Ncaa Football Tickets - The Heisman
The Heisman Trophy is one of the most famous awards in sports
. Each year it's given to the best player in college football and is one of the most prestigious honors in the world of amateur athletics. Over the years it has been awarded to some great athletes, but has also taken on a certain positional bias. The award usually goes to a quarterback, at the very least to a skill position player.
A quarterback has won the award in eight of the last nine seasons. The last time a defensive player won the award, it was Charles Woodson in 1997, but Woodson also played wide receiver. If we exclude Woodson, we have to go all the way back to 1949 to find a defender that won the Heisman, Norte Dame end Leon Hart.
Why am I talking about defensive players winning the Heisman if it almost never happens? I think a defensive player deserves the trophy this season. Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been the best player in college football in 2009. He's a relentless tackle that never gives up on a play. He's constantly in the backfield and is a disruptive force no matter what the opposition.
Suh has dominated every opponent he's faced this season and could be the number one overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Being a defensive tackle will hurt him in the Heisman voting, though, as he doesn't play a glamour position. His dominant performance against Texas (12 tackles, four sacks) in the Big 12 Championship definitely helped his case and secured his invite to the award ceremony, but probably was not enough to earn him the hardware.
It's true that most fans purchase NCAA football tickets to see quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers make flashy plays, but any fan could appreciate the utter power of Suh.
While I think Suh is the most deserving candidate for the award, I consider him a long shot to win it. There are some other quality candidates, but it's a shame that Suh is likely to be snubbed. The second player I would vote for would be Stanford running back Toby Gerhart. Gerhart has been supremely impressive this season, running over defenders on his way to 1,736 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. I thought he was the best offensive player in the nation this season, helping Stanford to one of its best seasons in school history.
The two frontrunners as far as I can tell are Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Alabama running back Mark Ingram. McCoy was invited to New York last year but did not win the award. He was one of the favorites coming into this season, but I'm not so sure he did enough to warrant the Heisman nod this season. His numbers were down from last year across the board and the Longhorns didn't dominate the way a lot of people expected them to.
Plus, he nearly blew the Big 12 title game against Nebraska, which also would have cost the Longhorns the BCS title game, and was basically saved by luck. I think he may win as sort of a consolation prize for missing out on both the award and the national title game last season, as well as being a favorite prior to the start of the season. Ingram, on the other hand, would be a more deserving candidate. He's been a force all season, turned in a big performance in the SEC Championship to down number one ranked Florida and plays on the best team in the country. After Suh and Gerhart, I'd vote for Ingram.
The other player invited to the Heisman ceremony is Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. I can't say enough good things about Tebow, but he just didn't quite earn the Heisman this season, as much as I wanted him to win it. He's already got one, as well as two national titles, so I think he'll be fine.
So, the order in which I'd vote for these players is: Suh, Gerhart, Ingram, Tebow, McCoy. I'm holding out hope that Suh somehow takes home the hardware, but I think that Ingram will ultimately win it. He's certainly a deserving candidate.
by: Brent Warnken
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