Is anyone else having flashbacks to the 1990s?
The 90s were the decade that saw Will Smith begin his ascent to box-office stardom with “Bad Boys.” “Twister” was a box-office phenomenon and rapper Eminem’s debut album, “The Slim Shady LP,” topped the Billboard charts, Oasis put sibling fisticuffs aside to tour the world, HBO had just debuted the most heralded and watched crime drama on TV with “The Sopranos,” and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made thousands of fans cheer in arenas for World Wrestling Entertainment.
Here we are in 2024. Will Smith topped the domestic box office with “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” “Twisters” was a global box-office blockbuster, Eminem’s “The Death of Slim Shady” topped the charts, Oasis is reuniting for a world tour, HBO again debuted the most heralded and watched crime drama with “The Penguin,” and you guessed it, “The Rock” is back wrestling and cutting classic promos in the WWE.
What’s next? Listening to the 12 CDs I ordered for the price of one from BMG or Columbia House while drinking Crystal Pepsi and wearing acid-washed jeans? To use a 90s catchphrase, “As if!”
That 90s nostalgia isn’t regulated to pop culture, as it feels like the days of renting movies at Blockbuster and shopping at the mall when it comes to this year’s Heisman Memorial Trophy race.
Ten weeks into the college football season, we have a star running back and a defensive player as serious contenders for college football’s most prestigious award.
Despite nursing injuries and running behind a banged-up offensive line, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty is having a borderline historic season.
He leads the NCAA in rushing with 1,525 yards and has 20 rushing touchdowns. Jeanty has more rushing touchdowns by himself than College Football Playoff contending teams Ohio State (18), Texas (16), Georgia (15), and LSU (12), and he has more rushing yards by himself than Penn State (1,500), Ohio State (1,492) and Alabama (1,421).
Jeanty has done all of that despite not playing all four quarters in many of the Broncos’ games. He also has a legitimate shot at breaking legendary Oklahoma State and Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders’ FBS single-season record for most rushing yards (2,628) and rushing touchdowns (37). Sanders set those marks in 1988 when he took home the Heisman Trophy.
Jeanty has the Broncos as the highest-ranked Group of Five team and is primed to make the College Football Playoffs. It is impressive, or as famed 90s sitcom character Kramer often stated, “Giddyup!”
Travis Hunter, meanwhile, is another throwback and the most dynamic player in the country.
Colorado’s two-way star is doing it all this season. Hunter has hauled in 60 receptions for 757 yards, recorded five 100-yard games, and scored eight touchdowns. He also has 20 tackles, seven pass breakups, and two interceptions on defense.
Hunter put on a clinic in a win over Cincinnati two weeks ago when he played 132 snaps, including all 61 on defense.
With early-season Heisman hopeful quarterbacks (Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, and Texas’ Quinn Ewers) having fallen off the pace a bit, that opens up the door for a running back and or wide receiver/defensive back winning the honor.
Of course, Miami’s Cam Ward and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel will have something to say about a QB not winning the award, as both are having sensational seasons, as is Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke and Hunter’s teammate, Shedeur Sanders.
One could say that Sanders is “Getting Jiggy With It.” Actually, no one should say that. Ever.
But for the first time in a long time, there is a legit shot of a non-quarterback winning the Heisman. The award has become the Best Quarterback in the country award, despite there already being the Davey O’Brien Award.
In the last 25 years, there have been only four Heisman winners who were not quarterbacks. USC running back Reggie Bush (2005), Alabama running backs Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015), and Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith (2020). That’s it.
Not only have signal-callers dominated the award, but there also hasn’t even been enough room for any other position player to even be allowed at the ceremony. In the last 25 years, the Heisman runner-up has been a quarterback 14 times, and 11 times the runner-up and the third-place finisher have been quarterbacks.
Those non-quarterbacks were Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (2021), Stanford running back Bryce Love (2017), Stanford running back Christian McCaffery (2015), Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon (2014), and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o (2012).
It is no secret that this is an era in which modern football features pass-heavy offenses and running backs have been devalued. It is far more challenging to argue cases for defensive players. If you are a lockdown corner, then teams will not throw your way, which means your stats are not going to be eye-popping, and will pale in comparison to a quarterback.
It is also fair to point out that for many years a quarterback was the best player in the country. LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow both were, as was Auburn’s Cam Newton, and Florida’s Tim Tebow.
Having Jeanty and Hunter in the spotlight makes you think about the days in the 1990s when the Heisman was a diverse award. It was a decade that saw four quarterbacks, four running backs, one wide receiver/returner and the last and only defensive player (Michigan’s Charles Woodson) hoist the 45-pound bronze trophy.
Will they take home the honor? Too early to tell but the two of them even being in the conversation is enough to make me pull out my old desktop computer, boot up the dial-up internet, and take three and a half hours to download one song on Napster.
Raymond Partsch III is the co-host of “RP3 & Meche” which is broadcast weekdays (11-1) on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station.