanding player in the sport award, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray snatched it. Though it should be noted that I didn’t let this stop me from endorsing SEC studs during the year. Check out the graphic I made for Kentucky’s Benny Snell. After a few monster weeks to kick off the year, his numbers matched up well to the start that Derrick Henry had during his 2015 Heisman Year with the Crimson Tide.
You know the iconic idiom, ‘good things come to those who wait?’ Well in my particular scenario, this galvanizing phrase held true. The following year, the LSU Tigers, led by quarterback Joe Burrow, had a season for the ages. After finishing with a 10-3 in 2018, Burrow’s first year with the program, the Ohio State transfer took arguably the greatest statistical leap in the sport’s history. In his inaugural year with the Tigers, Burrow threw for 2,894 yards, with 16 TD, and 5 INT. In 2019, before the calendar reached October, Burrow, through the first four games, had already eclipsed his Pass TD total form the year prior, as the commander of the offense had 17 Pass TD, to 2 INT. In utter disbelief as I gazed at his statistics and compared them with player’s from the game’s past, I began advocating for number 9. Below, you’ll find a pair of graphics that I made at the time to showcase the Tigers sizzling start.
To make sure I didn’t put all my eggs in one basket, incase of a freak injury, I also focused on promoting others within the conference. It was always fun for me to compare other prominent quarterbacks, like Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, and Auburn’s Box Nix, as it gave me a chance to reference some of my favorite players from yesterday.
Yet, in the end, LSU was inevitable. With Burrow behind center, tossing dimes to Ja’Marr Chase (Biletnikoff Award winner) and Justin Jefferson, and leveraging the strong running attack led by Clyde Edwards-Helaire (1,414 Rush Yds, 16 Rush TD), who was findng the holes with ease thanks to the potent offensive line (Winners of the Joe Moore Award), there was nothing anyone could do. The team ran the table, a perfect 15-0, winning by an average margin of 26.6 PPG en route to their National Championship.
Burrow finished the year 1st in Pass Yds (5,671), 1st in Pass td (60 – NCAA FBS record), and 1st in Comp Pct (76.3%). It was, without a doubt, one of the most impressive single-season performances in history. As expected, he won the Heisman Award by a landslide, receiving 90.7% of the total first place votes, which, at the time, was a record for highest percentage.
Because of Joe Burrow, and his supporting cast of world-class athletes, I get to say that I ‘covered one of the greatest teams ever + a Heisman Winner on a national level’. Not bad for someone who used to sit in his childhood home basement and pretend to be connected to the festivities.
Present-day, whenever I see Burrow and Chase shining with the Bengals, and Chase doing Chase things with the Vikings, I can’t help but express my gratitude from afar.
LIFE LESSON: Appreciating prestigious awards will motivate you to chase greatness in your own pursuits.
Jeremy’s Journal is Jeremy’s way of expressing his gratitude to the world. At the end of each 500-1,000 word post, he will include a ‘Life Lesson’ of some kind. His goal is to remind himself, and his readers, how awesome everyone’s journey can be when perceived through the proper lens.