BYU Football Officially Launches Zach Wilson's Heisman Campaign

Late Saturday evening, BYU Football officially launched Zach Wilson’s Heisman candidacy with the following tweet: “#W1LSONHE1SMAN.”

Late Saturday evening, BYU Football officially launched Zach Wilson’s Heisman candidacy with the following tweet: “#WILSONHE1SMAN.” BYU Football took the campaign to the next level by tagging the Heisman Trophy official account in a tweet on Sunday evening: “Another big performance from (Zach Wilson). 22-28/360 pass yards/4 total TDs #W1LSONHE1SMAN #BYUFOOTBALL.”

Zach Wilson has gained a lot of national attention as the Cougars have built their undefeated resume. But, BYU has not formally accepted Wilson’s Heisman candidacy… until now.

Offensive line coach Eric Mateos responded to his team’s tweet saying “So we are talking about this openly now?! LETS GO THEN! MY QB IS THE BES IN AMERICA.” Mateos is not wrong. The junior quarterback has put up impressive numbers in 2020 and leads the country in more than one category. After Friday night’s dominant victory over No. 21 Boise State, Wilson claimed his place as the nation’s highest-graded quarterback (94.3). The Heisman contender also leads the nation in rushing touchdowns (8) among FBS quarterbacks in 2020.

After throwing 11 interceptions in 2019, many critics may be surprised to see the quarterback in the conversation surrounding the Heisman Trophy award. Dylan Collie, former teammate of Zach Wilson, spoke of Wilson’s potential following his perfect passing performance in the 2018 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. ““To see an 18-year-old, 19-year-old kid in Zach Wilson and what’s going to happen in the next three years. He set the bar for himself, but he’ll set it even higher. This kid will be one of the, if not the greatest, quarterback in BYU history.”

If Wilson is to become the greatest quarterback in BYU history, he will probably need to win the Heisman, as BYU great Ty Detmer did in 1990. But, according to Wilson, the Heisman is not an individual accolade. “I always tell the guys on the team this when they bring it up: It is really a team award. No one is winning the Heisman if you are losing games.”