HEISMAN: Tide's Smith becomes first receiver to win award in three decades
DeVonta Smith became the third player from Alabama to win the Heisman Trophy on Tuesday. (Unv. Alabama Media Relations)
By TIM GAYLE
DeVonta Smith’s 20 receiving touchdowns led the nation this year but his biggest catch came on Tuesday as the University of Alabama senior reeled in the Heisman Trophy, symbolic of the nation’s top collegiate player.
Smith became the third Crimson Tide player to win the award and the first receiver since 1991 to win an award that has primarily been reserved for running backs and quarterbacks.
“It means a lot just to be one of the very few that play receiver that won the Heisman,” he said. “That means a lot to me.”
Smith outdueled a trio of quarterbacks to win the award, but in the end the voting wasn’t close. Ballots were e-mailed to 870 media members, along with 56 former Heisman winners and one fan ballot for a total of 927 votes. The voters are asked to select three players with their top pick getting three points, the second choice getting two points and the third pick getting one point.
Smith received 447 first-place votes, followed by Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (222), Alabama quarterback Mac Jones (138) and Florida quarterback Kyle Trask (61). Smith finished with 1,856 total points, followed by Lawrence with 1,187, Jones with 1,130 and Trask with 737.
Smith captured all six regions -- Far West, Southwest, South, Midwest, Northwest and Mid-Atlantic -- despite the fact that three of the four Heisman finalists were from the South and two were from the same school.
In his acceptance speech, Smith thanked God, his parents and his teammates because “with team success comes individual success,” then reflected on the fact that at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, he has often been overlooked in his career as an athlete.
“Just to all the young kids there that’s not the biggest, not the strongest, just keep pushing because I’m not the biggest,” he said. “I’ve been doubted a lot just because of my size and really it just comes down to you put your mind to it, you can do it. No job is too big. If you put your mind to it, you can do it. And just keep believing in God and you’ll get where you want to be.”
Smith led the nation in receptions (105), receiving yards (1,641), receiving touchdowns (20) and all-purpose yards (1,912) this season, topping the 100-yard mark eight times in the Tide’s 12-0 season. He added punt return and kick return duties after a mid-season injury to Jaylen Waddle, making him the first receiver in the modern era to win the award primarily as a receiver.
Yale receiver Larry Kelley won the second Heisman in 1936, but it was largely a reflection of the best player on the best team (Yale was 7-1) more than his 17 receptions for 372 yards and four touchdowns.
Notre Dame’s Leon Hart won the award in 1949, but played fullback and the equivalent of tight end and was better known for his ability as a defensive end.
Nebraska’s Johnny Rodgers won the Heisman in 1972 but had more tailback carries (73) than receptions (58) that season and averaged 15.8 yards per return on 39 punt returns.
Notre Dame’s Tim Brown won the award in 1987 but his receiving yardage made up less than half of his all-purpose yardage that season that largely came on 57 punt and kickoff returns.
Michigan’s Desmond Howard, the last receiver to win the award in 1991, gained nearly 700 yards on 35 returns, averaging 27.5 yards per kickoff return and 14.1 yards per punt return.
Smith, by contrast, had just nine punt returns for 219 yards and three kickoff returns for 46 yards. Still, it is his 84-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the first quarter at Arkansas that stands out to the senior as his special Heisman moment “just because (it) shows that I can impact the game on more than just being a receiver, whether it’s on special teams or anything else.”
That return may have been the tipping point for a lot of Heisman voters as well, coming a week after a spectacular one-handed grab of a Jones’ pass in the end zone at LSU and convincing them that Smith was more than just a good receiver on a good team.
Smith, on the other hand, said he never really thought about his chances of winning the trophy.
“I’ve had conversations, people send me things about it and I kind of brushed it off, but I honestly I never sat up there and honestly just thought about I could possibly win it,” he said.
Before the start of the 2020 season, many thought it was Lawrence’s trophy to lose. Over the course of the season, Trask’s gaudy passing statistics made him the front runner for a week or so, only to be overtaken by Jones’ steady guidance of the high-powered Alabama attack.
Smith took over the lead after the catch at LSU and the return at Arkansas, cementing his position with 15 receptions in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game against Florida, the final weekend of football before ballots had to be submitted.
After the announcement was made, the first person to congratulate Smith was Jones, who embraced his receiver and offered a brief comment “just that he was proud of me and he loved me,” Smith said.
Since 2000, a quarterback has been chosen for the Heisman Trophy every year except three -- in 2009 with Alabama tailback Mark Ingram, in 2015 with Alabama tailback Derrick Henry and on Tuesday night with Smith.
“It’s a blessing,” Smith said. “Those guys set a standard, and I’m just excited that I got a chance to come here and try to play to that standard and set the standard for everybody else that’s coming after me.”
Alabama coach Nick Saban, who has set his share of records during the dynasty he built in Tuscaloosa, added another on Tuesday when Smith became the third Saban-coached player to win the Heisman, putting Saban in a tie with Notre Dame’s Frank Leahy and Army’s Earl Blaik for coaching the most Heisman winners.
Saban is currently tied with former Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant for the most (six) national championships. Smith turned down a chance to enter the National Football League last year and returned to school to help his coach win a seventh on Monday night against Ohio State.
“The two main reasons I came back was to get my degree and to win another national championship,” Smith said. “So I’ve checked one box. I’m just trying to check the other one now.”