Sorting out the Heisman candidates

It has been proven that just because you win the Heisman in college football doesn't mean you will be the best professional football player. Look at last year's winner, Carson Palmer. While Palmer will probably be a good professional quarterback one day, there are QBs who were picked below him in the draft and finished below him in the Heisman voting who are doing adequate jobs in the pros like Byron Leftwich of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the now-injured Kyle Boller of the Baltimore Ravens.

Regardless of the fact that the Heisman carries no guarantees of turning out a good pro, it remains the highest achievement to bring home in college sports.

While there are many weeks until the award is given out, it never hurts to chart the possible candidates.

On the top of everybody's list has to be the Pittsburgh Panthers' wide receiver sophomore Larry Fitzgerald. After a breakout freshman season in which Fitzgerald shattered almost every Big East freshman receiving record, the Minneapolis, Minnesota native returned this year to prove his success wasn't a fluke. With defensive backs draped all over him every game, in only nine games Fitzgerald already has 68 receptions for 1,282 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Fitzgerald faced considerable challenges in the off-season - losing his mother, who died of cancer, and close friend, wide receiver Billy Gaines, who died falling through a church ceiling, within months of each other. Still the receiver focused and became better in the off-season. If any receiver is to win the award, it has to be Fitzgerald.

If a quarterback is going to win the award, it will be either Oklahoma's Jason White or Mississippi's Eli Manning. North Carolina State's Philip Rivers and Pittsburgh's Rod Rutherford should be on the board, but will fall short.

Currently the nod has to go to White just because his Sooners are still undefeated. While it is tough to beat a Manning because of the family's great name recognition, White has thrown 32 touchdowns with only six interceptions compared to Manning's 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. White's quarterback rating of 176.6 is also off the chart.

True, White definitely has a better supporting cast than Manning, but White has certainly excelled with the Sooners.

A quarterback that most certainly will not get the award, but should be a finalist, is Texas Tech quarterback B.J. Symons. What Symons has going against him is that he plays in the high powered Texas Tech offense which has consistently padded quarterback's stats. Need proof: refer to Kliff Kingsbury. Still, Symons is a dynamite quarterback. He has thrown 16 interceptions, but his 44 touchdown passes in ten games are hard to overlook. What is different than in past years for the Red Raiders is that the team actually has a respectable 7-3 record.

Even in a losing effort, running back Kevin Jones' nationally televised performance at Pittsburgh might have been enough to earn him a seat as a finalist. The Virginia Tech running back is almost certainly leaving school after this year and he wants the Heisman. Through nine games, he already has a career high 1,104 yards rushing with almost a fifth of those yards coming in his 241-yard performance at Pitt. Jones is fast, strong, but also confident bordering on cocky, which will play into his possible Heisman selection.

Michigan running back Chris Perry is on the outside looking in. While he might be the most consistent top performer in college football this year, his lack of flash hurts. Perry has rushed for at least 1,100 yards in the last two seasons with 1,313 yards through the Wolverines first ten games this season. While his 4.3 yards per carry against Michigan State in Michigan's last game is not impressive, his ability to carry the ball 51 times for 219 yards is.

When comparing the Hokies and Wolverines, the teams are a toss-up, so it might just come down to Jones' raw athleticism carrying him to a Heisman finalist seat.

If the four finalists were selected today, the seats would have to go to Fitzgerald, White, Manning, and Jones. Perry also has a shot, while a potential wild card is USC's quarterback Matt Leinart, whose numbers are on par with Manning, but is playing for a much better team. However, the voters' west coast bias might hurt his chances.