Who will be the next great impact player in the NFL? Who will fall in the line of the best college players who then take it to the next level and flourish with such names as Flutie, Testaverde, Sanders, George, Woodson, and Williams? But one cannot forget the dominant college players whose only way of getting to Hawaii was by paying their own way? Names such as Danny Wuerffel, Rashaan Salaam, Charlie Ward [although he is doing alright for himself in the NBA], Ty Detmer, Andre Ware and Gino Toretta come to mind.
Okay, so we are debating over the Heisman Trophy winner. Now granted the award goes to the superior collegiate football player but I think you have to give more creedence to their dominance based on the competition they play against week to week and how they might also fare as a legitimate star playing on Sundays.
Had we posed this question a few weeks ago I do not think we would be writing this article. Clearly the man to beat, would have been Peter Warrick of the number one team in the nation, Florida State. Unfortunately for Peter, he decided to go on his big shopping spree but brought only twenty-two dollars with him and, well, you know the rest.
We can knock off some of these names off the list of competitors. Alexander is a pro style running back and singlehandly beat Florida a few weeks ago, but he rolled over his ankle against Ole Miss and has missed significant time.
Next, we have Drew Brees, my preseason pick to win, but with an extremely poor performance again Michigan in the "Big House" and another tough loss at the Buckeyes in Columbus, he has fallen from the ranks.
Chad Pennington has put up monster numbers, better than the other QBs aforementioned. The only problem is his competition -- Liberty, Bowling Green, Temple, Toledo, Kent, Buffalo, and the juggernaut of Northern Illinois. Chad, you can go join your boy Randy Moss in the pros as a third string back up but no Heisman for your mantelpiece.
After narrowing it down to two picks, we are left with Joey Hamilton and Ron Dayne. Both teams have played top 25 competition and both teams are in the top 10 both in a large part solely because of these two players.
Joey Hamilton has had a great year leading his team to 6-1 record. His competition is a big conference, the ACC, but really what would that conference be without Florida State? This is no Big Ten or SEC. To his credit as Lou will go on and on about, he did have a monster game against the best team of the country, Florida State, with almost 400 yards passing and 5 TDs. However, let's not look past the fact that he has piled numbers and wins up against Navy (ok they gave Notre Dame a fight), Central Florida, Maryland, UNC, Duke, and N.C. State. Let's see how Joey does too against the Georgia Bulldogs over Thanksgiving weekend.
Speaking of the Big Ten, the Heisman Trophy should return to it in the form of Ron Dayne this year. The "Great Dayne" has steadily stayed on pace in the chase for Ricky Williams' record from last year. The magical number of 6,279 is well within his reach with only two games to go against Iowa and Purdue.
Lou is going to probably whine about the first two games he played in against Ball State and Murray State and also about his small performance against Michigan in the second half. But he must not overlook 214 yards and 2 TDs rushing against then top-10 ranked Michigan State, the 161-yard day and 4 touchdowns against Ohio State, and 231 yards plus their only touchdown in a stunning loss to Cincinnati.
Let's be honest -- the Heisman has become an award for seniors primarily, who have shown excellence throughout their college career. Yes, it is supposedly only based on one year but we all know it is not. Down the road, Hamilton will not be able to see over the linemen's heads while Ron Dayne will alter the position of fullback in the NFL away from the pure lead-blocking back. Hamilton, if he wins, will most certainly join Gino, Rashaan, Ty, and Andre. Tony Dorsett set the precedent setting the all-time career rushing mark and winning the Heisman in 1976. Last year, Ricky set a new standard and he got the Heisman. Clearly if the Great Dayne pounces on the record then he will have the trophy to take back in his paws to the Cheeseheads. Strike the pose, Ron.
