Caleb Williams is named a Heisman Trophy finalist; will go to New York this Saturday, Dec. 10
It is Heisman Trophy Week, and it’s always an especially big week for the players who are selected to attend the Heisman Trophy Award Ceremony at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. It’s also a big week for the schools those players represent.
The University of Southern California is likely to welcome its eighth Heisman Trophy winner to the Heisman fraternity on Saturday, Dec. 10. Quarterback Caleb Williams is the clear favorite to win the award. He would join seven previous Heisman Trophy winners at USC. He would also be a Heisman winner as a sophomore, with at least one more year to make a run at the trophy. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young won the 2021 Heisman and came back this year, trying to become just the second man to win back-to-back Heismans. The only man to ever do it: Archie Griffin of Ohio State in 1974 and 1975.
Let’s tell you about Caleb Williams and the men who will join him at the Heisman ceremony, plus a few notable snubs for the award presentation:
CALEB WILLIAMS 2022 PASSING STATS
296 of 448 completions for 4,075 yards, 37 TD, 4 INT, 9.1 yards per attempt, 66.1% completion rate
CALEB WILLIAMS 2022 RUSHING STATS
109 carries for 372 yards and 10 TD, 3.4 yards per carry
CALEB WILLIAMS 2022 TOTALS
4,447 yards of total offense, 47 total touchdowns, 5 total turnovers in 13 games played
OTHER HEISMAN FINALISTS WHO WILL BE IN NEW YORK
C.J. Stroud of Ohio State, Max Duggan of TCU, and Stetson Bennett of Georgia are the other Heisman finalists.
C.J. STROUD 2022 STAT LINE FOR OHIO STATE
235 of 355 passing, 3,340 yards, 37 TD, 6 INT, 9.4 yards per attempt, 66.2% completion rate
MAX DUGGAN 2022 STAT LINE FOR TCU
239 of 368 passing, 3,321 yards, 30 TD, 4 INT, 9 yards per attempt, 64.9% completion rate
STETSON BENNETT 2022 STAT LINE FOR GEORGIA
269 of 395 passing, 3,425 yards, 20 TD, 6 INT, 8.7 yards per attempt, 68.1% completion rate
NOTABLE SNUBS: HENDON HOOKER, TENNESSEE
Hooker’s 2022 stats:
229 of 329 passing, 3,135 yards, 27 TD, 2 INT, 9.5 yards per attempt, 69.6% completion rate
He smoked Alabama and LSU. He had a markedly better season than Bennett did; he merely played for a less complete team than Bennett. This is a horrible Heisman snub.
MICHAEL PENIX, WASHINGTON
Penix threw for 4,354 yards with 29 TDs and 7 INTs.
BIJAN ROBINSON, TEXAS
The running back accumulated 1,580 yards and over six yards per carry, scoring 18 rushing touchdowns. He accounted for 20 total TDs and 1,894 all-purpose yards without a lost fumble.
BO NIX, OREGON
Ducks Wire has been covering Nix all season long. Get more from Ducks Wire on Oregon’s QB, who will reportedly play in the Holiday Bowl against North Carolina.
JALEN CARTER, GEORGIA
He was injured for a good portion of the season, but many will tell you he is the best college football player in the United States this year.
BLAKE CORUM, MICHIGAN
If he had not gotten injured in November, he might have been able to make a strong closing argument.
THE HEISMAN TRUST
This is the organization which governs Heisman Trophy balloting and sets the rules and policies which shape the Heisman Trophy Award Ceremony. It’s not ESPN or any outside group of media outlets or personalities.
HEISMAN TRUST NEW POLICY ON THE HEISMAN FINALISTS
Beginning last year, four finalists are invited to every Heisman ceremony.
PREVIOUS USC HEISMAN WINNERS
Mike Garrett, 1965
O.J. Simpson, 1968
Charles White, 1979
Marcus Allen, 1981
Carson Palmer, 2002
Matt Leinart, 2004
Reggie Bush, 2005 (officially stripped, but he did claim the award at the 2005 Heisman Trophy Award Ceremony)
USC HEISMAN QBs
Palmer, 2002
Leinart, 2004
THE LAST PAC-12 PLAYER TO WIN THE HEISMAN TROPHY
Marcus Mariota of Oregon in 2014
LAST PAC-12 PLAYER TO FINISH IN THE HEISMAN TOP TWO
Bryce Love of Stanford was the 2017 Heisman runner-up. Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma, coached by Lincoln Riley, won the award.
LINCOLN RILEY HEISMAN WINNERS
Baker Mayfield in 2017 and Kyler Murray in 2018 both won the Heisman under Riley’s guidance.
HEISMAN FINALISTS COACHED BY LINCOLN RILEY
In addition to Mayfield and Murray, Dede Westbrook (2016) and Jalen Hurts (2019) join Caleb Williams as a Riley-coached Heisman finalist.
Riley has therefore coached five Heisman Trophy finalists as either a head coach or coordinator over the past seven seasons. This does not count Baker Mayfield being a repeat Heisman finalist. He was a finalist in 2016 before he won in 2017.
2022 HEISMAN CEREMONY TV SCHEDULE
The 2022 Heisman Trophy Award Ceremony is on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (5 p.m. Pacific) on ESPN.
The show is one hour.
The award will not be presented before 8:47 p.m. ET, 5:47 p.m. PT. The actual announcement of the award, followed by the winner’s brief speech and interview, usually comes from 50 to 54 minutes past the hour, give or take one minute.
