Will Anderson Jr. Places Fifth in Heisman Trophy Voting

The Crimson Tide sophomore placed fifth the voting, with two other players from the SEC finishing below him in the Top 10.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama sophomore linebacker Will Anderson Jr. finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy race. The announcement came on Wednesday night during ESPN's Top 10 Heisman Trophy Finalists Show.

Through 13 games this season, Anderson has been a force to be reckoned with on the Crimson Tide defense. The sophomore linebacker leads the nation in both tackles for loss and sacks with 32.5 and 15.5, respectively. In total, Anderson has recorded 91 tackles and has registered two passes defended.

While fans won't know the order of the top four finalists on Saturday night's awards presentation (7 p.m. CT, ESPN), the order of players who finished fifth through 10th was revealed on Thursday night.

Notably in the SEC, Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral finished seventh in the Heisman voting while Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis placed ninth.

Heisman Trophy — 6-10

5. LB Will Anderson, Alabama 

6. RB Kenneth Walker III, Michigan St. 

7. QB Matt Corral, Ole Miss 

8. QB Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati 

9. DT Jordan Davis, Georgia 

10. RB Breece Hall, Iowa State

Alabama Football in Heisman Top 10

  • 1937 – Halfback Joe Kilgrow finished 5th. Winner: Clinton Frank of Yale
  • 1945 – Halfback Harry Gilmer finished 5th. Winner: Doc Blanchard of Army
  • 1947 – Halfback Harry Gilmer finished 5th. Winner: Johnny Lujak of Notre Dame
  • 1961 – Quarterback Pat Trammell finished 5th. Winner: Ernie Davis of Syracuse
  • 1962 – Center-Linebacker Lee Roy Jordan finished 4th. Winner: Terry Baker of Oregon State
  • 1965 – Quarterback Steve Sloan finished 10th. Winner: Mike Garrett of USC
  • 1971 – Halfback Johnny Musso finished 4th. Winner: Pat Sullivan of Auburn
  • 1972 – Quarterback Terry Davis finished 5th. Winner: Johnny Rodgers of Nebraska
  • 1979 – Quarterback Steadman Shealy finished 10th. Winner: Charles White of USC
  • 1983 – Quarterback Walter Lewis finished 9th. Winner: Mike Rozier of Nebraska
  • 1986- Linebacker Cornelius Bennett finished 7th. Winner: Vinnie Testaverde of Miami
  • 1987 – Running back Bobby Humphrey finished 10th. Winner: Tim Brown of Notre Dame
  • 1988 – Linebacker Derrick Thomas finished 10th. Winner: Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State
  • 1992 – Defensive End Eric Curry finished 10th. Winner: Gino Torretta of Miami
  • 1993 – Wide Receiver David Palmer finished 3rd. Winner: Charlie Ward of Florida State
  • 1994 – Quarterback Jay Barker finished 5th. Winner: Rashaan Salaam of Colorado
  • 1999 – Running back Shaun Alexander finished 7th. Winner: Ron Dayne of Wisconsin
  • 2009 – Running back Mark Ingram – Heisman Winner
  • 2011 – Running back Trent Richardson finished 3rd. Winner: Robert Griffin III of Baylor
  • 2013 – Quarterback A.J. McCarron finished 2nd. Winner: Jameis Winston of Florida State
  • 2014 – Wide Receiver Amari Cooper finished 3rd. Winner: Marcus Mariota of Oregon
  • 2015 – Running back Derrick Henry – Heisman Winner
  • 2016 – Defensive Lineman Jonathan Allen finished 7th. Winner: Lamar Jackson of Louisville
  • 2018 – Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa finished 2nd. Winner: Kyler Murray of Oklahoma
  • 2018 – Defensive Lineman Quinnen Williams finished 8th. Winner: Kyler Murray of Oklahoma
  • 2020 – Wide receiver DeVonta Smith placed first and quarterback Mac Jones placed third as Heisman Finalists while running back Najee Harris finished 5th in the voting. DeVonta Smith — Heisman Winner
  • 2021 — Quarterback Bryce Young is a top-4 finalist while linebacker Will Anderson Jr. finished fifth in votes.

Published
Joey Blackwell
JOEY BLACKWELL

Joey Blackwell is an award-winning journalist and assistant editor for BamaCentral and has covered the Crimson Tide since 2018. He primarily covers Alabama football, men's basketball and baseball, but also covers a wide variety of other sports. Joey earned his bachelor's degree in History from Birmingham-Southern College in 2014 before graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 2020 with a degree in News Media. He has also been featured in a variety of college football magazines, including Lindy's Sports and BamaTime.