Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds has been crucial to the program’s success this season. The 9-2 team’s spread option offense relies on his abilities to pass and run. When Nissan and ESPN partnered up to allow the fans to determine one Heisman vote, Reynolds received a lot of support. But, for some reason, it takes more steps to vote for him than for other players in more notable football conferences.
Right now, Reynolds leads with 37 percent of the vote. On the ballot, however, Reynolds’s name isn’t available:
Navy noticed the discrepancy yesterday, placing the blame on Nissan or ESPN:
When reached by email, an ESPN spokesperson explained why Reynolds wasn’t one of the viewable voting options. The candidates are tied to ESPN’s experts’ poll. Currently, the players on the ballot are Derrick Henry, Deshaun Watson, Christian McCaffrey, Baker Mayfield, Dalvin Cook, Leonard Fournette, and Ezekiel Elliott, so those are the only options.
“When the names change on the ESPN Experts’ Poll, they automatically change on the Heisman House site,” he said. Reynolds can still be written in, however.
Update (Dec. 3, 3:42 p.m.): Reynolds, as well as a few other players, are back on the ballot. Per an ESPN spokesperson who talked to the Washington Post:
“For the final three days of the Nissan Fan Vote, we adjusted the list to include any players who have received 1% or more of the Fan Vote to date,” an ESPN spokesperson wrote. “Voting closes this Saturday, December 5, at midnight EST.”
At this time, Reynolds leads with 40 percent of the vote.
Photo: AP
Contact the author at samer@deadspin.com.