Heisman Trophy protests: Why Will Anderson and Kenneth Walker III should have been finalists in 2021

There will never be a year where everyone is happy with all the finalists of the Heisman Trophy.

In college football, where there are 130 FBS teams, there will always be plenty of play from the finalists to the top tier in the sport.

But this year, fans may have to accept at least two shortfalls: Alabama linebacker Will Anderson and Michigan State rerun Kenneth Walker III.

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Anderson is the SEC’s best defender in the regular season, who only gets better as the season goes on. Walker is a back-to-back dynamic, sometimes single-handedly carrying out Michigan State offenses.

Should those two go to New York City with Alabama QB Bryce Young, Ohio State QB CJ Stroud, Pitt QB Kenny Pickett and Aidan Hutchinson defending in Michigan? Which of those four would be the easiest to replace? Sporting News dives into the numbers.

Will Anderson

Case for Anderson

There have been many outstanding defenders to pass on in the Alabama football program. Few people have ever released the numbers that Anderson did in 2021.

Through the SEC Championship Game, Anderson counted a total of 82 tackles, including 31.5 losses and 15.5 covers. The following two numbers lead all FBS players. They are also numbers in a season only surpassed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame in Alabama history, as Thomas had 39 tackles in 1988, 27 tackles and 18 tackles. net in 1988 and 1987, respectively.

Throughout the season, Anderson seemed to get stronger as the year went on. After tallying three bags in his first six games, he has recorded at least one bag in each of his last seven games, a total of 12.5 during that span. In that span, he’s had at least three tackles to lose in those four games. Facing Georgia, one of the most celebrated offensive lines in the country, in the SEC Championship Game, Anderson continued his disruptive play, scoring six tackles with two goals conceded, including a whole hit.

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Anderson may not have received the Heisman Trophy this year, but he did receive one of college football’s highest honors. He was named the recipient of the 2021 Bronco Nagurski Cup, awarded annually to the nation’s top defensive player by the Football Writers Association of America.

Anderson vs Hutchinson

There’s only one defensive player in the top four of the 2021 finals, and that’s Hutchinson. Michigan’s defensive finish surged towards the end of the season, largely aided by a standout game against rivals Ohio State to give Michigan their first Big Ten East title and lead them to the Big Ten Championship Game. for the first time in the program’s history.

According to Pro Football Focus, Hutchinson pressured Stroud 15 times in that game, the most watched by the PFF, and he ended his top season with three dismissals. Hutchinson is currently in third place among FBS players with 14 covers and 22nd with 15.5 tackles on loss. Based on player score of PFF, Hutchinson currently has the highest score among full-backs with 94.7, while Anderson is 10th with 89.8.

Hutchinson has had an active season and has spike to fake drafts for his season, but his numbers don’t match Anderson’s. While wingers tend to have higher stats than defensive midfielders, both have special situations where Hutchinson often retreats into coverage and Anderson frequently lines up.

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According to Pro Football Focus, Hutchinson ran 313 snaps defensively, 397 snaps past the defense and 28 snap range, while Anderson posted 290, 424 and 48 snap runs, passes and coverage respectively, which would help balance the unbalanced stat between the two positions.

Kenneth Walker III

Case for pedestrians

Walker enters the 2021 season with lofty expectations after his move from Wake Forest. Safe to say, he lives up to the hype in East Lansing, Michigan.

The junior team currently has the second most number of pitches nationwide with 1,636, averaging 136.3 per game. His 6.2 yards/take is tied with Jerome Ford of Cincinnati for most backs with at least 200 hits. His 18 hasty touchdowns are the eighth most by any player in the country during the season.

At this point in the season, Walker is considered the runner-up of the Heisman Trophy. On October 30, he edged Michigan in 197 yards on 23 runs with five hasty touchdowns to lead Sparta to victory over their state rivals. That game was still the only loss that werewolves suffered. Walker’s Heisman odds were hit by Ohio State, as he was held for just 25 yards in six carry, limited by his team early as Michigan State fell early to the Buckeyes and switched to a forward way. heavier when it tries to climb. out of a large deficit.

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While the November 20 clash with Ohio State hurt, it was mostly still his fault. He averaged 4.2 yards per shot, but served only six times a season. It’s one of three times during the regular season that he’s received 20 fewer than 20 attempts, and one of two times he’s had less than 10. Walker twice dashed to at least 200 yards, including in Week 1, when he hit at least 200 yards. He ran for a season- 264 yards best on 23 runs with four touchdowns against Northwestern. In eight matches, he walked more than 120 yards.

Walker vs. Stroud

It is not easy to compare Walker and his numbers directly with any player because he does not share a position with any other finalist. Instead, compare his case with another Big Ten attacking player.

As was the case with Hutchinson, Stroud had a standout year. He has the eighth most passing yards among FBS players with 3,862, the fifth most touchdowns at 38 and the second best rating at 182.24. Impressively, he also only threw five interceptions. PFF rated Stroud as the third best quarterback in the country, just behind Young and Pickett.

But with a great season like Stroud has had, the talent around him is something to consider. He has three receivers with over 900 yards of reception, and all three (Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson) look like future talent in round one. Smith-Njigba and Wilson are both rated by the PFF as the top 25 collectors, and even Olave is just 10 places behind Jameson Williams of Alabama, who is ranked as the 48th best player. Additionally, Ohio State had a dynamic comeback run at TreVeyon Henderson, who finished with more than 1,000 yards of javelin. The problem is: The state of Ohio is surrounded by weapons due to crime.

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Now consider Walker. According to Pro Football Focus, he is one of only three starters with an attack rating above 80. Stroud is one of six. Walker also represented 31.7 percent of his team’s total fouls, a staggering total for a run back. Only four back runs took up more than their team’s total offensive yards. Additionally, Walker was assigned 33.2% of Michigan State offensive plays, the third most nationally. It’s a single player causing all of that offense, as opposed to two per connection.

It most likely didn’t help Stroud and Walker’s optics with their head-to-head matchup. Walker had his worst game of the season. Stroud played at his best, throwing for six touchdowns with 432 touchdowns and completing 91.4% of his passes in a 56-7 win. But Walker didn’t play defensively either, and neither did Stroud. So it would probably be fairer to compare Hutchinson with Walker, where there is photographic evidence of Walker running past Hutchinson.