OMG! OMG! Chicago Tribune Notre Dame beat jockey faced Heisman conundrum!!!!!!!

I don't necessarily agree with adding NFL scouts to the mix. Their job is evaluating talent for the next level, not picking the player of the year. Do you think Doug Flutie would have rated that highly among NFL scouts?

 

To that point, Manti Te'o will rate higher than Johnny Manziel ever will among pro scouts.
It's a college award on college accomplishments and not about pro projections.

 

I'll take the contrarian viewpoint, and I've expressed it also on one of the other Heisman threads:

I like using NFL worthiness as a factor, though not an absolutely determinative one. I used it, for example, in voting for Darren McFadden twice. I believe it works as a very useful check against honoring a player who was, to a degree, a product of his system (Tim Tebow) - or, in other cases, a beneficiary of his supporting cast (Troy Smith). In that same vein, it also may help rescue a worthy player whose numbers are the victim of all the attention he gets from opponents. Jadeveon Clowney will probably not repeat his 13 sacks and 21.5 TFL's next season. It seems unfair to punish him for, essentially, being too good. Conversations with next-level scouts, or even a casual perusal of the multitude of draft rankings and mock drafts out there, can serve as verification that, yes, this guy remains worthy.

 

The Heisman goes to "the most outstanding" player in college football. People are free to interpret that as they will -- and they do. The ballot never asked for "the best" player (which is also subjective), but "most outstanding" gives wider latitude, in my opinion.

 

I agree with Mizzougrad96 on this one, and I disagree with anyone who says journalists shouldn't vote. whether it's ideal or not, it's good for the industry. It keeps us visible and viable and helps us maintain a place in the sports world. Some of you seem so stuck in your idealist notions you push aside self-preservation. And while I don't think every vote needs a full newspaper column, it seems reasonable and easy enough to me that any writer with a vote for any award would be asked to write up a few paragraphs on why they made the decision. This should not take very long if the writer is informed. Moreover, it's what we do. We write about sports.

Also, it's laughable to assume that an NFL scout would be unable to decipher between NFL potential and NCAA productivity. These are smart people.

 

Why does a guy's system count against him? That's certainly an argument for not drafting him. It isn't much of an argument for saying he didn't dominate.

 

Three-time Heisman winner?

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/graham-harrell-1.html

 

Graham Harrell never dominated. Even in his best (senior) season, he was eighth in passer rating.

 

I wouldn't say Graham Harrell ever dominated. I didn't like the Manziel pick and I think voters fell into the same thing.

But Troy Smith and Tim Tebow were the best players in the years they won it, regardless of what they were supposed to do later in life. I guess Matthew Stafford should have swept the 2007 voting. EDIT: Whoops, no. That should have been Jake Long, the left tackle from Michigan, or maybe Matt Ryan. Stafford was the next year.

 

How can you say that, looking at his numbers?

I think we're parsing pretty fine now.

Tebow: Mostly worthy, because he was an outstanding player, even within that system. Thus, not exactly a product of his system. More like a beneficiary.

Harrell: Mostly a product of his system. Dozens of other quarterbacks could have probably succeeded within that same system.

 

You've specifically mentioned the "brought to you by Nissan" aspect of it on to threads now, and it's the only reason you specified.

The nazelgazing can be questioned regardless of any sponsorship the Award might have.

** I should also probably mention, that when I was at Continental Airlines, we were the Official Airline of the Heisman Trophy, which was a deal I did. Business travels, and corporate travel decision makers, loved to play golf with our salesman -- when they brought along a former Heisman Trophy winner. And most of them would come to any event we wanted them to in exchange for a couple of airline tickets. **