Rodriguez’s peers leading Heisman candidacy charge
Jacob Rodriguez’s evolution into one of the best linebackers in all of college football has been nothing short of remarkable. The offseason spelled a season where the Texas Tech linebacker would be looking to back up his Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors. Now, Rodriguez is the surefire choice and is moving on to the next great award: the Heisman Trophy.
But it’s not Rodriguez tooting his own horn in hopes of becoming a prime candidate– it’s those around him who speak the most to his deservedness of being in New York on December 13th.
“The Heisman is given to the best football player, it’s not given to the best quarterback. They have awards for that,” head coach Joey McGuire said following the 29-7 win over BYU. Just before, McGuire gave nods to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin as candidates. “If you can’t say that Jacob Rodriguez, at his position, is not playing at that level, at an elite level. Elite. As good as anybody in the country. Guys, really, honestly you start looking, it’s awesome because people have been putting these stats together. The things he’s doing compared to linebackers that were actually there at the Heisman race… That kid deserves to be a part of that.”
In the eyes of his teammates, Rodriguez is worthy
Technically speaking, Travis Hunter is the last “defensive” player to have won the Heisman a year ago. Charles Woodson was before Hunter in 1997. Still, both of their campaigns were aided by what they did in other areas of the game. Rodriguez’s efforts are purely defensive. Him being the nation’s best is a claim supported in tandem by his teammates.
“This is a talented football team and it’s led by Jacob,” quarterback Behren Morton said. “That dude is, every time you look up, he’s at the ball every time. You know the way he can cause and flip momentum in a game. There’s not another player in the country that can do that. High praises for Jacob and I’m super happy for his success. He deserves a Heisman, for sure.”
What about the Big 12 rushing yardage leader? Cam Dickey didn’t say much but he summed it up well.
“Great person, great player and he makes the plays when we need them,” Dickey said.
Is he in the race, for real? He sure hopes so
When asked by Holly Rowe in the middle of the field storm if he should be considered in the Heisman race following today’s performance, Rodriguez said, “I sure hope so.”
He’s steadily racking up respect from fans far and wide. Rodriguez was No. 1 in the Heisman fan vote rankings. He’s got the belief of his teammates. He’s earned the belief of his head coach and for Rodriguez, that’s the biggest thing.
“It means everything,” he said. “I think having belief from the head man is huge. Just knowing that he has my back and I have his back, and we talk about it a lot as a team. Then just me and him, just how much we care about each other and how much our love from guy-to-guy on this team is so tight knit. We can play at a higher level. We can play so much harder just because of how much we love each other. It’s really nice to be able to have people who have your back.”
