Heisman Hopefuls: Reaction to 2010 Results

As expected, Auburn Tigers quarterback Cameron Newton was awarded the Heisman Memorial Trophy last Saturday. He won by a land slide. Only five past winners have received more points than Newton’s 2,263 (O.J. Simpson-2,853, Tony Dorsett-2,357, Charlie Ward-2,310, Ricky Williams-2,355, Troy Smith-2,540). Congratulations Cam.

Following the announcement and the release of the voting, I have a few other thoughts before closing the book on Heisman Hopefuls 2010.

• Cam Newton received 729 first place votes and only 24 second and 28 third. With the controversy surrounding him, voters took an “all or nothing” approach to him. Either they were voting for him because he was clearly the most outstanding player, or they boycotted voting for him because of the possible pay-for-play.
• Andrew Luck should not have been second. I already explained why Luck should not have been a Heisman finalist. I am still dumbfounded about why Luck even got one first place vote, let alone enough votes to finish second. Especially since …
• Terrelle Pryor got no votes. Absolutely zero. He was one of the biggest preseason candidates, and he made huge strides this year. If Andy Dalton and Owen Marecic could get some votes, how did Pryor get none?
• Speaking of Owen Marecic, why did he get any votes? Because he plays two ways? Because he scored an offensive and defensive TD in the same game? A lot of players could play two ways. It’s just that nobody does. No one else can do what Newton, LaMichael James, and Justin Blackmon did. Marecic barely touched the ball on offense. The offensive and defensive TD feat was done just 4 years ago. Yeah, it is cool, but it’s not like it hasn’t happened since the leather helmet days.
• Ninety-one voters should lose their voting privileges. In addition to the 78 who voted Luck first, the six that voted Denard Robinson first, the four that voted Andy Dalton first, and the three that voted Owen Marecic first. I can understand local voters giving token votes to really good players in their region of the country, but putting them first on your ballot? No way.
• The token votes I was pleased to see were those for Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Statistically, he was on par with Newton (2,830 yards passing, 1,154 yards rushing, 20 TD rushing and 20 TD passing). He led the Wolf Pack to their first national ranking in ages. While his stats were not gaudy, he quarterbacked a 17 point second half comeback to dethrone Boise State.