Heisman Trophy? Nope. These are the Wiseman Trophies, college football's almost-as-prestigious awards

At the risk of sounding like a braggart, we Heisman Trophy voters are essentially the SEAL Team 6 of the sports media. Elite. Intrepid. Capable of elaborately dressing multiple encased sausages without missing a play. You think they’d let any old fool vote for college sports’ highest individual honor? Please.

OK, fine, so they do. There are nearly 1,000 of us, like so many rusted pennies in a mason jar.

Anyway, all this year’s votes are in and the Heisman will be presented to the winning player on Saturday in New York. Colorado two-way sensation Travis Hunter is the huge favorite, with Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Miami quarterback Cam Ward and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel as the other finalists. Alas, I can’t tell you how I voted yet because doing so is explicitly forbidden by the Heisman Trust until after the winner has stepped to the podium, thanked his agents, lawyers, branding consultants and personal stylists and thrown at least two fistfuls of $100 bills in the air.

So we can’t talk about that, but guess what the Sun-Times is prepared to reveal right here, right now? Yes, friends, it’s time again for our annual Wiseman Trophies. They might not be quite as coveted as the Heisman, but, well, there is no “but.”

Let’s get to ’em.

Skiesman: Step right up and receive your award, Paul Rubelt, and try not to bump your head on the ceiling. The 6-11 Rubelt, college football’s tallest player, finally won a starting spot at offensive tackle in his fifth season at UCF. Not bad for a guy who grew up in Germany and didn’t play football until he spent a year at Hiawatha High School in DeKalb County.

Triesman: Accepting on behalf of both Georgia and Georgia Tech is Georgia running back Nate Frazier, who scored the winning two-point conversion — by God, somebody had to — in a 44-42 regular-season finale that went to a preposterous eight overtimes. Combined, the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets failed on nine of their 12 two-point tries over the OT periods. Who do they think they are, the Bears?

Buysman: This goes to Oregon for landing Gabriel from the transfer portal at one hell of a bargain. Gabriel’s estimated NIL earnings were right around $2 million — several QBs around the country made more — and he was so very worth it, playing close to flawlessly as he led the unbeaten Ducks to the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Maximizeman: As Shedeur Sanders’ famous father once rapped, “Must be the money!” The Colorado QB surely would’ve been selected had he entered the 2024 NFL draft, but he returned to school, made more NIL dollars than anybody — a beyond-cool $6 million or so — and played his way to the very top of some 2025 draft boards. That’s how you do it.

Franchiseman: With all due respect to Gabriel and Sanders, the most valuable QB on the field was Miami’s Cam Ward. In his only season with the Hurricanes, he strapped the offense to his back and carried it — game after game — to the top of the statistical charts. Even in his team’s two losses, Ward totaled 700 yards passing with five touchdowns and zero interceptions. No one outside the playoff deserves to be in it more.

Ayesman: Begrudgingly, we honor the playoff selection committee for sticking to its guns and voting in SMU over undoubtedly better but — perhaps — less-deserving Alabama. With the last at-large bid, an extra-large precedent was set.

Downsizeman: A long, heartfelt tip of the helmet to Washington State, which comported itself as though the dual heartbreak of (1) the Pac-12’s death and (2) being spurned by the rest of the major conferences never even happened. While the rest of the country was busy not caring, the have-nots from Pullman won eight games, including one at hotshot Washington that was so utterly satisfying, the feeling just might last forever.

Rabbisman: The LDS Church’s QB1 is — what else? — Jewish. The bar-mitzvahed, Star of David-wearing Jake Retzlaff won 10 games this season at BYU, reportedly as one of only three Jewish students at a school with an enrollment of over 35,000. In a development too perfect to make up, the player nicknamed “B-Y-Jew” last week signed an NIL deal with Manischewitz. L’chaim!

Pulverizeman: Oregon strength-and-conditioning coach Wilson Love took a break from flexing in front of a mirror to pick up a sledgehammer and smash the living hell out of a Washington helmet at halftime of the Ducks’ rivalry win in the regular-season finale. That’s definitely one way to fire up a team.

Stiesman: Who had a career-high six tackles at New Mexico State? Louisiana Tech defensive back Pig Cage, that’s who. Way to get dirty, kid.

Improviseman: No one scrambled around keeping plays alive quite like Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. Ask Alabama, whose defense was spun like a top by Pavia in the Commodores’ astonishing 40-35 mega-upset of the Tide in October. Pavia gave outmanned Vandy a chance week after week and, no matter how hard he got knocked around, kept doing it with swagger, attitude and a sneer — just like alum Jay Cutler once did.

Despiseman: After late-season “flag planting” episodes got everybody talking about this method of taunting a rival, Michigan coach Sherrone Moore took it to another level. At a Wolverines basketball game on the heels of an epic football upset win at Ohio State, Moore pumped the crowd into a frenzy by “planting” an imaginary flag. We’re sure video of this won’t make its way to Columbus.