Three players received more votes for this year’s Heisman Trophy than C.J. Stroud.
Stroud finished fourth in the balloting for this year’s Heisman, behind Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, becoming the fourth Ohio State player in the last four years to finish in the top four of the Heisman race.
The Ohio State quarterback, who has completed 70.9 percent of his passes this season for 3,862 yards and 38 touchdowns with only five interceptions in 11 games, received 12 first-place votes, 118 second-place votes and 127 third-place votes.
Fifth-place finisher Will Anderson and sixth-place finisher Kenneth Walker received more first-place votes than Stroud, but Stroud finished in the top four and earned the final spot as a finalist by receiving more second- and third-place votes.
| Rank | Player | School | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BRYCE YOUNG | ALABAMA | 684 | 107 | 45 | 2,311 |
| 2 | AIDAN HUTCHINSON | MICHIGAN | 78 | 273 | 174 | 954 |
| 3 | KENNY PICKETT | PITTSBURGH | 28 | 175 | 197 | 631 |
| 4 | C.J. STROUD | OHIO STATE | 12 | 118 | 127 | 399 |
| 5 | WILL ANDERSON | ALABAMA | 31 | 79 | 74 | 325 |
| 6 | KENNETH WALKER | MICHIGAN STATE | 18 | 53 | 85 | 245 |
| 7 | MATT CORRAL | MISSISSIPPI | 10 | 32 | 56 | 150 |
| 8 | DESMOND RIDDER | CINCINNATI | 5 | 15 | 36 | 81 |
| 9 | JORDAN DAVIS | GEORGIA | 9 | 15 | 18 | 75 |
| 10 | BREECE HALL | IOWA STATE | 0 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
Stroud received the third-most votes from the Midwest region, finishing ahead of Pickett among the ballots of Midwest voters, but finished no higher than fourth in any other region, finishing as low as sixth in the voting in the South region.
The breakdown of the 2021 Heisman Trophy voting from @DeloitteUS pic.twitter.com/8kjpOcD1vD
— The Heisman Trophy (@HeismanTrophy) December 12, 2021
Stroud joins Justin Fields and Chase Young, who finished third and fourth in the Heisman race in 2019, and Dwayne Haskins, who finished third in 2018, as Ohio State players who have been top-four finishers in Heisman voting in the last four years. Before Haskins in 2018, Ohio State hadn’t had a top-four finisher in the Heisman race since Troy Smith won the award in 2006.
