THE 2010 HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER IS…

THE 2010 HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER IS…

The college football season is officially under way. It started on Thursday night with a handful of games and a handful of solid performances. However, before we can get to the National Championship, there is a certain award that has to be given out in New York on the 2nd Saturday in December, The Heisman Trophy.

Now when looking at potential Heisman candidates, there are a couple of things that must be considered. First, the official description of the Heisman Trophy is “College Football’s most outstanding player”. Therefore, anyone who has a great year has a chance at winning the award. That would open the door for guys like Case Keenum and Taylor Potts, but there is no way either of those guys have a chance at winning the award. Since 2000, the Heisman Trophy winner has played in the National Championship game (the only exception to the rule is Tim Tebow in 2007), therefore, we know that not only do you have to put up good numbers, but you also have to be on a good team.

Now that we know what you have to do to win the award, let me give you 3 people from everyone’s list who WILL NOT win the Heisman. These are all guys who are on everyone’s list of contenders and they will play good, but they will not be holding the trophy come December. The first pretender for the trophy is Mark Ingram. I know it is hard to call the defending Heisman Winner a pretender, but when you consider the fact that he may not even be the best running back on his team, it’s hard to predict a repeat performance of last year. The next pretender is Ryan Mallet. Unlike Ingram, Mallett will put up all kinds of crazy numbers; however his team will let him down. I do not believe the Razorbacks are going to win enough ball games to make him a legitimate contender. The last of my pretenders is everyone’s darling…Jake Locker. I know that he was good last year, and I know that this is year 2 in Steve Sarksian’s system, but I don’t think his team will win enough, and I question whether or not he can be as successful as he was last year. There you have my top 3 pretenders for the Trophy, now here are my top 5 contenders for the Heisman Trophy in reverse order…

5. Julio Jones – Alabama
I know this is a sleeper and I know what kind of year he had last year. I also know that Alabama lost 8 key defenders from last year’s National Championship team. I also know they have several games where they will be forced to score some points. I also know that Julio Jones is a beast who will physically dominate almost every cornerback he will line up against all year, so I do think he could have a big season.
2009 Season: 43 Rec 596 yards 4 TD’s

4. Landry Jones – Oklahoma
Again, kind of a sleeper, but Oklahoma is going to have a very good year and I think he will have some games with national importance (FSU, Texas, Nebraska) where he will have to be good and score lots of points. He came on strong as the year progressed last year and I think he will only continue to improve this year.
2009 Season: 261 – 449 58.1% 3198 yards 26 TD’s 14 Int

3. Kellen Moore – Boise State
Kellen Moore was as close to perfect as you can get last year, throwing 39 td’s and only 3 picks. That is hard to do in practice against a scout team (some may argue that his schedule reflects a scout team but that is for another time). Any way you look at it, Moore was very impressive and considering they are starting at #3 in the polls and a pretty soft schedule, he should be in the discussion all season long. If he has a strong showing against a weak Virginia Tech defense on Monday night, he may have enough credibility to push him to the trophy.
2009 Season: 281 – 405 69.4% 3486 yards 39 TD’s 3 Ints

2. Christian Ponder – Florida State
It has been a long time since FSU has be relevant to the National picture, but that will all change this season and a big part of that will be the success of Christian Ponder. The team should be good and could be a sleeper pick to be in the National Championship picture. He has a solid offensive line which is returning 5 starters. Last season through 9 games, Ponder produced more than any of the more hyped qb’s from last season. Through 8 games, Ponder was averaging over 339 YPG, he had a 2 – 1 TD – Int ratio and the only defense he could not outscore was his own. That should change a this year as the defense looks to be much improved and that should lead to Ponder putting FSU back into a position of national prominence.
2009 Season: 177 – 330 68.8% 2717 yards 14 TD’s 7 Ints (through 8 games)

1. Terrelle Pryor – Ohio State
More times than not, the Heisman goes to the best player on the best team in the country and by December, there are going to be a lot of people who believe the Buckeyes are just that. Pryor made huge strides in the Rose Bowl last season and if he follows that up with a strong performance this season, I can’t see anyone else winning this award. Pryor may be the most athletic qb in the country and his dual threat ability will give him lots of opportunities to have a Heisman moment both running and throwing the ball. All things considered, I think all signs points to the Heisman coming back to Columbus, Ohio.
2009 Season: 167 – 295 68% 2094 yards 18 TD’s 11 Ints 162 Carries 779 Yards 7 TD’s

There you have it, my top 5 picks for the Heisman Trophy for this upcoming season. What do you think, who did I leave out. Who should be higher? Give me your feedback.

UNTIL NEXT TIME…