The finalists for the 75th annual Heisman Trophy award were announced this evening, and a total of five players will be making the trek to New York City for the Downtown Athletic Club ceremony.
All five players hail from BcS conferences; four of the five are seniors; and the same number come from the offensive side of the ball. So, as announced by former Heisman winner Tim Brown, here are the five finalists:
Mark Ingram, running back, AlabamaToby Gerhart, running back, StanfordTim Tebow, quarterback, FloridaColt McCoy, quarterback, TexasNdamukong Suh, defensive tackle, Nebraska
First of all, kudos to the Heisman voters for recognizing the trench brilliance of Suh. While it’s unlikely the lineman will take home the hardware — although he should — it’s a solid recognition of just how dominant the Cornhusker has been all season long.
Secondly, there’s only one player who I really have a gripe about and yes, Gator Fan, it’s Tebow. Make no mistake, the UF legend is an outstanding football player, one of the greatest of all-time at the Div. 1-A level. However, he has not been one of the top five players in college football this season. At all. The Heisman is not a lifetime achievement award — at least it shouldn’t be — and the voters are allowing his first three seasons in Gainesville to cloud what’s been, by most accounts, a mediocre season.
Thirdly, now seems like as good a time as any to put out for your mocking ridicule consideration my top three Heisman contenders. Just pretend I have an official vote and it actually carries some weight:
1.) Suh2.) Gerhart3.) Ingram
Just for the record, I was really torn between Gerhart and Ingram, and leaving out McCoy for that matter. I was not torn in the least about putting Suh at the top of the list, though.
[For a further breakdown of the Heisman finalists, head over to our friends at NBC Sports.com and check out Mike Woods' latest on the race for the stiff-armed statue.]
Suh is the best. And I hate Nebraska.
I know I might be a tad biased, but for my money the Heisman should go to Mark Ingram. If you look at the qualifications of Heisman candidates as the season the player has had as well as what he has helped his team do, it just makes sense.
Ingram has been the heartbeat of what appears to be the most dominant team in the country. Going into the SEC Championship game, he had already eclipsed the season yardage totals of any Alabama running back EVER. Keep in mind that Bama has traditionally been a running team, and has fielded the likes Shaun Alexander in its illustrious history. To come out on the top of that pile is a major feat in itself.
But to be perhaps the most valuable player on an offense that, for example, just put up 32 points against a dominant Florida defense, and perhaps the most standout player on a team that is #1 in the nation heading into the BCS National Championship game… this gives him the credentials he needs to take home the most coveted award in college football this year.
Don’t get me wrong. Colt McCoy IS the Texans. Ndamukong Suh is downright scary, dominant, and should make a very fine player at the next level. Tim Tebow is, in my mind, easily one of the top 5 greatest college football players of all time, and I believe he should have won the Heisman last year over Bradford. Tony Gerhart is pretty good too.
None of these players deserve the Heisman more than Ingram, though.
I would take Bama’s 13th National Championship over a Heisman any day of the year, but it would certainly be nice for a very deserving Crimson Tide player to have that type of recognition for once.
It’s a shame that Case Keenum didn’t get an invite, though I am happy about Ndamukong Suh being part of the process.
Suh ran up his numbers against Texas in a game that went down to the wire. How can you compare that to Tebow throwing for a 4th touchdown late in the 4th quater while leading comfortably against a directional school?
Suh is the best player in the country. Gerhart is close, but the thing most people don’t talk about is how Suh played almost 95% of all snaps this year, never injured, never tired, always dominant. You name me another interior d lineman that could do that and continue producing like Suh did all year long.
I don’t know if I could name a d lineman in the past 5-10 years that could play as many snaps and be as effective like Suh is.
I don’t see a problem with picking Suh and yes, Tebow doesn’t belong on the list. It might not be a sexy choise but I would go with Gerhart, Suh and then Ingram.
Not saying Ingram isn’t deserving, but if you swapped Gerhart with Ingram, I’d put money on both teams having the same record with roughly the same numbers.
If you put Suh on either of these teams, I think his numbers would be twice as good and he probably would have added a win or two for Stanford. Could you imagine Suh playing along side Cody? That to me is what should determine the Heisman, not how good the rest of the team is.
All of this banter is giving Urban Meyer a headache.
Ingram only had 36 yards in the Auburn game and no td’s in Tennessee game and not many yards. Plus he’s a sophmore, give him the trophy and he’s done with college. The third string back could have run through the Florida line in that game. PLeeassee
I’m a Longhorn fan and I didn’t enjoy watching Suh sack my Colt, but I gotta say Suh is a beast and I think he deserves to win as much as I would love for the award to go to Colt.
More important question is will the boy mamed Suh go #1 in the NFL draft?
i am a longhorn fan … but suh should win. if he does not its all politics.
I’d pick Suh. I like Ingram too but I’m honestly not sure if he’s the best RB on his own team. #3 on bama is gonna be great.
McCoy’s use of the clock (or lack thereof) makes you wonder about this guy. It was only one game – but because he was clueless, he almost lost the game for his team. Horray for a great kicker to save his tail . . .
But McCoy does not deserve the trophy.
It’s Suh. Not even close.
mwtatpos:
‘Bama’s number three back DID run through that Florida defensive line in the game. That would be #5 Roy Upchurch who allowed the Tide to keep possession the last 7:30 of the game by churning out one first down after another until it was over.
As a Tide fan, I would like to see Ingram win. I think it’s going to be McCoy, though, and frankly I don’t think that’s a bad thing. The Heisman winner has all kinds of distractions with media appearances, banquets, interviews and such that tends to distract from bowl preparations (hence the reason so many of them have terrible bowl games). If Ingram doesn’t win, then he can spend his time getting ready for Texas while the pretty-boy QB is busy blinking the flashbulbs from out of his eyes.
31 days and counting….
I am a lifelong Longhorn fan and am glad to see Colt McCoy as a finalist, he certainly deserves to be there. However, Ingram and Suh both deserve the award more than McCoy.
I personally think that Suh has shown the total dominance that should make him the front runner with Ingram just a hair behind.
Regardless , you can’t go wrong with either one of these great players.
Kool Aide drinkers have been fooled again–
The best quarterback in the country week end and week out , win or lose…Kace Keenum handsdown –no contest
Look at his numbers every week–they do not lie!
People do..
The media hype machine wins again–Kool Aide drinkers have been bamfoozled again!
Note all canditates are from “Big” Football progarams–
I was at the UT / Nebraska game…and if there is a better college player than Suh, I have not seen him play. Not only does he play almost every d down, he runs sideline to sideline as fast as the UT backs and McCoy. This guy is a game change of the likes that is rarely seem. I hope he wins.
I agree with you on who should win but any of the 4 would be understandable. I also agree that Tebow should not be on the list, I will also add he should not be a winner of any college award unless they gave out hype and media awards, which is why he won the Heisman in the first place. The meida has been over hyping him since he has been in school. this crap about him being one of the greatest college players of all-time is beyond ridiculous, bring up his stats against any good college quaterback and see how they compare and leave they hype out. I will take bets from any person or sports writer and say he will not be draafted in the first round and if he is the person that drafts him will be fired. I do not beleive any personal director in the NFL could be that stupid. There are at least 20 quaterbacks that should go before him. He is the equilveant of Troy Smith from Ohio state and he went in the 6th round which is about where Tebow should go. If he makes a team he will never play quarterback in the NFL. He may last out his contract but if he does not go to one of the Florida teams he will be a coach or becuase of the media he love he will be a commentator and listening to him talk on interviews not a very good one. I do not foloow anyone team becuae i have a life so I have no bias other than this media love for Tebow who is nothing more than a front man on a decent team. If I was one of the running backs on his team I would have been more than a little pissed if I ran the ball to the goal line a then you give this bum the ball for a one yard touchdown. It has been said he has some sort of touchdown record. Do me a favor and list how long each of these touchdowns were from. Nobody seems to want to post his actual stats. I will bet anything other than these bunch of one or two yard touchdows they do not compare to any of this years quarterback let alone of all-time. Colt McCoy hs a record to be admired as the winngest quarterback of all-time and he is not considered one of the greatest of all time and he should not be.
Saying Tebow is one of the greatest college players of all-time is like saying Bill Walton should be on the 50th greatest players in the NBA. Again I say list both of their stats and thenask people that played with Tebow that are still not on the team. Why is that when Florida won it was tebow and when they lost he did not have help? I do not recall Tebow playing any defense, something he should consider or returning punts if he wants to play in the NFL becuase thaty is the only chance he has to play. Those one yards runs are reserved for real running backs and jump passes in the NFL does not exist and his speed is not even questionable, it does not exist. Let me hear from anyone after the stats are posted or some post them.
Golden Tate not on that list makes this Heisman a joke. He may not have won but saying he isn’t one of the top 5 players in the country is a crime
If Toby Gerhart was black, he would win the Heisman going away. anti-white bias at play here.
Tate should have been on the list instead of the overrated Tebow who will (I predict) be nothing but back-up QB in NFL.
1. Suh
2. Gerhart
3. Ingram–and Clemson guy
The best quarterback? Keenum and Pike(But He missed most games this year)
Tebow and McCoy great guys– not the best QB.
Are there not any Division II players to consider?
Heisman is not supposed to be a political event?
Why can’t the voters base the award on performance in light of the team they play for and opposing teams they play?
They can’t ignore stats can they?
# greg says: December 7, 2009 8:54 PM ET
Kool Aide drinkers have been fooled again–
The best quarterback in the country week end and week out , win or lose…Kace Keenum handsdown –no contest
Look at his numbers every week–they do not lie!
People do..
The media hype machine wins again–Kool Aide drinkers have been bamfoozled again!
Note all canditates are from “Big” Football progarams–
____________________________________
Could you imagine the red faced coaches who would have to admit “yeah we didnt think the kid could play at our big time school” if the “cartel” allowed a small school kid to get this kind of recognition. This is a travesty, just as putting TCU and BSU in the same bowl, none of the big boys want to come close to those two, and the conferences put the calls in to their buddies at the bowl committee to avoid embarrassment.
NCAA Div1 (or whatever 3 letter moniker they use these days) is such a joke, it is not about what is best for the player or the game, but rather what is best for those old whire bastards who have been screwing everyone else for years. Oh, and money, I think that has something to do with it too.
Tebow and McCoy both stunk it up in their last games. Not Heisman quality this year. My money is on Ingram.
-Tebow has accounted for 31 TD’s this season, which is one more than McCoy.
-Tebow’s YPA average was higher than McCoy’s.
-Tebow also had a higher QB rating than McCoy this year.
-McCoy threw the ball almost 200 more times than Tebow (for 1000 more yards), while Tebow ran the ball 75 more times (for 500 more yards), giving a total average of 6.5 yards per touch for McCoy and 6.8 average for Tebow.
If that is a mediocre season, what was McCoy’s?
I understand that McCoy still has his team unbeaten, but Texas will likely lose to Bama, just like the Gators did. UF got beat by a better team in the SEC title game, but that does not discredit the great season Tebow had. If anything, it just further illustrates the historic seasons that Tebow has put together during his four years in Gainesville…
Suh is the man, followed by Gerhart. All others should not have been invited.
And the others probably know it.
Gerhart, sure. McCoy, yeah. Suh, great choice. Tebow, not this year, but great player. So we’ve got 3 good choices, couldn’t argue any of them.
But Mark Ingram? Has anybody checked his stats? He leaded the nation in absolutely nothing…..not rushing, not combined yards, not TD’s – and he’s not second…..he’s pretty much 8th place nationally in everything and often 2nd in the SEC.
The only reason he’s in the running is he’s the RB for the #1 team…..I really hate to see Heisman’s start to be handed out for that. Wait, he had a super game against Florida? So 28 carries for 113 yards in a blow out is super? I’m not impressed at all.
I’m a Longhorn fan and I didn’t enjoy watching Suh sack my Colt, but I gotta say Suh is a beast and I think he deserves to win as much as I would love for the award to go to Colt.
I must agree with the above comment from vegasrobert. As much as I am a fan of Colt’s accomplishments this season and in his college career, Suh completely and single-handedly dominated the Longhorns offense. I was much impressed. What a defensive monster.
Suh is more than just the best player in college football. He singlehandedly took control of the game the way Brady or Manning does. And as a defensive tackle, that’s just unreal. He was absolutely unstoppable against Texas.
No problem with Gerhart winning. He kept picking up steam all season long.
Okay with Ingram, although he was a non factor in some games.
Big problem with either QB, because neither of them was the best QB in the country this year. That would be Kellen Moore, and there were at least 3 others who were at least as good as McCoy and Teboe.
A little miffed that the best WR (and a helluva punt returner), Golden Tate, didn’t get invited.
But, since there is no obvious offensive choice, why not make this the year the award finally recognizes the other half of the team? Suh was the best player at his position, by far, and played his best against the best.
@ bmg630 . . .
Sorry, but I stopped reading that drivel right around the time you said that you “don’t follow any teams because you have a life”. So that’s why you’re writing essays on CFT.com, huh?
I have a life too — and a fun one at that — but I still follow my Alabama Crimson Tide and my Kansas City Chiefs. That’s beside the point, though.
I don’t see how anyone can say that Tim Tebow is not one of the greatest. People around the South at least have been buzzing about Tebow since he was a backup his freshman year. He is a quarterback that lifts with the D-linemen, has an uncanny combination of speed, strength, and running ability. He smashed all sorts of SEC records, including the one for rushing touchdowns — AS A QUARTERBACK, mind you. He’s a beyond competent passer at the college level on top of his running ability. He’s fiery, emotional, boosts his entire team (not just the offense) and he flat-out wills his team to victory.
So what if he probably won’t be that good in the NFL? He’s still a freak athlete, and the NFL is a totally different game than college football. And he may not even enter the draft. He’s top five greatest in college history, and I’d probably put him ahead of Vince Young.
I really hope Suh gets the award. He deserves it and hsould be a punishing lineman in the NFL.
Tebow, as many have said, should absolutely not be on this list.
I’ll go Suh, Gerhart, then Ingram. Prior to the conference championship, McCoy was a front runner, but Texas won in spite of McCoy, and that should all but destroy his chances.
I’ve been saying “Pffft! Who the hell is Suh?” At you all season. After watching that game with Texas…..WOW, give the man his trophy!
Obviously I’m a Gator fan, but I have to agree that Tebow probably shouldn’t be a finalist. I don’t think there’s any chance he will actually win, nor should there be this year. Ingram is a great RB who showed great resiliency coming back from injury and a lackluster performance in the Auburn game. I haven’t seen Gerhart because he’s on the West Coast — I hear he’s good but he’s on an 8-4 team playing in a less-than-defense-oriented conference. McCoy is a very good QB who deserves to be a finalist. That leaves Suh who is a monster on the D line. I hope he wins it and then: with the first pick in the 2010 NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select: Ndamukong Suh, University of Nebraska!
@ jd: Welcome to the dark side of The Force.
@ tampalawyer: any GM that has the opportunity to draft Suh and doesn’t will rue the day.
@bbq
Tim Tebow and Vince Young??? LOLOLOL. Are you freaking serious? It’s apparent that you’ve only been watching college football since 2004.
1) Suh-most dominant lineman—EVER!
the rest didn’t really distinguish themselves.
2) Gerhart, perhaps if Harbaugh had chosen to run him a few times in the closing minutes against Cal and won-he would be the #1 guy.
3) Ingram-numbers aren’t as good as Gerhart’s and Bama won all season through its defense, their offense an after thought until the Florida game.
4) McCoy-Was probably leading, until Suh showed him who was the best player in the country
5) Tebow-his lifetime achievement award? Another trip to NY.
I agree, Tim Tebow? Please! I think that the Pac 10 gets ignored! What about J. MASOLI???!!!!!!
Not just because I’m a Duck Fan, BUT THE PAC 10 GETS IGNORED!!!!! We are sick of it. If you on the east coast can’t stay up that late to watch west coast games, Tivo them, tape them! WATCH THEM!
Suh should win. He should be the #1 overall pick in the NFL draft, too.
@ GoCanes . . .
What do you want me to do, create a Top 10 list rounded out with 10 of your favorite Miami players from the 90s? Sorry I’m not a big fan of “The U”, but if you ask anyone who knows what they’re talking about they’ll tell you that Vince Young is up there with the greatest QBs in college football history.
I’m not excluding the likes of Steve McNair or Doug Flutie, either, when I refer to the “greatest”, and by “greatest” I don’t mean “the best stats”. When I talk about a great college QB, I’m referring to what he did for his offense and team, and how his impact resounds with the American public.
I believe Tim Tebow will be in the conversations with that group.
NDAMUKONG SUH the most dominate
D-lineman ever. He single handedly destroyed the Heisman hopes of Colt McCoy and would do the same for the rest of the field. The Texas game was not the first time he dominated on defense. We have watched him grow and mature from the beginning into a great football player and a decent human being. He will help make what ever NFL team drafts him a better team.
Monica A. says:
December 8, 2009 11:11 AM ET
I agree, Tim Tebow? Please! I think that the Pac 10 gets ignored! What about J. MASOLI???!!!!!!
Not just because I’m a Duck Fan, BUT THE PAC 10 GETS IGNORED!!!!! …
===================================
Uhhh…yeah. Have you taken a look at the Heisman winners since 2000?
Pac 10-3
Big 12- 3
SEC- 1
Big 10- 1
ACC- 1
Masoli- 50th in QB rating, tied for 55th in TD’s, 70th in passing yardage.
Pretty good rushing stats, but not even in the top ten candidates.
I love what Tebow’s done at Florida. But he shouldn’t be in the top five. Neither should McCoy. Neither one has put up Heisman-worthy numbers, and neither one showed anything special Saturday. They’ve both had great careers, but not in 2009.
Or, for that matter, no QB should be there this year except maybe Kellen Moore. Case Keenum has outstanding numbers, but when you’re throwing the ball 50 times a game (note: not a pulled-out-of-my-ass number; he’s attempted 656 passes in 13 games, for an average of 50.5 per game), your numbers will be a bit inflated. Talk to former Cougs Klinger and Ware about that.
Suh is, right now, the only person who deserves it. I’d accept second place votes for Ingram or Gerhart, and I’d put them in that order.