COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Joe Burrow earned 841 first-place votes while running away with the 2019 Heisman Trophy, and of course I put the former Ohio State backup and current LSU Tiger No. 1 on my Heisman ballot.
Burrow earned 90.7 percent of the first-place votes, with 927 people getting Heisman votes this year. That was a higher percentage than anyone in history, topping the 86.7 percent earned by Buckeyes QB Troy Smith in 2006.
Easy choice. No choice, really. The quarterback of the No. 1 team in the nation in always a Heisman favorite, and the way Burrow lifted LSU to a new level while ranking second in the nation in passing yards and first in passing touchdowns, I don’t know how you could have voted for anyone else.
That should be reassuring news for Ohio State defensive end Chase Young, because his two-game suspension this season didn’t cost him the Heisman. Burrow put it away. But I do think the suspension cost Young a chance to finish second. He was second on my ballot, while I voted Ohio State QB Justin Fields third.
Ask for most valuable Buckeye and it was Fields, based on the position he plays and the fact that the Buckeyes didn’t have a starter-level replacement behind him. But most outstanding player for Ohio State? That to me was Young, who dominated from his position as much or more than any Buckeye I’ve seen in 15 years.
So again, my ballot:
1. Joe Burrow
2. Chase Young
3. Justin Fields
I debated briefly between Fields and Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts for third place, but while Hurts produced more yards from scrimmage, Fields made fewer mistakes against tougher defenses. The way Fields played in the second half against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship sealed that vote for me.
But Hurts actually finished second, with Fields third and Young fourth. That’s where I think Young’s suspension came in. He was already fighting an uphill battle as a defensive player. Once he lost two games to a brief NCAA investigation over what Young said was a loan he took from a family friend last year and paid back, Young made his case a little more difficult.
It wasn’t a major difference. He wasn’t going to win either way, and he did get to New York either way. But I think he might have finished second without being sidetracked. Look at the final voting, in which Young received the second-most first-place votes. The most important number here is the amount of ballots each of the top-four finishers appeared on. Though there were 927 voters, the Heisman Trust said there were 893 ballots received.
| Player | 1st | 2bd | 3rd | Total ballots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Burrow | 841 | 41 | 3 | 885 |
| Jalen Hurts | 12 | 231 | 264 | 507 |
| Justin Fields | 6 | 271 | 187 | 464 |
| Chase Young | 20 | 205 | 173 | 398 |
Young earned eight more first-place votes than Hurts, but appeared on 109 fewer ballots. Of the 893 ballots actually received:
56.8 percent put Hurts on their ballot.
52.0 percent put Fields on their ballot.
44.6 percent put Young on their ballot.
Of the people who voted for Hurts, 47.9 percent had him first or second.
Of the people who voted for Fields, 59.7 percent had him first or second.
Of the people who voted for Young, 56.5 percent had him first or second.
Hurts finished second by getting the most third-place votes. But if voters liked Fields and Young, they liked them more.
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