2021 College Football Awards Tracker - Bryce Young Wins Heisman

December 20, 2021 by Staff

Bryce Young became the first Alabama quarterback to win the Heisman on Saturday night (December 11), adding to his collection of postseason awards. The previous Thursday (December 9), Young took home two of College Football's other top individual prizes during the 31st edition of "The Home Depot College Football Awards Show" on ESPN when he lay claim to the Maxwell Award for best player and O'Brien Award for best quarterback.

Young is the second consecutive Heisman winner from Alabama, the third since 2015, and the fourth since 2009. Wide receiver Devonta Smith was last year's winner while RB Derrick Henry won in 2015 and RB Mark Ingram won in 2009.

This was the 87th annual Heisman presentation.

Cincinnati's Luke Fickell was announced as the Home Depot Coach of The Year on Tuesday (December 7). Also on Tuesday, Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett was named the winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for top upperclassman quarterback.

On Monday (December 6), Alabama sophomore linebacker Will Anderson, Jr. was announced as the winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. On Sunday (December 5), The 37th annual Dick Butkus Award went to Georgia inside linebacker Nakobe Dean who also won the 2018 high school Butkus Award.

On Wednesday, December 8, Marcus Jones of Houston was announced as the Paul Hornung Award winner for most versatile player.

Heisman Candidates

The other 3 finalists invited to New York for the presentation of the 87th annual Heisman Memorial Trophy were Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett, and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Hutchinson, a senior defensive end and two-time Michigan team captain, finished 2nd in the voting. He was named the 2021 Woodson-Nagurski Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year while earning consensus Big Ten first-team honors. He set Michigan’s single-season sack record with 14, including three against Ohio State in the regular-season finale, while also posting 15 quarterback hurries in that game (as measured by Pro Football Focus College), the most in a single game since the stat has been measured. His 14 sacks are third-most nationally and he has 15.5 tackles for loss.

Pickett, a redshirt senior and fourth-year starter, finished 3rd. The ACC’s Overall and Offensive Player of the Year and led the Panthers to the 2021 ACC Championship (its first in school history) and a berth in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. His 4,319 passing yards, 334 completions and 42 touchdown passes are school records while he threw just seven interceptions with a completion percentage of 67.2, leading Pitt to an 11-2 season. He also scored four touchdowns on the ground. Pickett passed for over 400 yards three times, including 419 yards in a win over Miami (Fla.). His 42 TD passes are third-most nationally, his 4,319 passing yards and 350.8 yards per game of total offense are fifth-best and his 333.2 yards per game passing are seventh-best. Pickett stands as the Panthers' all-time leader in passing yards (12,303), pass completions (1,045), total offense (13,112 yards) and career touchdown passes (81). His 20 rushing TDs are the most of any Pitt quarterback.

Stroud finished 4th. The redshirt freshman quarterback and first-year starter completed 280 of 395 passes for 3,862 yards with 38 touchdowns and just five interceptions, leading the Buckeyes to a 10-2 record. His 182.2 quarterback rating is second-best nationally, his 351.1 passing yards per game are fourth-best, his 38 TDs are fifth-best and his 70.9 completion percentage is sixth-best. The Buckeye offense he directs was No. 1 nationally in total offense (551.4 yards per game) and scoring offense (45.5) and No. 5 in passing offense (364.9). His current quarterback rating (182.2), completion percentage (70.9) and passing yards per game (351.1) are first in Ohio State’s season rankings while his 3,862 passing yards rank second in school history and his 38 touchdown passes rank third.

Young, a sophomore and first-year starter, threw for 4,322 yards on 314-of-462 passing (68.0%) with 43 touchdowns and just four interceptions, leading Alabama to a 12-1 record, an 2021 SEC championship and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. His touchdowns are second-most nationally, his passing yards are fourth-most and his quarterback rating of 175.53 is fifth-best. His passing yards per game (332.5) and completions (314) are sixth-most. Young, who also ran for three touchdowns, threw for five TDs in a game three times, including against Arkansas when he also set the Alabama school record with 559 passing yards, breaking a mark that stood for 52 years. He also set SEC Championship records with 421 passing yards and 461 yards of total offense, earning game MVP honors.

The 2021 Heisman Trophy ballots went out to 928 electors, which includes 870 members of the media, 57 living Heisman winners and one overall fan vote presented by Nissan, premier partner of the Heisman Trophy. All ballots were submitted electronically to the independent accountants at Deloitte.

For more information, visit the official Heisman Trophy website.

2021 Heisman Voting

927 ballots were received. Three points are awarded for first place on a ballot, with two points for second place and one point for third place.

Place	Player	School	Pos	Class	1st	2nd	3rd	Total Pts
1	Bryce Young	Alabama	QB	SO	684	107	45	2,311
2	Aidan Hutchinson	Michigan	DE	SR	78	273	174	954
3	Kenny Pickett	Pittsburgh	QB	SR	28	175	197	631
4	C.J. Stroud	Ohio State	QB	FR	12	118	127	399
5	Will Anderson, Jr.	Alabama	LB	SO	31	79	74	325
6	Kenneth Walker III	Michigan State	RB	JR	18	53	85	245
7	Matt Corral	Ole Miss	QB	JR	10	32	56	150
8	Desmond Ridder	Cincinnati	QB	SR	5	15	36	81
9	Jordan Davis	Georgia	DT	SR	9	15	18	75
10	Breece Hall	Iowa State	RB	JR	0	5	7	17

NOTE: CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a voter for the following awards; Fred Biletnikoff, Eddie Robinson, Ray Guy, Bednarik, Maxwell, Lou Groza, Lombardi and George Munger. He is a nominating member for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Outland Trophy, and the FWAA All-America Team. His vote for each award, or top nominee, is listed below where applicable.

2021 Major Award-Winners

AP Coach Of the Year: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

Home Depot Coach Of the Year: Luke Fickell, Cincinnati

AP Player Of the Year: Bryce Young, QB, Alabama (So.)

Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): Jordan Davis, Georgia (Sr.)
Congrove's Vote: Will Anderson, Jr., Alabama (So.)

Fred Biletnikoff Award (receiver): Jordan Addison, Pittsburgh (So.)
Congrove's Vote: Jordan Addison, Pittsburgh (So.)

Frank Broyles Award (assistant coach): Josh Gattis, OC, Michigan

Dick Butkus Award (linebacker): Nakobe Dean, Georgia (Jr.)

Walter Camp Award (top player): Kenneth Walker III, RB, Michigan State (Jr.)

Lou Groza Award (placekicker):  Jake Moody, Michigan (Sr.)
Congrove's Vote: Gabe Brkic, Oklahoma (Jr.)

Ray Guy Award (punter): Matt Araiza, San Diego State (Jr.)
Congrove's Vote: Matt Araiza, San Diego State (Jr.)

Paul Hornung Award (versatile player): Marcus Jones, Houston (Sr.)

John Mackey Award (tight end): Trey McBride, Colorado State (:Sr.)

Robert W. (Tiny) Maxwell Award (top player): Bryce Young, Alabama (So.)
Congrove's Vote: Bryce Young, Alabama (So.)

George Munger Coach of the Year:  Dave Aranda, Baylor
Congrove's Vote: 1) Jim Harbaugh, Michigan, 2) Dave Aranda, Baylor, 3) Luke Fickell, Cincinnati. Other semifinalists were Mel Tucker, Michigan State and Jeff Traylor, UTSA.

Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player): Will Anderson, Jr., Alabama (So.)
Congrove's Top Nominee: Felix Anduike-Uzomah, Kansas State (So.)

Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Bryce Young, Alabama (So.)

Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Jordan Davis, Georgia (Sr.)
Congrove's Top Nominee: Evan Neal, Alabama (Jr.)

Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa (Jr.)

Eddie Robinson Coach Of the Year: Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
Congrove's Vote: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Coby Bryant, Cincinnati  (Sr.)

Johnny Unitas Award (senior, or 4th-year junior, quarterback): Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh (Sr.)

Doak Walker Award (running back): Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State (Jr.)