Stiff Competition Creates Heisman Drama

Casey Weldon remembers walking into the Downtown Athletic Club in lower Manhattan in 1991 and trying to absorb its history. At that time, the club was famous for its annual awarding of the Heisman Trophy in its building. While the presentation has since moved to the Nokia Theatre Times Square, the Heisman Trophy remains the country's most enduring sports symbol.

Weldon knew he wasn't going to win the Heisman 18 years ago -- the Florida State quarterback finished a distant second behind Michigan receiver/specialist Demsond Howard, who captured 85 percent of the first-place votes, the largest margin in the history of the trophy at that time. Returning Heisman winner Ty Detmer of BYU placed third.

Like the rest of the country, Weldon has no earthly idea which of the five Heisman finalist will be hoisting the trophy Saturday night. The race is actually shaping up to be one of the closest of all time. And the winner is ...

Alabama running back Mark Ingram?

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart?

Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh?

And let's not forget the quarterbacks -- Florida's Tim Tebow and Texas' Colt McCoy?

McCoy capped a big Thursday night for the Big 12, winning the Maxwell Award honoring the nation's best all-around player. McCoy also won the Walter Camp Football Foundation's Player of the Year Award for the second consecutive season earlier Thursday.

Before he beat out Ingram and Tebow for the Maxwell, he picked up the Davey O'Brien Award at the annual college football awards at Disney World, given to the nation's best quarterback.

McCoy said his awards doesn't give him any indication how the Heisman race will play out.

Weldon is also unsure.

"It doesn't seem like any of the players had crazy, breakout years above the rest," Weldon told FanHouse Friday. "Colt won the major awards (Thursday), so that could mean something but it's hard to tell."

Exactly.

The last player to win the three major player awards (Maxwell, Walter Camp and Heisman) in the same season was Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne in 1999. In fact, the trifecta sweep has been accomplished just 19 times since 1967, the first time when all three awards were presented.

On the flip side, Penn State's Larry Johnson in 2002, Indiana's Anthony Thompson in 1989 and Pittsburgh's Hugh Green in 1980 are the only three players to win both the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards -- and not the Heisman Trophy.

Still, in what might be one of the tightest races in recent Heisman Trophy history, a winner has been projected.

According to the website www.stiffarmtrophy.com, which has correctly predicted the Heisman winner every year since 2002, Ingram will become Alabama's first Heisman winner.

Ingram will be followed by Gerhart and Suh, citing less-than-stellar performances in their respective conference games cost McCoy and Tebow. The pair is predicted to finish fourth and fifth, respectively.

However, there's there's "no slam-dunk candidate," Chris Huston, the creator of HeismanPundit.com, told the Dallas Morning News.

For some, Tebow, tears aside, is the sentimental favorite.

The 2007 Heisman winner is the second player to be a finalist for the award three times, joining Herschel Walker (1980-82). Tebow finished third last season even though he had the most first-place votes.

"Having the chance to go back to New York means a lot to me," Tebow said earlier this week. "It is a special honor but it wouldn't be possible for me to have this opportunity without my teammates and coaches."

During the college awards show at Disney World in Orlando, the senior quarterback showed once again why he is so revered by UF fans for what he does off the field. Tebow walked the red carpet at the college football awards with Kelly Faughnan, a 20-year-old Gator fan from Virginia who is recovering from a brain tumor.

While Alabama's four finalists, including Ingram, were blanked in the awards show, Ingram could make history Saturday.

The sophomore running back, who rushed for a school-record 1,542 yards and 15 touchdowns, is the first Crimson Tide player invited to the ceremony since quarterback Jay Barker in 1994. David Palmer's third-place finish in 1993 was the best showing in program history.

"I'd feel real good just to go represent our school, this rich tradition that we have and all the Alabama family, my teammates, my coaches, alumni and fans," Ingram said earlier this week.

"It would be great just to represent them and maybe bring back a trophy for them."

It's a crowded field.

Gerhart, a senior, is second in the nation in rushing (1,736 yards) and first in scoring (26 touchdowns).

Suh, a one-man wrecking crew -- just ask McCoy -- had 4 1/2 sacks against the Longhorns in last Saturday's Big 12 Championship and finished the season with 12 sacks.

McCoy, last year's Heisman runner-up, overcame a slow start and threw for 3,512 yards and completed more than 70 percent of his passes. He's also the Longhorns' second-leading rusher with 348 yards.

Tebow is eighth in passing efficiency (155.59) and has 18 touchdowns passes, but his numbers pale in comparison to his previous two seasons.

In the closest Heisman vote ever, Bo Jackson won the trophy by 45 points over Chuck Long in 1985. In 2001, Nebraska's Eric Crouch won the Heisman by a mere 62 points over Florida's Rex Grossman.

Weldon might be a long-ago footnote in Heisman folklore, but it's still a ceremony he cherishes.

"You know, I never realized what I was in the middle of until I arrived in New York City with my family and walked into the Athletic Club," Weldon said.

"Just to be there and stay there and be part of the whole event was so special, and I know it's a moment these guys will appreciate, too."