The what?  You read that right, the Gino Torretta award.  You know, the offensive player that has the nice looking offensive stat-line at the end of the year on a well known football team playing in a big bowl game?  That is where we are heading with the Heisman Memorial Trophy at the half-way point of the college football season.

I kinda feel bad for Gino.  He wasn’t a bad college football quarterback, in fact he was very good, but he is the one guy that pops into our heads as an underwhelming winner of the Heisman Trophy award. He wasn’t even the best QB in college in 1992. That would be Drew Bledsoe. But Drew Bledsoe didn’t even sniff the Top 5 in voting. The guy who should have won the award was Marshall Faulk. Did the voters become hesitant to give the award to a running back who put up gaudy numbers at a small school like San Diego State? Two guys that beat the tarp out of Torretta in the Sugar Bowl were better players that season as well and were not in the voting, Alabama’s Jon Copeland and Eric Curry. Why not? Why does there seem to be a huge block on defensive players in Heisman voting?  There shouldn’t be. Because of this mostly annual phenomenon, the trophy will be given to someone not deserving of it this year, just like Gino Torretta.

Right now, the media is all too busy pumping up Colt McCoy, Jimmy Clausen, Tony Pike and of course, Tim Tebow. ESPN.com has their Heisman Trophy tracking poll and there is one lone defensive player in their top 5, and we will get to him later. According to their own tracking, Tim Tebow is running away with it. Has Tim been great this year? Not quite, but very good. Maybe we are all as college football fans, a little Tim Tebowed out. I admire his play, but he hasn’t looked all world this year to me like he has before. McCoy looks more like the QB from a couple years ago, not even the guy he was last year. Cincinnati’s Tony Pike is having a great season, and leading the Bearcats to a possible BCS Bowl - potentially an undefeated season too. The one offensive player being recognized that could actually deserve a nod in the voting is Jimmy Clausen. However, Clausen probably needs a big game against USC this weekend because the knock against him has been that he puts up his big games against extremely bad defenses. This shouldn’t necessarily be an indictment on Clausen, as he should play at the level he does against those bad defenses. Then again, would Clausen have these big performances had his team played a semblance of a defense? If not, Clausen probably wouldn’t even be in anyone’s consideration.

Quick Disclaimer: Charles Woodson does not count as a defensive player winning the trophy. He was a corner that was also a punter returner as well as a offensive weapon on the Michigan team. Had Woodson only played corner that season, he would not have been in consideration for the award, let alone beat out Peyton Manning. However, he was deserving of the award that year, because he was the most outstanding player. Deal with it, Miz.

The Heisman Trophy award is supposed to be awarded to the most outstanding college football player each season. Actually this is exactly the words that describe it:

The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work. The Heisman Trophy Trust ensures the continuation and integrity of this award.

This year, it can easily be argued that the most outstanding college football players are not playing offense. However, it is unlikely for the voters to take notice of this, since it seems they are inclined to just look at which big name player from a big name school puts up the big stats. However, their are 2 players that jump off the screen each and every week and they are Eric Berry, and my new personal favorite, Ndamukong Suh.

Eric Berry is not putting up the defensive stats that he has in seasons past, specifically the interceptions. He only has 1 so far on the season, but he is being used differently this year in the new Tampa 2 defense that defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin installed at Tennessee. Berry’s tackle totals are up on the year because he is asked to play a little bit more against the run, and is actually being brought into the box on more occasions giving him fewer opportunities in the passing game. Berry, though, is game-planned against each week by offensive coordinators. They want everyone to know where he will be on the field at all times. He impacts a game immensely and continually keeps adding big hits to his highlight reel. Whereas last season may have been a better season statistically for Berry, it doesn’t change the fact the he is the best player on the field each week.

Out in Nebraska, there is a beast of a defensive lineman; his name is Ndamukong Suh. But when you say his name you should be saying it with strong emphasis, NDAMUKONG SUH!!!!! Why say it like that? Because, you cannot help but yell that out at least 2 or 3 times during a Nebraska game. He continually makes big play after big play. I haven’t seen a more athletic defensive tackle in years. I know my years aren’t many, but I will garner to say that not many older folks would disagree with me. Suh isn’t getting nearly the amount of attention he deserves, most likely because Nebraska is not the same team they were a decade ago. However, if they were, the QB in the triple option offense would most likely take attention away from him. But, just look at the stats, because I know you aren’t getting to see him on TV enough. Now remember, this isn’t a LB or a safety who totals a ton of tackles or a DE that gets a lot of sacks. He is a DT. They are typically just supposed to disrupt the offense for everyone else to be free to pad their own stats:

vs Florida Atlantic- 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass breakup
vs Arkansas State- 5 Tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks
vs Virginia Tech- 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, .5 sack
vs Lousiana Lafayette- 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass breakup
vs Missouri 6 tackles, 1 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 INT, 1 pass breakup, 1 sack

So, yeah, he’s awesome. A defensive tackle should not being doing that week in and week out. Also, you can see that he hasn’t just done it against weaker teams on the schedule. In fact, he seems to play even better against top competition. Do you realize that he is amongst the leaders in almost every major defensive category on a very sound defensive team? Amazing.

So where is the attention for Berry and Suh? Where are the 15-20 minute weekly features on these defensive stars? There are several defensive players that simply don’t receive enough attention on College Gameday or CBSSports.com, or any other major media website. Defensive stats are not flashy. If Berry was allowed to play wide receiver and scored a couple TDs, people would probably take more notice. If Suh was lined up in the backfield in goal-line situations and handed the ball to cross it, people would really take notice. No voter will admit to this bias, but it is obviously there. Stats can be very helpful in determining an athlete’s worth to a team. However, unlike basketball and baseball, there are no metrics that can truly determine a players worth on the football field. Therefore, QBs with high touchdown totals and/or a couple of signature wins on their resume get them to the Nokia Theatre. Same goes for running backs. If a running back approaches, and especially passes, 2000 yards in a season with a premiere program, they will have a seat down in front as well. There seems to be nothing statistically eye-popping that a defender can do. The Heisman becomes a popularity award among offensive players at big time schools, and unless there is some major watershed moment this year with voters, it will not change.

Fun Facts:

Did you know that other than the back-to-back years of Andre Ware (Houston) and Ty Detmer (BYU), no other “non-BCS” or an Independent not named Notre Dame has produced a winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy since 1963? That was the year Roger Staubach (Navy) won – when the military academies still mattered in college football.

Did you also know that there have only been 5 players since Roger Staubach that went on to be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? OJ Simpson, Tony Dorsett, Earl Campbell, Marcus Allen and Barry Sanders. Hmmmm, interesting, no QBs.

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