COLUMBUS, Ohio — When the Home Depot College Football Awards show airs live on ESPN from the Atlantic Dance Hall at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Thursday night, it will do so without one of the biggest names in the sport in attendance. And come Saturday night, you won't find Ezekiel Elliott in New York City, either, as the Heisman Trophy is presented to one of three finalists in the Big Apple.
Given the expectations the Ohio State running back carried into the 2015 season, Elliott's absence on this weekend's award circuit would have seemed unfathomable mere months ago.