Tag: Heisman

Broncos CB Pat Surtain backs Travis Hunter for Heisman

“The things that he’s done is something that we’ve never seen before,” Broncos CB Pat Surtain said of Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter.

Colorado Buffaloes cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter is one of four finalists for the 2024 Heisman Trophy, joined by Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Miami quarterback Cam Ward and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

Ahead of the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Saturday night, Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain has endorsed Hunter’s candidacy.

“I just think he’s very unique, the type of player he is,” Surtain said after Wednesday’s practice. “I mean, his body of work speaks for itself. Him coming in and doing the things that he’s done is something that we’ve never seen before, honestly. And I’m excited for his future.”

Hunter totaled 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 15 total touchdowns this fall while adding 32 tackles, four interceptions and seven pass breakups. Can he continue to play both ways in the NFL?

“I believe he can do whatever he puts his mind to,” Surtain said. “Obviously, he’s shown it at the collegiate [level]. … I think he can definitely play both ways if he puts his mind to it, for sure.”

This year’s Heisman Trophy winner will be announced on ESPN at 6 p.m. MT on Saturday, Dec. 14.

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Broncos, Nuggets players campaign for Travis Hunter to win Heisman

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton and CB Pat Surtain are campaigning for Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter to win the Heisman Trophy.

Colorado athletes stick together.

Buffaloes wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter is one of two frontrunners to win the Heisman Trophy this season, with Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty his biggest competition for the award in 2024.

Hunter is currently considered the favorite, but Jeanty is not far behind. To help the cause, Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton and cornerback Pat Surtain wore t-shirts endorsing Hunter ahead of their Monday Night Football game against the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 2.

The school sent the shirts, but Surtain told a reporter that Hunter doesn’t need “any help” after making a strong case to win the trophy this season.

Sutton told the Denver Post that Hunter is “not just playing both sides of the ball, but has been dominant on both sides of the ball.”

Broncos players were not alone in their support for Hunter. The Denver Nuggets have also endorsed the Heisman candidate:

Four Heisman finalists will be announced on Dec. 9 and the winner will be announced on Dec. 14.

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USC’s Reggie Bush unloads on NCAA, reflects on his Heisman, and much more

People still want to hear more from Reggie Bush about his NCAA odyssey and his reclaimed Heisman Trophy.

Former NFL running back and USC superstar Reggie Bush is one of the greatest college football players ever. Bush joins Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson for an exclusive interview on the latest episode of “All The Smoke.”

The former USC Trojan Bush also unloads on the NCAA, explains his lawsuit against them, and his reaction to getting his Heisman back. Plus, he shares his thoughts on NIL, the return of college football game CFB 2025, and discusses the epic 2006 national title game between USC and Texas, including his relationship with rival Vince Young.

He also, he opens up about his NFL career, including joining the Saints in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and playing for Sean Payton. Bush also talks about playing for Pete Carroll, his iconic on-field swag, and his transition to media. There are so many aspects to Reggie Bush’s life story within and beyond football. He is still a compelling interview, and people still want to hear what he has to say. It is all very understandable.

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Pac-12 Heisman QB comparison — Matt Leinart vs Marcus Mariota

Would you rather have Leinart’s 2004 season or Mariota’s 2014 campaign?

The Pac-12 football era has, in a meaningful sense, come to an end. We can say that Washington State and Oregon State are technically carrying the banner for the conference, but two teams is not a conference in anything but a legal sense. The Pac-12 is, for all intents and purposes, dead. Maybe we can say that the league is frozen in a cryogenic chamber and could be brought back to life in 10 years. Maybe the league is in a deep coma. At any rate, it is no longer functional to any significant degree. As we look back on the story of Pac-12 football, comparing Heisman Trophy quarterbacks in the conference is an interesting exercise. Consider 2004 Matt Leinart of USC versus 2014 Marcus Mariota of Oregon.

Leinart was awesome in 2004 for the Trojans under Pete Carroll, completing nearly two-thirds of his passes for 33 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. That’s magnificent, God-tier performance as the leader of a dynamic offense which had Reggie Bush in the backfield. Everything came together for that 2004 USC offense.

Marcus Mariota was extraordinary in 2014 for Oregon. He threw for over 4,400 yards with 42 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. A quarterback can’t play much better than Mariota did for the Ducks.

Statistically, Mariota’s season was better. However, as USC fans will very quickly remind Oregon fans, the Trojans play for national championships. Leinart won it all in 2004. Mariota did not.

We all know which season we would prefer here at USC.

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ESPN ranks Georgia’s Carson Beck as top Heisman contender

ESPN names Georgia football quarterback Carson Beck as the nation’s top Heisman contender

ESPN has named Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck as the top Heisman contender for the 2024 college football season. Beck, who is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, is college football’s leading returning passer and will have tons of weapons to pass to this fall.

Carson Beck is arguably the best quarterback in the country and is playing on the best team, so he has an excellent chance to win the Heisman. Beck was named as a second-team All-SEC selection for his 2023 season.

“The Dawgs are still raw over their lack of a CFP invite and will enter fall with Silicon Valley’s worth of chips on their big ol’ hairy shoulders,” writes ESPN’s Ryan McGee.

“It’s the shoulders of Beck that will be asked to dish out that revenge, having made 14 starts one year ago and losing only once. It’s his fifth season in Athens and if he can improve even a little on his numbers — 3,941 yards, 24 TDs, 6 INTs, 72% completion — from a year ago on a CFP team, it’ll be impossible to keep him out of New York in December.”

Carson Beck and Georgia will have tons of opportunities to prove themselves on the national stage. Georgia has four games that are already scheduled to be televised on ABC. Additionally, Georgia has road games against three potential top-five teams in Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss. This fall can’t get here soon enough!

Reggie Bush getting Heisman Trophy is a victory for USC over the NCAA

This isn’t just a Reggie Bush victory; this is a USC victory over the NCAA.

Reggie Bush receiving his 2005 Heisman Trophy is a personal victory for Reggie and a moment of vindication for him. It is also a victory for USC over the NCAA after the governing body of college sports levied draconian and wildly excessive penalties against the school.

Trojans Wire wrote this about the NCAA in 2020:

“USC’s greatest sports villain is not a man. It is not a UCLA Bruin or a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It is not a player or coach from any other Pac-12 school. It isn’t the SEC or anyone from it. It isn’t the Big Ten or anyone from it. It isn’t a Pac-10 or Pac-12 commissioner, even though USC fans didn’t like Tom Hansen and really don’t like Larry Scott.

“No, USC’s greatest sports villain is an institution.”

We are talking, of course, about the NCAA. The investigation of USC in 2010 has been proven to be a sham on several different levels. The NCAA unfairly went after Reggie Bush, who has now been vindicated. The NCAA unfairly went after Todd McNair, who has been vindicated. Everyone can see now what USC people knew in 2010: The NCAA wasn’t playing it straight. Never forget that.

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Reggie Bush Heisman return should lead to restored 2004 BCS title for USC

Heisman? Check. Reggie Bush got what he deserved. Now let’s get back the 2004 BCS championship.

Reggie Bush has his Heisman Trophy back, but there should be unfinished business to take care of at USC. When the NCAA conducted its investigation of USC in 2010, a crackdown on the school began. USC ultimately endured several very stiff penalties, one of them being the vacating of the 2004 Bowl Championship Series national championship, won over Oklahoma in the 2005 Orange Bowl. Now that Reggie Bush has his Heisman, it’s time for USC to get that BCS title back in the official record book and to also have its vacated victories restored as well.

USC won two national championships in the Pete Carroll era, but 2004 was the only unanimous title. The 2003 championship was a title the Trojans split with LSU. The Tigers won the BCS championship while USC won the Associated Press national title due to finishing atop the final AP poll of that season.

USC still has some work to do. Reggie Bush getting his Heisman back is not the final chapter in this long-running drama.

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Now that Reggie Bush has his Heisman back, what about USC’s wins?

Reggie has his Heisman back. Now restore 14 USC football wins which were vacated after the NCAA’s witch hunt.

Reggie Bush has regained his 2005 Heisman Trophy. USC can officially say it has eight Heisman Trophy winners again. The school can now celebrate Reggie Bush’s achievements the way it has always wanted to. We can be sure the school will have some big celebrations planned for home games this year. Now that Bush has his stiff-arm trophy back where it belongs, however, there’s a matter of unfinished business: Restoring the USC wins which were vacated.

USC football collected 14 wins which were later vacated due to the NCAA’s 2010 investigation of the program, which included Reggie Bush. If the Heisman Trust is going to acknowledge that the landscape of college sports is different now and that it was both unfair and illogical to deprive Reggie Bush of his Heisman Trophy, the same thought process should apply to USC’s wins, which — like Reggie’s Heisman — were earned on the field. Nothing can undo the fact that USC walked off the field 14 times and won football games. The idea that those wins no longer count doesn’t make sense.

Restoring honors to USC from two decades ago isn’t over. Getting Reggie Bush’s Heisman back is just one part of the process.

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Reggie Bush is finally getting his Heisman Trophy back and fans are so thrilled

Reggie Bush earned that trophy and college football fans are happy he he will have it back.

Former USC Trojans running back Reggie Bush will soon reunite with the Heisman Trophy that is deservedly his own.

Over a decade ago, in 2010, Bush forfeited the trophy that he earned in 2005 due to receiving “improper benefits” while at USC. But now after spending far too long away from the award he worked so hard to receive, the Heisman Trust informed Bush that he will receive it back on Wednesday.

The Heisman Trust cited “enormous changes” in college football that went into the decision, per ESPN. This is something fans have wanted for years, but especially after new NIL policies became rampant in the NCAA.

RELATED: Reggie Bush shared a wild story about how his Heisman Trophy scandal cost him being the No. 1 pick

Bush was excited when he heard the news (via ESPN):

“Personally, I’m thrilled to reunite with my fellow Heisman winners and be a part of the storied legacy of the Heisman Trophy, and I’m honored to return to the Heisman family. I also look forward to working together with the Heisman Trust to advance the values and mission of the organization.”

He wasn’t the only one thrilled about the decision from the Heisman Trust, though.

Fans were so happy for Reggie Bush

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‘We could have won a championship with him’: Former Cleveland Browns interim coach on Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield received some high praise from his former interim head coach during his rookie season for the Cleveland Browns.

It is no secret it was an up-and-down start to Baker Mayfield’s career after he was drafted No. 1 by the Cleveland Browns.

During his first season, Mayfield set the rookie passing touchdown record with 27. He followed that with a poor second season. A great third year led to a playoff berth and the first playoff win for the Browns since 1994. His final season in Cleveland started well before he injured his shoulder and tried to play through it.

That resulted in the Browns trading for Deshaun Watson and sending Mayfield to Carolina. After a whirlwind 2022 season, during which he played for two different teams, Mayfield found his home in Tampa Bay. He had a career season that led to him getting a three-year, $100 million deal.

During that first season in Cleveland, Mayfield’s head coach and his offensive coordinator were fired midseason after a three-game losing streak.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams took over as the interim head coach and Mayfield and the Browns took off. They went 5-3, and Mayfield completed 68.4% of his passes for 281.8 yards per game, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Mayfield transformed a team that had gone 1-31 their previous two seasons into a seven-win team in his first year.

Williams was not retained as head coach, though. Instead, the Browns hired the interim offensive coordinator, Freddie Kitchens, as the head coach.

Williams spoke on “Come Get Some Show” and had high praise for Mayfield and the new contract he earned with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I’m so happy,” Williams said. “He’s one of my all-time favorites. I believe with all my heart, we could have won a championship with him had I stayed in Cleveland instead of heading out. I’m so proud at how he’s proven himself, time after time after time. From high school to college from college to the NFL and now within the NFL. Hey, come get some, Bake. I’m very happy for him.”

It’s easy to play the what-if game with Mayfield’s career. What if Williams had been retained and they built upon the momentum from the 2018 season? Would Mayfield still be there? Would they have won a Super Bowl like Williams thinks?

We’ll never know, but everything happens for a reason, and what is Cleveland’s loss is Tampa Bay’s gain.

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