The more things change in 2020, the more they stay the same.
The Athletic’s first Heisman Straw Poll of 2020 looks much like every preseason poll in the country, with Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence running away as the early-season Heisman frontrunner.
Lawrence, who received 33 of a possible 44 first-place votes and 115 total voting points, easily distanced himself from second-place Mac Jones of Alabama, who received eight first-place votes and 64 total points.
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Third-leading vote-getter Justin Fields of Ohio State and fourth-place Zach Wilson of BYU managed to create a healthy distance between them and the rest of the field, which, as is usually the case with the first of these exercises, stretches deeper than usual.
The poll, which mirrors the actual Heisman voting in terms of scoring — three points for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote, one point for a third-place vote — features 14 total players receiving a vote from The Athletic’s staff of college football writers and editors. Three of those players, including Wilson, come from outside the Power 5, one from the AAC and two independents.
| Player | Team | Pos | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trevor Lawrence | QB | 33 | 7 | 2 | 115 | |
Mac Jones | QB | 8 | 18 | 4 | 64 | |
Justin Fields | QB | 2 | 8 | 13 | 35 | |
Zach Wilson | QB | 0 | 5 | 12 | 22 | |
Najee Harris | RB | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | |
Travis Etienne | RB | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | |
Kyle Trask | QB | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
Kyle Pitts | TE | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
QB | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
Breece Hall | RB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
Malik Willis | QB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
DeVonta Smith | WR | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Dillon Gabriel | QB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Khalil Herbert | RB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Clearly, visibility matters this early, as only two Big Ten players received votes after that league’s debut weekend — Fields and Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz, who went a combined 40 of 42 passing for 524 yards with seven touchdowns and no picks in their season debuts.
Though the top-four vote-getters are quarterbacks, six of the 14 players receiving votes play a different position — four running backs, one receiver and one tight end.
No. 2 Alabama had three players receive votes — Jones, running back Najee Harris (one first-place vote, eight total points) and receiver DeVonta Smith (one point). And that came after the Crimson Tide lost arguably their best player of them all, as receiver Jaylen Waddle suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Saturday’s win at Tennessee.
No. 1 Clemson had two players receive votes, with running back Travis Etienne (six points) joining Lawrence.
Lawrence and the 6-0 Tigers have dominated competition so far, with the junior quarterback completing 70.7 percent of his passes for 1,833 yards with 17 touchdowns against just two interceptions. Lawrence has 71 total rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns as well, in addition to an 8-yard reception he hauled in this past Saturday.
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If a September Heisman is the kiss of death, as the old saying goes, then what happens to an October Heisman? Better yet, what happens to a November Heisman, as the Pac-12 won’t even be playing games until Nov. 7?
Will the late-season momentum give players from the Big Ten and Pac-12 an edge? Fields made it to No. 3 this week after just one game, showing that not all voters are holding imbalanced schedules against players who have had minimal opportunities to showcase their talents. Then again, considering Fields finished third in the actual Heisman voting last season, perhaps familiarity from one season to another truly helps bolster a player’s case.
One thing is for certain: This will be a Heisman race like no other. Especially because the race hasn’t even started in some parts of the country yet.
(Photo: Ken Ruinard / USA Today)
