"The landscape of college football has obviously changed. But that was a point of contention when I won it. When I walked into the room that evening when they were making the Heisman announcement, I didn't think I was going to win it, because there was so much chatter that I didn't deserve to win it because I was older. But I've got it now, and they can't take it away."
"Sometimes I try and mess with him and say, 'I couldn't quite catch you on the age, but I tried. I gave it my all.'"
Haynes King playfully teases his position coach, Chris Weinke, about age differences while Weinke remains the oldest Heisman winner at 28. Older quarterbacks have become normalized through the transfer portal and a pandemic-granted extra year of eligibility, with nearly 40 quarterbacks from the 2020 class returning. NIL deals and revenue sharing are encouraging some quarterbacks to stay in college instead of entering the NFL draft. Sixth-year quarterbacks such as King and Diego Pavia have entered the Heisman conversation, with Pavia named a finalist. Weinke’s 2000 season is framed as remarkable for on-field transformation rather than age alone.
Read at ESPN.com
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