2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson
The 2016 Heisman Trophy Ceremony took place on December 10, 2016 from the PlayStation Theater in Manhattan, New York. The event was broadcasted live on ESPN and hosted by personality Chris Fowler. The event celebrated the excellence of the finalists for the award from the 2016 college football season. The finalists on hand for the ceremony were- Jabrill Peppers, Dede Westbrook, Baker Mayfield, Deshaun Watson, and 2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson. [1]
The 2015 Heisman Trophy Winner Derrick Henry graduated and entered the 2016 NFL draft. Another finalist, Christian McCaffrey chose to forego his Senior season at Stanford and enter the draft alongside Henry. Only Deshaun Watson would return for the 2016 college football season making him one of the favorites to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy by Las Vegas oddsmakers. However, another player would take the top spot, the eventual 2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson.
Las Vegas Oddsmakers Preseason 2016 Heisman Trophy Frontrunners
#1- Lamar Jackson Quarterback, Louisville Cardinals
#2- Deshaun Watson Quarterback, Clemson Tigers
#3- Jabrill Peppers Safety, Michigan Wolverines
2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson began his high school football career his Junior season and was named the starter for both his Junior and Senior seasons. He played in a read option style offense and was noted for having a strong and accurate arm passing. He was also noted as a dedicated student of the game, watching many hours of game footage each week.
Lamar Jackson was rated either a three or four star athlete by the major recruiting services. Jackson would receive a few Power-5 offers such as Auburn, Clemson, Florida, and Louisville, whom Jackson would eventually play for. He also received many offers from the Group of Five schools. Many experts expected Jackson to sign with Florida but shocked them by choosing the Cardinals of Louisville.
Entering his Freshman season in 2015, Jackson would be named the starter for the first game against Auburn. On his first play in college football, Lamar Jackson threw an interception. Jackson would start eight of the twelve games while seeing playing time in all of them. He was named MVP of the Music City Bowl in a win over Texas A&M. In the game, Jackson passed for 227 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 226 yards and two more touchdowns. Overall, Jackson completed 135 of 247 passes for 1,840 yards with 12 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He also added 163 rushes for 960 yards and 11 more touchdowns.
The 2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson entered his Sophomore season as the unchallenged starter for the Cardinals. In his first game of the season, he set a school record by accounting for 8 touchdowns against the Charlotte 49ers. All of them were in the first half. He would start all thirteen games. After the win over the 49ers, Jackson would lead the Cardinals to wins over Syracuse, Florida State, and Marshall before setting up a major showdown with Deshaun Watson’s Clemson Tigers. At Clemson, in an epic battle the Tigers would edge the Cardinals by a score of 42-36. Jackson would lead the Cardinals to rebound wins against Duke, NC State, Virginia, Boston College, and Wake Forest. The Cardinals would close out the regular season with back to back losses to Houston and Kentucky.
After becoming the 2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson and the Louisville Cardinals would accept an invite to the Citrus Bowl to play LSU, a game that they would ultimately lose 29-9. The 2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson had an outstanding season completing 230 of 409 passes for 3,543 yards with 30 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also added 260 rushes for 1,571 yards and 21 more touchdowns. Jackson would become the youngest Heisman trophy Winner of all time at 19 years 337 days. [2]
Lamar Jackson would return in 2017 as the starter for his Junior season as the quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals leading them to an 8-5 record. The 2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson would have stats comparable to his previous season- 254 of 430 for 3,660 yards 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, along with 232 rushes for 1,601 yards and 18 touchdowns. However, only one previous Heisman Trophy Winner has ever repeated, Archie Griffin in the 1970s. The 2017 Heisman Trophy would be awarded to Baker Mayfield while Lamar Jackson was a finalist.
Along with being the 2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson also took home several other awards including the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, Associated Press Player of the Year, SN Player of the Year, and a Unanimous All-American. Jackson’s name was added to the Louisville Ring of Honor at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, and his #8 was retired by the University.
2016 Heisman Trophy 1st Place Voting Breakdown
- Lamar Jackson- 526
- Deshaun Watson- 269
- Baker Mayfield- 26
- Jabrill Peppers- 11
- Dede Westbrook- 7
Lamar Jackson was the first Louisville Cardinal to win the Heisman Trophy
2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson in the NFL Draft
Lamar Jackson would enter the 2018 NFL Draft after deciding to forego his Senior season at Louisville. In the first 31 picks of the draft, 4 quarterbacks were taken before Lamar Jackson, they were #1 overall Baker Mayfield to the Cleveland Browns, #3 Sam Darnold to the New York Jets, #7 Josh Allen to the Buffalo Bills, and #10 Josh Rosen to the Arizona Cardinals. The Philadelphia Eagles had the last pick in the first round but surprisingly traded the pick the Baltimore Ravens who then selected the 2016 Heisman Trophy Winner Lamar Jackson to be their franchise quarterback. In the trade, the Eagles received Baltimore’s second and fourth round picks, along with another second round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. [3]
Related-topics
References
- NCAA [ Lamar Jackson Wins 82nd Heisman Memorial Trophy ] December 11, 2016
- Heisman [ Lamar Jackson ] October 3, 2024
- NFL [ Ravens Trade Up to Take Lamar Jackson ] Apr 26, 2018
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Last Modified: October 8, 2024