Paul Finebaum calls Desmond Howard's Ohio State jab 'deplorable'

This year’s Heisman Trophy was taken home by an SEC quarterback, but the ceremony wasn’t without drama concerning a Big Ten rivalry.

Former Michigan wide receiver and winner of the 1991 Heisman Trophy Desmond Howard was criticized for his remarks directed at Ohio State while Buckeye quarterback C.J. Stroud was standing on stage.

On Tuesday morning, Howard’s ESPN colleague Paul Finebaum joined Letterman Row’s Tim May on “The Tim May Podcast” and provided a harsh take on the situation.

“I thought that was really cheap,” Finebaum said. “You would think that somebody like Desmond Howard, who is there representing ESPN and on a platform like that, would show more decorum. I know I’m speaking out of school here because he’s one of my teammates at ESPN, but I don’t care. I tell the truth. We all poke fun at Michigan… but in that setting with a young guy like C.J. Stroud, I thought that was deplorable.”

During Saturday night’s ceremony, Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said one of his goals this season was to beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten. Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, who was on-site and took part in the festivities, thanked finalist and Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett for standing in between Hutchinson and finalist and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stround. 

“I’m glad you’re in between them,” Tebow joked. “It’s good. Please stay there.”

“Better than his offensive lineman,” Howard added.

The Heisman winner later fired back at his critics, claiming the joke was taken too seriously.

“I would like to apologize to everyone who doesn’t have the ability to recognize a fun, good natured ribbing among football rivals,” Howard tweeted. “C.J. is good. We good. And that’s all that matters to me. Everyone else can relax and enjoy the rest of their night.”

Hutchinson terrorized Stroud and the Ohio State offense in Week 13, coming away with three sacks in that game. The victory was the first against the Buckeyes for Michigan in the Jim Harbaugh era, and earned them a trip to the Big Ten Championship, where they dominated Iowa by score of 42-3.

The Wolverines defensive end ranks third in the FBS in sacks with 14, and his 73 quarterback pressures lead the country. He is in rare company, as only 13 defensive players have finished among the top five in Heisman voting in the past 50 seasons. Ohio State defensive end Chase Young was the most recent in 2019.

Hutchison finished second in the voting, while Stroud was fourth.

On3’s Simon Gibbs contributed to this report.