2011 Heisman—And the Winner Is….

There has been a lot of hype around this year’s Heisman. Many predict a very close race with Baylor’s RGIII or Robert Griffin III appearing to have the most late momentum of any of the candidates. Who is most deserving of the award? Many debate whether the Heisman should go to the “best” or “most valuable” player in college football. Still others suggest it should go to the most well rounded.

To resolve this debate, at least in my own mind, I went to the Heisman website. Here is what it sets forth as the criteria for the Heisman trophy:

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 Trust, furthermore, has a charitable mission to support amateur athletics and to provide greater opportunities to the youth of our country. Our goal through these charitable endeavors is for the Heisman Trophy to symbolize the fostering of a sense of community responsibility and service to our youth, especially those disadvantaged or afflicted.

Under this definition, it became clear to me that the award should go to the player with the best demonstrated ability who, through hard work, and with integrity, made the most outstanding contributions to college football in 2011. In other words, this definition goes beyond stats and to the player that produces superior stats while acting with integrity and is a role model to the youth of our country.

There are 870 media votes, broken into six geographic voting regions and 55 former Heisman winners that make up the voting for the award. When the results are announced on Saturday night, I believe the winner will be RGIII and here is why.

RGIII
• Eye popping stats. 3,998 passing yards, 36 TDs at a 72% completion rate, and 644 rushing yards for 9 more TDs. I believe he will carry the Southwest, Mid Atlantic and Northeast regions. He graduated in three years and was a member of the honor roll. Demonstrated service in the community. Also a track All American that worked his way back from a knee injury.

Andrew Luck
• Apologies Cardinal Fan. Stanford’s 3rd runner up finish in last three years. Luck, likely the #1 overall pick in next year’s NFL draft has the stats: 3,170 passing yards, 35 TDS at a 70% completion rate, but did not do enough in the big games or down the stretch. Mainly, a poor performance on national TV vs. Oregon will cost him the award. Luck, also an honor roll student, good teammate and well regarded member of the community will carry voting in the West region, but will still settle for second.

Trent Richardson and Tyrann Mathieu
• Will cancel each other out splitting the Southeast region voting.
• Both great stats; IMHO Mathieu is best player in college football.
• Mathieu loses points for drug related suspension. Does not comport with integrity requirement or set good example for our youth. That said, the “Honey Badger”, if he can stay focused is the odds on favorite to win the award in 2012

Montee Ball
• If a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound? Montee likely to carry the Midwest region, and had startlingly good stats: 1,759 rushing yards and 38 TDS, but was the second best player on his own team, had no signature games and played in the Big 10. In other words, outside of the Midwest, and no offense to Montee, but no one watched or cared who has a vote. Good season though.