How Alabama Wide Receiver DeVonta Smith Checked the Most Boxes for the Heisman Trophy

Even though the Heisman Trophy vote has long concluded, and the finalists have already been announced (and should have included Alabama running back Najee Harris), there's been a lot of second-guessing talk about which player is truly most deserving.

Maybe some people don't like the thought of a wide receiver getting the award, or they're now in the habit of questioning elections (that's a joke folks, please no emails).

More likely is that they didn't watch every Alabama game this season.

The 2020 Crimson Tide boasts the program's all-time leading rusher, and a quarterback challenging the single-season NCAA record for passing efficiency, which is how the passing champion is selected.

And then there's DeVonta Smith, already Alabama's all-time leader in career receiving yards.

There's a solid argument for each of the three, but let's wade though some of the clutter with the following 10 questions:

1. Who was Alabama's best receiver? Jaylen Waddle may have been Alabama's most dynamic wide receiver before he suffered an injury at Tennessee, but that doesn't automatically translate to playing the position best. At the time he was leading the Crimson Tide in receiving yards with 557, and was the best punt returner in college football. However, Smith was already the go-to guy with 38 receptions compared to 25 to Waddle, and he was the top target on third downs and other key situations.

Moreover, when Alabama had Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III in the mix last season, before they were top-15 picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, Smith was a starter. He was also a team captain in 2019 (and again in 2020).

2. Who made the offense go the most? One could make the argument for all three. Mac Jones has been outstanding in taking over and guiding the offense behind center. Harris is a complete back who can do everything and his presence makes things extremely difficult for the defense.

The thing that's different about Harris is his play between the tackles this season. He's averaging 114.73 yards per game this season, yet he has very few long runs. The way he and the offensive line have been grinding out yards have been key to his scoring 24 rushing touchdowns.

But was he the toughest matchup for opponents? Was Jones?

League coaches named Smith the SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

3. Who had the signature moment? It was easily Smith, the one-handed touchdown catch at LSU. More on that in a moment.

Unfortunately, the lasting image Jones may have left with voters was the bad decision he made on his final throw at Arkansas, an interception at the goal-line that ended up bring nullified by a penalty. Harris was the MVP of the SEC Championship Game, but that was what propelled him into the top five of Hesiman voting.

4. Who did the best against the best, team-wise? Statistically, the best defense Alabama faced was either Georgia or Texas A&M (the Aggies rank better in total defense, but the Bulldogs have the edge in scoring defense). We'll go with the Bulldogs since the game was closer (41-24 compared to 52-24), and they slowed the Crimson Tide for the first two quarters and led at halftime.

Jones threw for 417 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Harris ran for 152 yards and one score. Smith had 167 receiving yards and two touchdowns (Waddle had 161 yards).

4. Who did the best against the best, individually ? If Alabama's Patrick Surtain II isn't the best cornerback in the nation, its LSU's Derek Stingley Jr., who many picked in the preseason to be the SEC Defensive Player of the Year (instead it was Surtain). Stingley was a consensus All-American as a freshman in 2019.

Smith had 231 yards and three touchdowns at LSU. For those hanging their hats on Stingley dealing with injuries this season, Smith had 213 yards on seven catches and two touchdowns last year, when Stingley was his primary defender.

The only opponent Smith's had more career yards against was Ole Miss, with 466.

As for the other program that likes to claim it deserves to be called DBU, Florida, Smith had 15 catches for 189 yards and two touchdowns in the SEC Championship Game.

5. The 200-yard games: There have been 11 200-yard games by Alabama receivers and Smith has had four of them to set an Alabama program record (Amari Cooper had three).

6. Base statistics: Smith leads the nation with 1,511 receiving yards and 98 catches while ranking second nationally with 17 touchdowns. Included in those numbers are 67 first downs accounted for on his 98 receptions (68.4 percent), totals that are both tops in college football. He's also done so while playing just 11 games, all against Southeastern Conference opponents.

7. Non-traditional statistics: According to the football-evaluation site Pro Football Focus, Smith isn't just the top-rated wideout in college football with a 93.7 overall grade, he's on pace to be the highest-rated single-season wide receiver in PFF history. Smith also boasts a 150.7 NFL passer rating when targeted, which ranks second nationally in that category.

8. Who was clearly the best player at his position this season? Jones had the better season, there's no doubt about that, but if you asked 10 experts who's the best quarterback in college football overall and another name gets mentioned. It would be a big surprise if Trevor Lawrence of Clemson isn't the first-overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Somewhat similar at running back, there's Harris and Clemson's Travis Etienne, although again it's clear who had the better season.

Meanwhile, look for Florida tight end Kyle Pitts to be a distant second in voting for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the outstanding receiver in college football (regardless of position).

9. Few miscues: Smith has had only had two drops over his 123 targets this season.

10. The best player on the best team: According to the Alabama players, who vote for the team MVP award, it was Smith.

"He’s probably done as much this year for our team as any player that we’ve ever had," Nick Saban said.

Case closed.

Record chase

The word "record" which of course is also the spelling for the word used to reflect wins and losses, is in the Crimson Tide game notes 365 times this week.

We're guessing that's a record.

Among them, Smith is the only player in SEC history with multiple career games with four or more receiving touchdowns.

The 54 career touchdowns by Harris are the most by any player in Alabama program history (surpassing 50 by Shaun Alexander (1996-99).

The 54 touchdowns also rank as the second-most in SEC history, trailing only Tim Tebow’s 57 from 2006-09

Here's an updated look at the Crimson Tide's epic records chase this season:

TEAM RECORDS

Points per game: Alabama is averaging 49.7 points per game. The team record is 47.2 (set in 2019).

Passing yards: The 2020 team is averaging 354.1 yards per game. The record is 342.2.

Average gain per offensive play: Alabama is going at a 7.8 clip. The record is 7.9.

Average yards per game: The Crimson Tide is at 543.9 yards per game. The Alabama record, set in 2018, is 522.0 yards.

INDIVIDUAL

Alabama is scheduled to play at least two more games, and possibly three if it reaches the National Championship Game.

Completion percentage: The Alabama single-season mark, minimum 200 completions, is Greg McElroy at 70.9 percent in 2010. Tua Tagovailoa was on pace to top that last year at 71.4 percent, but only had 180 completions. Jones is at 76.5 percent.

Career Completion percentage: Tagovailoa completed 69.3 percent of his passes at Alabama from 2017-19. Jones is at 73.2 percent.

Season passing yards: Tagovailoa threw for 3,966 yards in 2018. Jones is at 3,739. He's averaging 339.9 yards, and is on pace to break the record at the Rose Bowl.

400-yard games: Jones has topped 400 yards four times this season, trying the SEC record: Tim Couch (1998), Johnny Manziel (2013) and Joe Burrow (2019).

Passer efficiency: Jones comfortably leads the NCAA in passing efficiency with a 202.35 rating, with BYU's Zach Wilson second at 196.44). Burrow set the record last year at 202.0.

Passer efficiency career: Jones has a career efficiency rating of 196.2. Tagovailoa set the career mark last year at 199.4.

Single-season receptions: Senior wide receiver DeVonta Smith has 98, while Amari Cooper holds the Alabama record of 124 (2014). Smith is averaging 8.9 receptions per game, putting him on pace for 116 with two more games.

Single-season receiving yards: Smith has 1,511 yards, while Cooper has the record at 1,727. At his current average of 137.4 yards per game he would accumulate 275 over two games, giving him 1,786.

Career receptions: Smith has 216, while Cooper had 228 catches from 2012-14.

Career 100-yard receiving games: Cooper holds the record with 14. Smith has seven this season, and 12 for his career.

Single-season rushing touchdowns: Harris has 24. Derrick Henry had 28 in 2015.

An odd way to make history

You might have missed it, but the Pasadena city council agreed Wednesday to allow the Tournament of Roses to formally move the game to Arlington, Texas, on New Year’s Day.

What it means is that even though the game will be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the College Football Playoff semifinal can call itself the Rose Bowl Game, with all the records and statistics that go with it.

Overall, the Crimson Tide has played in a total of six Rose Bowl matchups, going 4-1-1. The program's first five bowl appearances were all in the Rose Bowl, the most recent in 1946. Alabama faced Texas there at the end of the 2009 season, but it was considered the 2020 BCS National Championship Game.

Regardless, while the Rose Bowl Game dates back to 1902, this will only be the second time it be played somewhere else but Pasadena.

The first did have an Alabama tie, Wallace Wade. He won three national titles with the Crimson Tide before leaving for Duke.

In 1938, his "Iron Dukes" finished the regular season undefeated, untied and un-scored upon, only to lose in the Rose Bowl on a last-minute touchdown by Southern California, 7-3.

Four years later, Duke landed another invitation, and accepted, two weeks before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. One of the first moves made as a response was Gen. John L. DeWitt, in command of the Sixth Army Headquarters in San Francisco, ordering all major West Coast events cancelled.

Wade suggested the game be moved to nearby Durham, N.C.

"A large part of the Pacific Fleet lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor," wrote Rose Bowl historian Maxwell Stiles. "The nation, at war with Germany and Japan, is tense and nerves are taut. There is a blackout on the Pacific Coast, and that includes sport.

"But the Japanese have been able neither to sink nor to black out the Rose Bowl game."

With the Rose Bowl Game played in lousy, chilly and rainy conditions, Oregon State upset Duke 20-16.

As of Friday, it will no longer be the only Rose Bowl game not played in California.

Did you notice?

• Rose Bowl Preview: Does Notre Dame Have What It Takes to Keep Up With Alabama?

• It Took a Pandemic to See the Distorted State of College Sports

• DeVonta Smith Epitomizes Alabama's Receiver Reign—and He'll Leave as the Tide's Greatest Yet

• How Will History View the 2020 College Football Season's National Champion?

Christopher Walsh's notes column All Things CW regularly appears on BamaCentral

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