Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor Never Getting Invited to New York as Heisman Finalist is Ridiculous

Statistically speaking, Jonathan Taylor is one of the best running backs in the history of college football. The Wisconsin Badger has rushed for the fifth-most yards ever in FBS, and he's only a junior.

The impact that Taylor has had on Wisconsin's football program is undeniable. He's almost single-handedly brought the program back to relevance after a dismal 7-5 season in 2018, propelling them to the Big Ten title game.

For whatever reason, however, Taylor has never been invited as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy now that this year's group has been announced. Whether that's bad luck or a byproduct of the position he plays, it's ridiculous.

Jonathan Taylor, man. It seems inconceivable somebody could have this career and not make it to NYC once. pic.twitter.com/cuHIsvDm2y
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 9, 2019

In 2017, the Heisman finalists were Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson and Stanford running back Bryce Love. Love had 1,973 rushing yards with 17 touchdowns, so sure, he deserved the nod over Taylor for that year, particularly given how little love freshmen tend to get.

2018 saw Dwayne Haskins, Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa head to New York City as finalists, and while it's understandable that the voters have always shown preference for making the Heisman a quarterback's trophy, it's also disappointing that a running back who rushed for 2,100 yards and 16 touchdowns against some of the best defenses in the NCAA didn't get any kind of chance at all. He did win the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the best running back in college football that year, but it's just not the same.

First, Ron Dayne loses the rushing record because the NCAA doesn’t properly count his bowl stats.

Then Jonathan Taylor gets shut out of Heisman invites every year.

Wisconsin RBs are an underappreciated part of the ecosystem https://t.co/KgphvXVUfm
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) December 10, 2019

This year, though? A trio of quarterbacks consisting of Joe Burrow, Justin Fields and Jalen Hurts were invited. However, Ohio State defensive end Chase Young was also invited; while he's had a monstrous year, with a national-best 16.5 sacks thus far, Taylor absolutely deserved to be a finalist with the year he's had, tallying 1,909 yards and an unbelievable 21 touchdowns.

So, why would Heisman voters would prefer a defensive end who missed a full two games due to suspension instead of a running back who has guided his team through an extremely turbulent season to finish with a 10-3 record, plus a Rose Bowl berth against Oregon.

Taylor's been stiffed over and over again. If he decides to declare for the draft after this season, Heisman voters will have officially failed to rightfully recognize one of the best NCAA running backs in history.