Louisville Quarterback Lamar Jackson Wins the Heisman Trophy

Fifteen months ago, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson began his college career in the least award-worthy way possible.

On the first play of the Cardinals’ 2015 season opener, against Auburn, Jackson lined up as a running back for a trick play. The quarterback split out in motion, and Jackson took the snap instead, rolling to his right and underthrowing a double-covered receiver. The pass was corralled by an Auburn defensive back.

Jackson had thrown his first interception — on his first play.

On Saturday, before becoming the first Louisville player to win the Heisman Trophy, Jackson recalled that moment. Acknowledging that he had been nervous he would throw an interception, he said that as he walked off the field, he could not wait for Coach Bobby Petrino to call his number again.

“Coach got to put me back out there,” Jackson recalled thinking. “I know I’m going to do something now because I got it out of the way.”

Petrino did stick with Jackson, and Jackson did more than just something: He became the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in college football.

All indications are that Jackson is a hard-working guy. Despite the Heisman he isn't projected as the top QB pick in the draft. But he's improved his pocket passing and his game management skills to improve his standing with the NFL. Dual threat QB's don't have a great record in the NFL. So Jackson still has a lot of work to do. Teams that draft QB's like Jackson are often risk takers. The poor guy is probably destined to a career with the Cleveland Browns.

It always appeared to me that the Heisman is awarded to the most outstanding quarterback or running back rather than the most outstanding player overall. Offensive linemen and defensive players are left out. Maybe they should just admit that the Heisman goes to the flashiest offensive backfield player.

Many people characterize college football as a minor league for the NFL. Nothing puts the lie to that more than the Heisman nominated QB's. None of the three nominees are likely to top the list of NFL draft choices. The college game and the pro game are so different, some think of them as different sports. Dual-threat QB's like Jackson are not highly valued in the NFL. NFL offenses are run by QB's with strong arms, great accuracy, and the ability to read defenses. Dual-threat QB's make on the sport decisions to expoloit defensive weaknesses. NFL defenses are so much better, that QB's like Jackson are likely to be injured and not likely to be able to run anywhere near 1000 yards in the NFL. In fact, the top college QB prospect plays at North Carolina and has NFL tools. Louisville and Watson's Clemson are top-rated teams. Carolina had a so-so season.


Bottom line, success in college and success in the NFL are very different things. The best college quarterbacks succeed because of skills that are not valued in the NFL. There isn't a sport with a minor league that thrives on players who are unlikely to succeed at the next level. Colleges do not train their players to be great pros. They train them to be great college players. That, of course, is not what minor leagues do.