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One of the most wide-open Heisman Trophy races finally has some clarity. Stanford's Toby Gerhart, Alabama's Mark Ingram, Texas' Colt McCoy, Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh and Florida's Tim Tebow have been named as finalists for the 75th edition of the award, to be handed out Saturday in New York.
Suh, a defensive tackle from Nebraska, would be the first purely defensive player to win the award. Michigan's Charles Woodson, a defensive back, won the award in 1997 but was also a wide receiver and punt returner for the Wolverines. Suh certainly had the best closing argument, registering 4.5 sacks in a Big 12 championship loss to Texas. He led the Huskers in tackles for a second straight season, with 82, an unlikely feat for a defensive lineman, and even broke up 10 passes, second on the team.
Florida's Tebow, meanwhile, will be trying to win his second Heisman for a second time. Tebow won the award in 2007 and was a finalist last year, finishing third behind McCoy and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford.
Ingram took over Alabama's offense this season after the graduation of Glen Coffee last season and might have been the biggest factor in the Tide's rise to No. 1 in the nation. Ingram rushed for 99 or more yards in eight of his last nine games, totaled 1,542 total yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. He also caught for 322 yards and three touchdowns.
Ingram would be the third straight sophomore to win the award, but just the second true sophomore. Tebow became the first sophomore to win the award in 2007, while Bradford won the honor last year as a redshirt sophomore. The Tide will face Texas for the national championship Jan. 7.
Toby Gerhart may be the most surprising of the bunch, at least in terms of preseason expectation. A second-team all-Pac-10 running back last season, Gerhart exploded for 1,736 yards and a nation's-best 26 rushing touchdowns. The senior led all BCS conference players in rushing and finished second in the nation, behind only Fresno State's Ryan Mathews. Gerhart emerged as a serious candidate after rushing for 200 yards in a win over Washington in late September, then cemented his candidacy with 176 yards in Stanford's upset of Southern California. He finished his season with 205 yards and four touchdowns against Notre Dame.
Like Tebow, Texas' McCoy will be making a return trip to New York. The Longhorns quarterback finished second in voting last year. McCoy went undefeated this season and became college football's all-time winningest quarterback. He couldn't quite match last year's numbers, but completed 70.5 percent of his passes for 3512 and 27 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
The award winner will be announced in a ceremony in New York Saturday night.
Five Players, Including Suh, Tebow, Named Heisman Finalists
Dec 7, 2009 – 6:00 PM
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