Preseason Heisman pick

Saw Klein a couple of times last year. Decent player. Has any Kansas State player ever won the Heisman? They seem to be like the Rodney Dangerfield's of their own conference.

 

No. Tyrann Mathieu, who made more big plays with LSU struggling (Oregon, Arkansas and Georgia games come to mind) to generate much of anything on offense.

 

OK, totally missed the "on offense" part. In that case, half of LSU's 15 best offensive players didn't play on offense last year. The athletes on that defense were absurd.

 

CLARIFICATION: Barkley had a lackluster senior year after a great junior year but still was picked league Offensive Co-MVP. The other top QBs in that league were juniors.
He did not make his All-County team. The first-teamer was Robbie Picazo, who is at Stanford. The second-teamer was Joshua Quezada. He was an efficient passer but a better runner on a very good team. He went to BYU as a running back and has transferred to Fresno State.

 

No. Michael Bishop was second the year Ricky Williams won, in 1998. Darren Sproles was 5th in 2003.

Klein ran in a staggering 27 touchdowns last year, and threw for 13 or 14 more. He wasn't decent last year. He was a tank last year and was more dependable from 10 yards with three plays running than any pass play. The stats are a reflection of both that and his own shortcomings passing. He has a ton of room to grow there.

K-State was four yards in the waning moments at Oklahoma State from winning the conference a year ago. A lot fell their way, but Klein is tough as nails and if they get there again, he could be in the conversation.

 

Uh no, Howard had it sewn up before the Ohio State game. People forget that he averaged two touchdowns a game that season - which doesn't sound like a lot but it was for a receiver at that time - and most of his scores were of the highlight reel variety.

Casey Weldon finished second in the voting that year. Ty Detmer, who won in 1990, was third.


EDIT: I just looked at the 1991 voting again and, holy shit, Bucky Fucking Richardson got six first place votes. That's six more than Marshall Faulk got that year.

 

No San Diego State player has ever won the Heisman.

 

So, I saw a tweet moments ago saying Alabama's Barrett Jones deserves to be in the mix. Thoughts on OL in the Heisman race? Isn't Orlando Pace the only OL to really get any talk in the modern era...or ever, for that matter?

 

Ohio State's John Hicks finished second in 1973, but well behind Penn State running back John Capelletti:

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/heisman-1973.html

(I consider 1973 the modern era because it's past the point when guys played both ways full-time and it's post-integration in the South).

Since then, Pace (fourth) and Nebraska center Dave Rimington in 1982 (fifth) are the only OLs to finish in the top 5. Michigan State's Tony Mandarich in 1988 and Pitt's Bill Fralic in 1984 both finished sixth.

 

So, every top 5 finisher, sans Pace, happened before I was born. Wow.

 

I think that is why they have the Outland Trophy, to give linemen some recognition.

 

They have a trophy for QBs and RBs and DBs and every other position. By definition, I must say he qualifies.