Written by Joe Klawe
New York, NY - As the 82nd winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy, Lamar Jackson of the University of Louisville accepted the award Saturday night in Times Square, New York City.
The Outstanding College Football Player award recipient represents the first-ever finalist and winner from the University of Louisville. The quarterback also became the youngest player to receive the prestigious award, just a few days younger than the 2013 Heisman winner: Jameis Wintson.
“I almost cried. I never get emotional but to have my name called and see all of those great players,” Jackson trailed off.
Despite becoming the recipient of the trophy, Lamar will give the trophy to his mother and allow her to keep it wherever she decides.
Jackson’s mother has been by his side well before he caught the attention of Louisville as a three-star recruit from Boyton Beach High School in South Florida.
Jackson’s 2016 record includes 3,390 yards on 220 pass completions of 382 attempts, 1,538 yards on 234 attempts to bring his total offense to 4,928 yards. The total offense school season record doubles as the second-most yards earned by a Heisman Trophy winner.
According to the Heisman Trophy Trust, the Cardinals’ quarterback became the fourth sophomore to receive the award alongside Tim Tebow (2007), Sam Bradford (2008), and Mark Ingram (2009). Jackson also became the thirty-sixth quarterback to win the trophy.
“To be able to stand up here with all the former winners, I’m extremely proud to represent this class and Louisville as their first Heisman Trophy winner,” Jackson said in New York. “For my teammates, it’s an award for all of us. I can’t wait to cherish it with all of you.”
Louisville coach Bobby Petrino matched the pride Jackson felt as they both heard the announcement.
“I had no idea how the vote was going to come out but I want you to know how proud I am of Lamar. He’s a young man that prepared extremely hard, went out on the field and played as hard as he possibly could and did a great job being a leader for this football team.”
“He surpassed everything I thought he could do,” Petrino added.
Jackson began the 2016 season responsible for eight touchdowns against Charlotte with a 70-14 wins and continued on with a 62-28 victory over Syracuse, 63-20 over Florida State, 59-28 win over Marshall, and so on. The end of the same season fell flat against American Athletic Conference member University of Houston and a close loss to Kentucky on preventable plays.
Jackson will return home with the Maxwell award, ACC Player of the Year, and the Heisman Trophy, among others.
Lamar Jackson: Responsible for 308 points in the 2016 season – ranked second nationally – Lamar Jackson has built a strong resume for the season, setting record after record in the Atlantic Coast Conference and at the University of Louisville.
Along with Jacksons point record comes a Cardinal record of 1,538 rushing yards earned in a single season and 4,928 yards of total offense, an ACC record of 51 touchdowns – 21 rushing TD’s as a quarterback, and another national ranking of 410.7 yards of total offense.
A December opening gave the sophomore quarterback the Maxwell Award as college player of the year.
Against Jackson’s record are the 16 turnovers and 7 fumbles this season as well as a team record slightly below the remaining four Heisman Trophy finalists.
Louisville Cardinals (9-3); Oklahoma Sooners (10-2); Michigan Wolverines (10-2); Clemson Tigers (12-1).
The outcome of the most recent two games by the Cardinals struck the board in favor of the opposing team. A then 8-2 University of Houston made quick work of Louisville 36-10 and then 6-5 University of Kentucky edged out a 41-38 victory on Thanksgiving Weekend.
The Outstanding College Football Player award recipient represents the first-ever finalist and winner from the University of Louisville. The quarterback also became the youngest player to receive the prestigious award, just a few days younger than the 2013 Heisman winner: Jameis Wintson.
“I almost cried. I never get emotional but to have my name called and see all of those great players,” Jackson trailed off.
Despite becoming the recipient of the trophy, Lamar will give the trophy to his mother and allow her to keep it wherever she decides.
Jackson’s mother has been by his side well before he caught the attention of Louisville as a three-star recruit from Boyton Beach High School in South Florida.
Jackson’s 2016 record includes 3,390 yards on 220 pass completions of 382 attempts, 1,538 yards on 234 attempts to bring his total offense to 4,928 yards. The total offense school season record doubles as the second-most yards earned by a Heisman Trophy winner.
According to the Heisman Trophy Trust, the Cardinals’ quarterback became the fourth sophomore to receive the award alongside Tim Tebow (2007), Sam Bradford (2008), and Mark Ingram (2009). Jackson also became the thirty-sixth quarterback to win the trophy.
“To be able to stand up here with all the former winners, I’m extremely proud to represent this class and Louisville as their first Heisman Trophy winner,” Jackson said in New York. “For my teammates, it’s an award for all of us. I can’t wait to cherish it with all of you.”
Louisville coach Bobby Petrino matched the pride Jackson felt as they both heard the announcement.
“I had no idea how the vote was going to come out but I want you to know how proud I am of Lamar. He’s a young man that prepared extremely hard, went out on the field and played as hard as he possibly could and did a great job being a leader for this football team.”
“He surpassed everything I thought he could do,” Petrino added.
Jackson began the 2016 season responsible for eight touchdowns against Charlotte with a 70-14 wins and continued on with a 62-28 victory over Syracuse, 63-20 over Florida State, 59-28 win over Marshall, and so on. The end of the same season fell flat against American Athletic Conference member University of Houston and a close loss to Kentucky on preventable plays.
Jackson will return home with the Maxwell award, ACC Player of the Year, and the Heisman Trophy, among others.
Lamar Jackson: Responsible for 308 points in the 2016 season – ranked second nationally – Lamar Jackson has built a strong resume for the season, setting record after record in the Atlantic Coast Conference and at the University of Louisville.
Along with Jacksons point record comes a Cardinal record of 1,538 rushing yards earned in a single season and 4,928 yards of total offense, an ACC record of 51 touchdowns – 21 rushing TD’s as a quarterback, and another national ranking of 410.7 yards of total offense.
A December opening gave the sophomore quarterback the Maxwell Award as college player of the year.
Against Jackson’s record are the 16 turnovers and 7 fumbles this season as well as a team record slightly below the remaining four Heisman Trophy finalists.
Louisville Cardinals (9-3); Oklahoma Sooners (10-2); Michigan Wolverines (10-2); Clemson Tigers (12-1).
The outcome of the most recent two games by the Cardinals struck the board in favor of the opposing team. A then 8-2 University of Houston made quick work of Louisville 36-10 and then 6-5 University of Kentucky edged out a 41-38 victory on Thanksgiving Weekend.