Since his first snap as a Spartan, junior running back Kenneth Walker III set the college football world ablaze. Without him, the Spartans likely weren’t a 10-win squad possessing one of the biggest turnarounds in the country.

This season, Walker leads the nation in rushing yards after contact (1,154), missed forced tackles (89) and in 20+ yard gains on the ground (21). In addition, Walker is second in total rushing yards (1,636) in the Football Bowl Subdivision, or FBS, only trailing Central Michigan freshman Lew Nichols III and is fourth in total touchdowns (19).

Not to mention, Walker is also second in rushing yards per game (136.3) and eighth in all-purpose yards (143.8 yards per game).

Because of Walker’s brilliance this season, The State News believes Kenneth Walker III should not only have been a Heisman finalist, but should have won the whole thing.

We know, we’re biased. We’ve watched Walker from our couches, or in Spartan Stadium all season long, and who wouldn’t want someone from their university to win one of the biggest trophies in football?

However, the stats speak for themselves and they line up with the previous two Heisman winners that were running backs in Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram. Henry, one of the most dominant running backs in college football history, only has about 161 yards on Walker in the same amount of games and four more touchdowns. Through 12 games, Ingram trails Walker by 207 yards and six touchdowns. 

The athletes around you can change the entire narrative — but Walker still has the edge here too.

Ohio State freshman quarterback CJ Stroud and Alabama sophomore quarterback Bryce Young have been brilliant in their own right. Stroud even took down Walker when their teams went head-to-head. However, neither of them lead any of the major passing categories in the FBS and trail the leaders at the top by a wide margin. While Young is tied for second in passing touchdowns, he is 12 touchdowns behind Western Kentucky’s graduate quarterback Bailey Zappe.

Stats don’t paint the entire picture though, nor should they. Narratives and stories matter.

Walker has had his fair share of moments though, too. Whether it was his first run as a Spartan against Northwestern, his 94-yard run against Rutgers, his five-touchdown performance to bring the Spartans back against their rival Michigan or playing through injuries and the flu against Penn State, Walker flashed brilliance game after game.

Stroud and Young have an argument for the Heisman, sure. Defensive players like Michigan senior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and Alabama sophomore linebacker Will Anderson deserve some consideration on the defensive side of the ball as well. Each of them, except for Stroud, will also get the chance to do something Walker won’t be able to do — win a championship.

But at the end of the day, there’s not a single player on a roster in college football that has meant as much to a team as Kenneth Walker III does to Michigan State. 

Stroud and Young are not even the best players on their own offenses while Walker single-handedly carried the Michigan State offense to success. So much so that head coach Mel Tucker and MSU offensive coordinator Jay Johnson implemented the infamous flea flicker as a part of the offense rather than a gimmick — and it worked due to how much opposing defenses had to commit to stopping Walker.

If a flea flicker is a part of your offense because of one sole player’s impact, that alone should be enough to win the Heisman.

We may not have a vote in the Heisman race, but we wanted to make our stance clear. Kenneth Walker III should have been this year’s Heisman winner.

The State News Editorial Board is composed of Editor-in-Chief Karly Graham, Managing Editor Jayna Bardahl, Campus Editor Wendy Guzman, City Editor Griffin Wiles, Culture Editor Dina Kaur, Sports Editor Eli McKown, Multimedia Editors Chandra Fleming and Devin Anderson-Torrez, Copy Chief SaMya Overall, Social Media Manager Jillie Gretzinger, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Tessa Jazwinski and Staff Rep. Morgan Womack.

This story was in our Dec. 7 print edition. Read the full issue here.