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Sunday, April 26, 2009

Sunday Debate: A Look At the Heisman Race Beyond the Front-Runners

Welcome to the newest FANdemonium Sports segment. It is called Sunday Debates. Every Sunday, I will think of a hot topic subject in the world of sports. Today’s subject argues one thing. If not Tebow, Bradford, or McCoy... who has the best shot at stealing the Heisman Trophy this upcoming College Football season?

So I will show and analyze some of the players that are considered top candidates - outside of the "big three" - to win the Heisman Trophy.

If you want to view my take on any topic that is suitable for a Sunday Debate, let me know about it. Email me any suggestions (along with anything else you want) at StLDieHard24@gmail.com.

I made a “Sunday Debates” section on the right side of the page under the “It’s FANdemonium, baby!” portion. There you will be able to view all of the Sunday Debates. Let’s get started with the sixth Sunday Debate.
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Spring football is under way, the NFL Draft is finally over, and we now know who will be coming back to light up the 2009 College Football season.

The 2008 Heisman Race was certainly one to remember; it was the closest since 2001, when former-Cornhusker Eric Crouch won the most prestigious award in all of sport. In the end, when all of the votes were tallied, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma became the 74th winner of the Heisman Trophy. Following Bradford; Colt McCoy of Texas was the first runner up and, last year’s winner, Tim Tebow, got 3rd in total voting.

After all is through, this may very well be how we remember that 2008 campaign… the memorable and to-close-to-call Heisman Race featuring the nation’s elite. I think that is safe to say that if it was any other year, and there was only one of either of these guys, they would have blown away the competition. All three of these Quarterbacks are Heisman-winning material.

But wait, they are coming back? Believe it or not, the three top vote-getters are all going to make another run at it this season. Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow will make an attempt at their second Trophy, while McCoy will try to receive his first Heisman statue.

Knowing that, most would think one of those guys will win the award, no? I can’t hardly argue that considering how incredible these quarterbacks really are. But, how often do the front-runners going in actually win the thing? Hardly ever. Last year it was Tebow, McFadden was favored heavily in 2007, Brady Quinn was almost handed the Trophy before the ’06 season, and we can do this all night. Do you notice the trend? None of the guys won it that year. All had good seasons, but none of them won it and it's like that way nearly every single year.

While the main guys of yesteryear are stealing the show already, there is some serious talent out there beyond Austin, Norman, and Gainsville.

On that note, let’s take a quick look at who will take home that bronze statue when it’s all said and done… if it isn’t the big three.


Todd Reesing, Kansas Jayhawks
He does not have the hype, or the swagger that most of the contenders do. Reesing is flying undetected, below the radar so far and nobody really realizes him as a legitimate contender. Kansas is not known for producing big-name QBs, but Todd has the skill set to be worthy of mention. Not to forget, Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier are both coming back for another year – bringing 2000 yards and 20 TDs with them from the 2008 season.

Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
While Jimmy may not have near the hype that the last Heisman contender out of North Bend had, he does have some. Any QB at ND usually does. Clausen is nowhere near Quinn, but he’ll have the Notre Dame spotlight and the receiving corps to put up the numbers and the wins to be in the hunt for the big prize. He showed in the 22-of-26, 401-yard, five touchdown win over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl that the offense has the potential to blow up, but the only chance of being in the Heisman hunt will be to come up with big wins. That means a big day at Michigan, a home victory over Michigan State, and most importantly, a tremendous performance against USC on October 17... preferrably a win in all of those.

Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State Cowboys
After throwing together a breakout year last season, and finishing well into the top-25, the Cowboys and their star QB are looking forward to running that explosive offense yet again. I love this guy and I love this guy’s potential at the collegiate level. He has the Heisman type of play the voters crave, and should kill the opposition with Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant right there with him. Robinson can launch it down the field with accuracy, but also run very well when need be. Visualize the white Vince Young.

Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State Beavers
WOW. You don’t think so? Do you even know this guy lol? If you live on the east coast, you might not. For any of you people that think this kid shouldn’t be on this list, I will personally find you a tape of the USC/OreSt game of last fall. If a dude can straight up slither his way through THAT defense and make his way into the endzone twice with 190 yards, you are something special. He was a f-r-e-s-h-m-a-n this past season and was still the best playmaker in the Pac10. Before getting hurt he had 7 straight games of 100+ yard outputs, and totaled 1255 yards and 11 touchdowns… in seven games. I watched him during the USC game and immediately wrote his name down for two reasons: I knew he would be on this list and I knew I would forget how to spell his name.

Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State Buckeyes
He may be losing all of his sidekicks, but do not be fooled with this dude. Despite his main WRs and Chris “Beanie” Wells heading to Arizona, Pryor will have a massive season. He won’t have the talented Wells to hand off to but that should only mean he gets more chances to do more on his own. He’ll get more room to freelance, even for a Jim Tressel team, and he’ll get to run even more than he did in ‘08. Expect plenty of highlight moments and a barrage of face time on SportsCenter. But as it is with all Heisman candidates, it’s all about what he’ll do in the big moments. If he’s great against USC on September 12th and leads the way to a win, then it’s Heisman spotlight time. Remember me saying Zac Robinson is similar to the white Vince Young? Well Pryor IS Vince Young. He is the now the entire offense and the coaches will, while holding back in 2008, unleash him this year. He is a freak prodigy and now the nation’s newest superstar.
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Justin Hulsey
FANdemoniumSports.blogspot.com

If not the big three, then whom?


2 comments:

Danny said...

You say Clausen is nowhere near Brady Quinn. Not so sure about that yet. He passed for 500 more yards than Quinn did in his sophomore year. Then again, he also threw more interceptions. Junior year was Quinn's coming out year, and it should be for Clausen as well. Next year we'll know which is better.

Justin said...

Do you think Clausen will even be back next year? Depending on how this season goes, I think Clausen could head for the NFL. He will definitely be a pro at some point, but if he has a great 2009 season, I think he will go.

Thanks for the comment