HEISMAN 2009

I cant think of the last time I watched the Heisman Trophy presentation in actual suspense. Like Keith Jackson would say 'whoa nellie, we got a barn burner.' Gerhart, Suh, McCoy, Tebow, Ingram...Who will join the exclusive Heisman fraternity tonight? Although I do have my favorites, not one of the finalists would be a shock to me if they won. Experts, analysts, and Vegas have been going back and forth between Gerhart, Ingram, and Suh--Heres how I see it breaking down...

1st Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford

2nd Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama

3rd Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska

4th Colt McCoy, QB, Texas

5th Tim Tebow, QB, Florida

Now heres why...

I see it as a three horse race right now between Gerhart, Ingram, and Suh. First let me eliminate the other candidates before I tell you why Gerhart is going to win...

Tim Tebow had a great year, but his team lost in the SEC championship game. That red zone interception midway through the 4th all but won the game for 'Bama, and essentially took away any chance of Tebow winning it this year. I think not only was that game the de-facto national championship semifinal, I also think it was a de-facto Heisman semifinal. Had Florida won we would be talking about Tebow as one of the favorites, and not Mark Ingram. We also cant forget that Tebow missed time, which brought down his overall numbers.

Colt McCoy started slow. Texas opened up with some real patsies this year, and McCoy was given the opportunity to pad his stats, and add to his Heisman resume-- and at times he struggled. McCoy still had a great season, but it palls in comparison to what he did last year. Book end the slow start with the abysmal performance in the Big 12 championship game, and it becomes nearly impossible to justify McCoy winning.

Ndamukong Suh is by far the most interesting candidate in the group. Do I think hes deserving? Heck yes I do...Do I think the voters have it in them to give it to Suh?...No I don't. I think the voters are afraid to vote for the man named Suh, simply because they don't wanna waste their vote on a player who cant muster up enough support to win. The Heisman is suppose to be awarded to the most outstanding player in college football...Not the guy who scores the most touchdowns, or the one who is the best cover boy, but the most outstanding. So by that logic Suh should win(not to mention by that logic left tackles would be finalists every year)...But as Lee Corse would say "not so fast." The Heisman is really about glamour, its about being "sexy," and while Suh is the first defensive player in a while to have enough "sexyness" to be a finalist, I think he will end up falling just short.

And then there was two...

Mark Ingram, and Toby Gerhart. This is unbelievably close, but only one can win, and I think Gerhart should and will just beat out Ingram. Both are running backs, both are valuable to their teams, but in the end I think Gerhart's numbers and the value to his team will help him win. Gerhart leads the FBS is rushing yards, rushing attempts, and rushing touchdowns, and I don't think Stanford has 8 wins without Toby Gerhart. I do on the other hand think that Alabama still could be playing for a national championship without Ingram. The freshman Trent Richardson is a phenomenal running back for Alabama who rushed the ball 126 times, nearly half of Ingrams 249 rushes. In comparison Toby Gerhart ran the ball 311 times, the next closet on the Stanford roster was 55 by Stepfan Taylor. Ingram is a sophomore, and sophomores rarely win unless they are absolutely fabulous like Tebow was in 2007. I also happen to think the west coast voters will unite themselves in voting for Gerhart. All the time the west coast media likes to talk about a east coast "bias" in the media, well what better way to combat this "bias" then by uniting and giving the trophy to Gerhart. In the end Gerharts numbers will speak for themselves. And think about it-- why wouldnt you want to give the Heisman to an absolute beast of running back like Gerhart? Gerharts playing style can translate to every generation of football, and I think voters will be enamored with the fact that he truly is a "throwback."

Other Improp staff projections....

Wesley Sykes-

1. Ingram 2. Suh 3. Gerhart 4. McCoy 5. Tebow

Ingram wins because of how he played in the SEC championship game...Plus he goes up against some of the best defense's in the country week in and week out.

Tonight should be fun, I got my DVR all set up, I'm ready to watch, and I'm excited to see how it turns out. Remembers folk after the presentation to stick around for ESPN's 30 by 30 presentation of "The U." I don't think I've ever been so excited for a documentary.