Undecided Heisman race led by McCoy

by Trevor Bell, staff writer

The Heisman Memorial Trophy is the single greatest individual achievement that any college football player could ever receive.

The Heisman is awarded by the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City every year to the nation’s top college football player. The 2009 college football season is approaching the halfway point, and Heisman talk for some players is starting to surface.

The Heisman Trophy is supposed to be awarded to an individual with the best statistics. However, in recent years, the Heisman has gone to the best player on the best team, not the player with the best stats.

Last year was a perfect example of that, when both Texas Tech University star quarterback Graham Harrell and standout wide receiver Michael Crabtree weren’t invited to New York to have a chance at receiving the Heisman, even though Harrell and Crabtree both put up ridiculous numbers at their respective positions.

Harrell passed for 5,111 yards and 45 touchdowns for the season, and Crabtree had 97 catches, 1,165 yards, and 19 touchdowns. The players who were invited were Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, and Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, who won the Heisman.

Tebow’s Gators and Bradford’s Sooners both played in the National Championship, while McCoy’s Texas Longhorns played in the BCS Fiesta Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Bradford put up great numbers and deserved the Heisman, but it was very unfair for Harrell and Crabtree to not even be invited just because they weren’t playing for a team that was going to a BCS Bowl.

Instead, both Harrell and Crabtree played in the Cotton Bowl, rather than a BCS Bowl.

The potential candidates for this year’s Heisman are Tebow, Bradford, Tennessee safety Eric Berry, California running back Jahvid Best, University of Miami quarterback Jacory Harris, Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike, and McCoy.

Tebow won the trophy in 2007 when he was a sophomore. He is now a senior and is looking to reclaim the Heisman in his final season for the Gators. Tebow is an odds-on favorite to win it, because he plays quarterback for arguably the best team in college football.

The Gators came into the season as the top-ranked team in the country. Tebow runs and throws the football, which can help him win the Heisman. Other reasons that will help him are that he plays for the “best team”, the Gators, and that he has already won the award. However, Tim Tebow will not win the Heisman this year because he isn’t putting up the numbers that he did in 2007.

Bradford won the Heisman last season, and he came into this season seeking to be the first repeat winning since Archie Griffin did it for the Buckeyes in 1974 and 1975. Bradford had as good as shot as any of winning the Heisman. However, he injured his shoulder in the first game of the season, a loss to BYU and was out of the lineup for four games. Bradford isn’t going to win the Heisman this year because he has missed too many games, and his numbers won’t even begin to compare with what he put up last year.

Eric Berry is the lone defensive player on this list. He is a great safety who is going to make numerous big plays this season. Berry’s chances of winning the Heisman are very low, since the last defensive player to win the Heisman was Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997. Woodson, unlike Berry, played some offense and returned kicks for the Wolverines. Even though Berry could be considered the best defensive player in college football, he will not win the Heisman.

Jacory Harris has been really solid this season, as he has lead the Miami Hurricanes against four ranked teams in their first four games, including intrastate rival Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma. The Hurricanes only lost at Virginia Tech in a very rainy game in which Harris couldn’t get the passing game going.

The Hurricanes beat the Bradford-less Sooners in Miami, and Harris had a great game after throwing two early interceptions. Harris is coming along really well this season, and he should be considered for the Heisman if the Hurricanes win their conference, the ACC. But Harris won’t win the Heisman because I believe there are three better candidates for the trophy this year, Tebow, Pike, and McCoy.

Jahvid Best is literally the “best” running back in college football this year. He has been explosive for the Cal Golden Bears, racking up 514 yards and eight touchdowns through the first five games.

Best is an amazing back and will put up Heisman-like numbers this year. However, he won’t win the Heisman, because Cal already has two losses in five games, and they most likely won’t win their conference, the Pac-10, because it appears, like every other year, that Southern California will win the Pac-10. Best may be the best running back in college football, but he won’t win the Heisman this year either.

Pike is the guy who I’ve tabbed as the dark horse in the Heisman race. He is a phenomenal quarterback for the Cincinnati Bearcats, helping them to be undefeated in the first five games. The Bearcats are playing in the Big East, which is a BCS conference, and if the Bearcats run the table and go undefeated, I believe that Pike should win the Heisman.

Through the first five games of the season, Pike has thrown for 1,493 yards and 13 touchdowns, while completing 66.6 percent of his passes. He plays in a pass-oriented offense, and the shocking thing is that he has only thrown three interceptions in 174 pass attempts.

Pike also has rushed for two touchdowns. He is currently on pace to throw for 36 touchdowns, which is a necessity for quarterbacks who want to win the Heisman. The past six Heisman-winning quarterbacks all threw for at least 30 touchdowns. For Pike to have a shot at winning the Heisman, he has to rely on two things to happen: both Texas and Florida need to lose.

Right now, I’ve got Pike behind McCoy and Tebow, and if both Texas and Florida make the National Championship game, then Pike can most likely kiss his chance at winning goodbye. The thing that really hurts Pike’s chances is that he is playing for Cincinnati. Pike is in a similar situation that Harrell was in last season at Tech, putting up video-game like numbers but playing in an offense that allows quarterbacks to thrive.

Pike is having an amazing season thus far, and I think he has a real shot at winning the Heisman. If Cincinnati can run the table and make a BCS Bowl, Pike might just earn the Heisman. But I’m going to have to say that Pike won’t win, because I believe the winner of the Heisman will be McCoy.

McCoy came into the 2009 season with hopes of winning the Heisman, after finishing a close second to Big XII rival Bradford. McCoy has all the credentials to be a Heisman trophy winner. He throws the ball, he runs the ball, he is the best player on Longhorns, and he is already in the Heisman spotlight.

Through the first five games of the season, McCoy has thrown for 1,410 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also rushed for one touchdown and completed 73.4 percent of his passes. McCoy has thrown six interceptions, though, in the first five games. In the 2008 season, he only threw eight interceptions.

McCoy has a big advantage over Bradford, because McCoy has played in every game that the Longhorns have played this year. If the Longhorns reach the National Championship game, McCoy will win the Heisman. He would be the first Longhorn to win the Heisman since running back Ricky Williams won it in 1998.

The Longhorns most likely will win the Big XII Conference this year and make the National Championship game. That is why I believe that McCoy is going to win the 2009 Heisman Memorial Trophy.

There are still lots of games to be played, and crazy things always seem to happen in college football. All the candidates I’ve listed deserve national recognition.