Alabama running back Derrick Henry won the 81st Heisman Trophy in the closest voting since 2009, when another Alabama running back won. The finalists finished well above the rest of the field, which explains why they were the only three invited to New York for the ceremony.
Derrick Henry won the Heisman, then spent 10 minutes thanking people
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You can watch Henry’s emotional, thankful acceptance speech here, during which he thanked everyone from his strength coach to his chancellor and paid tribute to deceased teammate Altee Tenpenny.
Henry’s great, but he won because Alabama’s entire defense couldn’t.
Even though he didn’t win the Heisman, finalist Deshaun Watson thinks he can beat the NBA’s MVP in hoops.
Navy extended its winning streak over Army to 14 years in a close one. It was a fun day for both sides (until the end), starting with College GameDay (and signs), which featured vintage footage of Lee Corso coaching Navy. Both Army and Navy wore special helmets, and Army had fun with a t-shirt cannon tank.
Navy QB Keenan Reynolds was the star, breaking even more records, but Army got a nice game from a wide receiver whose actual name is Edgar Allan Poe.
A week after firing beloved coach Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina has reportedly hired Duke offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery.
The playoffs have already started!
- The final four of the FCS playoffs is set, and North Dakota State is going for the five-peat.
- Perennial power Mount Union, which beat typical finals foe Wisconsin-Whitewater in the semifinals this year, will face St. Thomas (Minn.) in the Stagg Bowl for the Division III National Championship.
- Northwest Missouri State will go for its second Division II National Championship in three years when it faces Shepherd next weekend.
New OC at Penn State. After firing John Donovan, Penn State has found a new offensive coordinator in innovative Fordham coach Joe Moorhead.
After finally landing a new OC, Texas has officially fired two of its former offensive coordinator-ish assistants.
Crootin’!
- Dino Babers is already doing work at Syracuse, flipping three-star linebacker Kenneth Ruff from Virginia.
- Dalvin Cook’s high school freshman brother says he’s even more talented than his Heisman-contending sibling.
- Justin Fuente is introducing Virginia Tech to the JUCO life, gaining a commit from the nation’s No. 1 JUCO dual-thread QB.
- Recruits talk about the Mark Richt hire at Miami.
- Vanderbilt got some good news! The Dores’ top target committed over a bunch of SEC rivals.
- That four-star QB LSU lost to Florida during the Les Miles drama? The Tigers aren’t giving up on him.
- Alabama, Oregon, Michigan and Texas are all in the hunt for Montana State QB transfer Dakota Prukop. This kind of thing worked out pretty well for Oregon this year.
UVA hirings. Bronco Mendenhall reportedly hired three defensive coaches at Virginia, including former ECU coach Ruffin McNeill, to coach the inside linebackers.
Leaving Pitt. Pitt lost offensive coordinator Jim Chaney to the same position at Georgia, and Panthers running back Chris James is transferring. Speaking of Georgia, the Bulldogs also reportedly got offensive line coach Sam Pittman from Arkansas.
Maybe you’d like to watch FSU’s QB throw the ball over the side of the stadium?
Bad Santa. Do not dress Oregon’s “Puddles” up as Santa and bring him to meet your children. It will end poorly.
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SB Nation presents: Watch the presentation of the Piesman Trophy
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