Five reasons why Jabrill Peppers should win the Heisman
By Connor Learn
Lamar Jackson is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, but he’s not the most deserving. Here are five reasons Jabrill Peppers deserves the award.
“The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. The winners of the trophy epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work.”
The Heisman Trophy is the most important individual accolade a college football player can receive. Though the criteria for the Heisman are somewhat vague, it’s supposed to be an award for most outstanding player.
Lamar Jackson is the odds on favorite to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy this Saturday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). He probably will win; any other result would be a massive upset — he put up 51 (51!) touchdowns this year for goodness’ sake. However, Louisville failed to make a major bowl game and 38 of those scores were accumulated against teams that didn’t finish the season with a winning record. Jackson deserves to be recognized for his stats but he wasn’t the most outstanding player in college football this season. Jabrill Peppers of Michigan was. Here are five reasons why he should win the Heisman Trophy.
5. Heisman voters avoid defensive players
The Heisman Trophy, by and large, is a quarterback or running back award that goes to a standout on one of the best couple of teams. In the 81-year history of the Heisman Trophy, there have been only five winners that weren’t a quarterback or running back. This includes four receivers and one defensive player: Charles Woodson. It’s fair to say the Heisman is strongly skewed towards two positions and doesn’t recognize all players equally.
Peppers has already made Heisman history. He’s become only the fifth defensive player to be named a Heisman finalist in the last 25 years. Peppers joined Woodson, Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh, LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu and Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o in that group. There has been some progress in recent years regarding Heisman voting and defensive players, however, with four of those nominations coming within the last eight seasons.
The Heisman award, as currently conducted, fails to measure the performances of all FBS players. If Peppers wins the Heisman, it can help set the precedent that Woodson’s win should have. A win by a defensive player would validate a trend in Heisman voting and likely make the media take future Heisman campaigns by defensive players more seriously. The Heisman is valued highly and thus has a responsibility to accurately choose award winners. Rewarding Peppers would be a big step in the right direction.