ROTOWIRE.COM NFL MLB / Minors NBA NHL GOLF RACING    COMMUNITY FORUMS PODCASTS MYROTOWIRE ASK AN EXPERT GAMES

The year with no Heisman favorite

This was supposed to be the year of the "Big 3" in regards to the Heisman Trophy. Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, and reigning Heisman winner Sam Bradford. They were considered by most far and away the favorites. Now, Bradford is done, and Tebow and McCoy are struggling mightily. Additionally, nobody has really stepped into the void. This year, we're over half of the way through the season and nobody has stepped up as a solid, definitive Heisman favorite.

In lieu of great candidates, this year might be a case of the quarterback on the best team winning it. That would more or less be the case of Tebow or McCoy wins. Tony Pike had a chance, but now injuries have done away with him. As far as quarterbacks go, the two top guys might very well be Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen and Boise State's Kellen Moore, though not necessarily in that order. If Notre Dame wins out, which would be a more impressive deed than most thought before the season, maybe Clausen will win it. As for Moore, he has pretty much no chance since, you know, he plays in the WAC.

Other candidates include Alabama's Mark Ingram (a personal favorite), Clemson's C.J. Spiller, Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers, West Virginia's Noah Devine, and Jordan Shipley from Texas and Golden Tate from Notre Dame. Of course, winning a Heisman as a wide receiver is nigh impossible, what with their reliance on quarterbacks and all. As far as those running back candidates go, Ingram has the easiest road, since he has the best team. Does it make any sense? No, but that's the way it goes. Additionally, Dion Lewis from Pittsburgh has played outstanding but he's a freshman so he probably won't win.

A few defensive candidates came and went, but none of them have much of a chance now. If I had to vote right now, I'd probably go with Ingram, with Moore as the runner up. As for who will win it, I've got no idea. The Heisman race is definitively wide open. Almost any player can seize the lead the rest of the way. It's just a matter of which of the myriad candidates actually do that.

Comments

By: Dave Regan
On: 10/30/2009 6:18:00 PM		 I'd love to see Matt Barkley have a huge finish and win as a freshman, though that's highly unlikely.

At this point, perhaps this is the year that a defensive player steps up and wins. The names Ndamukong Suh (yes, I did have to look up the spelling) and Eric Berry come to mind.

 
By: schoenke
On: 10/30/2009 6:46:00 PM		 I have to think if no strong candidate emerges and Florida is in the SEC Championship game, Tebow will win.
 
By: andtinez
On: 10/31/2009 6:49:00 AM		 Mark Ingram is my Heisman Trophy leader right now. Tebow should in no way be even in the running right now. His numbers are terrible for a "candidate"... in SEC play he has 3 passing TDs and 4 INTs. Two of those picks were for TDs too. Jordan Shipley is more impressive to me than Colt McCoy. At least I've seen Shipley make game changing plays this year. I like Jimmy Clausen and Kellen Moore much more than both Tebow and McCoy. Jacquizz Rodgers is moving up the board pretty fast and is my dark horse to win it. Hopefully someone steps up to win this thing.
 
By: godawgs91
On: 10/31/2009 11:40:00 AM		 Has anyone been considering Jake Locker from Washington. Not being in the list of candidates is a little ridiculous. Although the team is not great, but this guy is clearly and arguably the best athlete at the QB position in all of College Football. Mock drafts have this guy going in the top 10 in the NFL draft if he decides to go early and even being the #1 QB drafted. If you watch his game he's got it all. Lack of TV exposure and being in the Northwest will always play second fiddle to East Coast guys or California guys.
 
By: andtinez
On: 10/31/2009 11:08:00 PM		 The reason you don't see Locker's name mentioned is because while he is an outstanding player, he's simply not having one of the most outstanding seasons when you look at the numbers and like it or not, this is a numbers award. He's 83rd in the nation in completion percentage, 16th in passing yards, 30th in passing TDs, and 80th in passer rating. I completely agree that he's an awesome athlete and that scouts like his physical skills, but this is more about the rest of the talent that surrounds him than Locker himself. I'm confident he could put up the same stats (or better) as the other QBs being mentioned in the race, but the fact is, he's not. He will get the last laugh on them when he gets paid at the next level after the draft.

By the way, there are no east coast or california players being considered for the Heisman right now. The closest guy is Clausen and he's more Big Ten than anything.
 

Leave a comment

Commenting is restricted to registered users only. Please register or login now to submit a comment.

Tell Someone

  • Digg it
  • submit to reddit reddit
  • Add to Mixx!

Recent Favorites

NFL Notes
A look around the league regarding Week 10:
Week 10 Observations
  • We've beaten to death Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on 4th and 2 in Sunday night's game (the best take on it I've seen is here), but the real takeaway is how much Cris Collinsworth, Al Michaels, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison felt it was their duty to spout the conventional wisdom without even attempting to analyze Belichick's basis for the decision. Throw in Bob Costas, and it's appalling that five guys collectively making more than $10 million a year to interpret the sport for us didn't even consider the issue from a probability standpoint. Sadly, the NBC crew is probably the best one on TV. (Update: Jon Gruden just defended Belichick's call on MNF - good for him).
    • Dominant Offense but Shaky Defense...Barkley and Dirk
    This topic is a spin-off from the Michael Jordan thread of last week.  In the excellent discussion on that thread a mini-debate broke out as to how Charles Barkley compares to Kevin Garnett.  The gist of the brief debate was to question whether Barkley was enough better than Garnett offensively to make them comparable in value as overall players despite Garnett’s huge defensive advantages.  The thing is, though, to me there is a much better comp for Barkley in this generation than Garnett:  Dirk Nowitzki.
    What is Iverson's Legacy?
    What are we talking 'bout? We're talking 'bout *IVERSON*.
    Jennings vs Rose
    Last year Derrick Rose was the NBA Rookie of the Year.  One year later, would you take him over current rookie point guard phenom Brandon Jennings?

    RSS Feeds