Randy Smith: Vols Snubbed Again By Heisman

  • Friday, December 9, 2022
Randy Smith
Randy Smith
We've had several days to let it sink in that Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker won't be going to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation. It was announced this week that Hooker finished fifth in balloting by members of the Heisman committee and only the top four are considered to be finalists and invited to New York for the presentation. Once again, Tennessee has been snubbed by the Heisman committee. George Cafego, Johnny Majors, Heath Shuler, Peyton Manning and now Hendon Hooker have all been snubbed by the Heisman, with Majors, Shuler and Manning all coming in second.

Tennessee has never had a Heisman Trophy winner.
Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Ohio State lead the way with seven Heisman winners. The midwest has dominated the voting for years and it shows. From 2002 until I left channel three in 2009, I was a voting member of the Heisman committee. I always took my Heisman responsibilities seriously....got my ballot in on time and was never biased in any way. I always voted for the player whom I thought was the best player in the country, which is what the Heisman Trophy winner is supposed to be.

Here's a bit of irony for you. Hendon Hooker was voted the Offensive Player of the Year in the SEC as well as first team all-conference....but it's Georgia's Stetson Bennett who is a finalist and headed to New York. Bennett was tabbed as second team on the all-SEC squad. Would Hooker have been a finalist if he hadn't blown his knee out in the eleventh game of the season? I think the answer is yes, because even though he had a sub-par game against South Carolina, he would have gone off on Vanderbilt in the season finale. (The Vols won anyway 56-0 without him) 

I wasn't old enough to know what the Heisman Trophy was when Johnny Majors was snubbed in 1956 but I remember well when Charles Woodson won the award over Peyton Manning in 1997. Manning had been a big favorite for the honor almost all season long. But when the votes were tallied Woodson became the first defensive player to ever win the award, edging out Manning in the voting. Tennessee fans rose up and vehemently accused ESPN of pushing Woodson hard in the last few weeks of the season. I still haven't decided if there was any merit to that theory but thousands of Big Orange faithful believe it.

If I were still on the Heisman committee, I would have had to decide if Hooker was the best player or would it be Ohio State's C.J. Stroud. However, there is one thing for sure....the Vols are fortunate to have had Hooker for two memorable seasons.            

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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com

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