HOORAY FOR HEISMAN

Tonight at 8 pm, a new Heisman Trophy winner will join the likes of Eddie George, Marcus Allen, Jim Plunkett and Archie Griffin.  Heisman Trophy winners all.  Joining this elite group of special players is indeed an honor.  Recognized as the most valuable award a college football player can earn, who will be special player that will join this great group of outstanding college players?

Being a Big Ten fan, you might think that Montee Ball, Wisconsin's great running back would get my vote.  (If I had one).  He scored 38 touchdowns this season leading the Badgers to the Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl berth against Oregon.  One might think I would recognize the awesome talent of Robert Griffin III from Baylor who threw for 36 touchdowns this season along with nine rushing touchdowns.  Then of course is Tyrann Mathieu, a defensive backfield start and return specialist who leads the number one LSU Tigers.  Mathieu leads his team in tackles, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries and has returned two punts for touchdowns. 

Just a few years back Trent Richardson of Alabama was the backup to the eventual winner of the Heisman Trophy, Mark Ingram Jr.  Richardson has carved his own path with 23 touchdowns averaging 164.7 all-purpose yards a game.  Then, there's Andrew Luck, Stanford's all-everything quarterback.  Luck finished second in last year's Heisman voting to Cam Newton of Auburn.  Luck, destined to be the number one draft pick in the NFL, threw for 35 touchdowns, over 3,000 yards with a passing rating of 167.5. 

Each player performed magnificently this season with each of them leading their teams to post-season bowl games.  I like Trent Richardson, Tyrann Mathieu and Montee Ball and the special seasons they had.  I can remember highlights from each of their big games this past season.  I suspect we will see even more highlights as they perform in their respective bowl games.  For me, the Heisman comes down to the two quarterbacks, Robert Griffin III from Baylor and Andrew Luck of Stanford. 

Both are juniors.  Luck is definitely coming out to the NFL in 2012 whereas Griffin may stay at Baylor for one more season.  My heart would like to see Andrew Luck win the Heisman but my head keeps telling me to choose Griffin.  It would be a shame to see Luck come in second a second year in a row.  Then, of course, the selfish part of me doesn't want Griffin to win this year because then he would be eligible to win it a second time next year and join only Archie Griffin of The Ohio State University as the only two-time recipient.  Not something I have ever been excited about happening.  I was especially concerned when Tim Tebow had the opportunity three years ago but ended up finishing behind Sam Bradford of Oklahoma.   

What's it going to be?  Griffin or Luck.  This year, I'm going with my heart and choosing Andrew Luck to be the 77th  winner of the Heisman Trophy.  My head keeps telling me that it will be Griffin.