Who is going to win the 2017 Heisman Trophy? If I had $100 and had to put it on someone, I’d probably look to a really great quarterback like USC’s Sam Darnold, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, or even reigning winner Lamar Jackson out of Louisville. There are some great running backs — Penn State’s Saquon Barkley and LSU’s Derrius Guice are the two that really stick out, in my opinion — and there are even defensive players like Derwin James from Florida State or omnipresent Houston tackle Ed Oliver who can make a serious case.
If you were put in the same situation, you may consider those people. You may consider someone else. That someone else would not be a punter, because punters do not win the Heisman Trophy.
Well, they never have. That’s a big thing. Especially to Oklahoma State’s Zach Sinor, who has formally announced his candidacy for the 2017 Heisman Trophy. Yes, you can’t announce a candidacy for something everyone is technically eligible for, but that did not stop Sinor from making a delightfully crappy website with the hopes of swaying some voters.
It’s called Sinor4Heisman.com. The home page is at the top of this page, and it’s great. There is also a dancing baby and some biographical information.
This, of course, is all incredibly silly. As is the video released by Oklahoma State Athletics which showed Sinor announcing his candidacy.
“Mason” is Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph, who is something of a trendy pick to win the thing because he is likely going to put up insane numbers for the Cowboys. This is an important note for the second and third videos, as both of those also include the Heisman hopeful signal caller. In addition to all of this, Sinor made these wonderful brochures that got handed out Big 12 Media Days.
And there's brochures too pic.twitter.com/lQtDUhFB7o
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) July 18, 2017
According to a quote he gave to ESPN, Cowboys linebacker Chad Whitener said the pamphlet exists because “He only has a certain amount of money like all of us, so he has to budget the way he can, and use a bunch of his old Instagram pictures.”
The great thing with all of this is that Sinor is legitimately, you know, really good. As his website mentions, he was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist last year. Sixty-three percent of his 56 punts were downed within the 20-yard line, the best mark in college football. He was a second-team All-Big 12 selection last year, and was 33rd nationally in punting average.
Of course, there is a massive uphill battle here because, uh, punters don’t win the Heisman. At this point, the Heisman is essentially an award that goes to the best quarterback in America. Every once in a while a running back gets it when no quarterback is able to stand out. Since 1990, there have been two players to win the Heisman who were not a quarterback or a running back: Michigan cornerback/return man Charles Woodson in 1997, and Michigan receiver/returner Desmond Howard in 1991.
If Ndamukong Suh couldn’t win it in 2009 — when he finished in fourth, which still makes me mad, because he would just consume opponents whole and was the best college football player in America — it’s hard to imagine anyone who doesn’t touch the ball more than 250 times a season winning it any time soon.
But listen, we are in the offseason of college football. It is a long, grueling offseason where dumb things happen, like a coach getting fired for calling escorts on the phone the university gave to him. Why can’t one of these dumb things be something that’s also extremely fun, like a punter launching a campaign to win the Heisman Trophy? That’s why as of right now, we at Uproxx Sports are formally endorsing Sinor and his campaign for the award. Partially because he is the only person to declare their candidacy, but also because he deserve it due to the fact that he’s campaigning so hard.
Oh, before we split, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that Sinor has one big supporter in his corner: Rudolph. When asked about the campaign at Big 12 Media Days, Rudolph kept it simple, telling reporters “I’m supporting him 100 percent.”
