The idiots who vote for the Heisman Trophy just might make the right decision this year. When the question comes up as to who is the "most outstanding player in college football" (the criteria given by the Downtown Athletic Club to Heisman voters), everyone who seems reasonably knowledgeable about the game seems to be unequivocal in their final decision -- it's Ndamukong Suh (pronounced en-de-ma-ken soo, I think), the 6-foot-4, 305-pound defensive tackle from the University of Nebraska.
Big Suh finished with 82 tackles, an absurd number for an interior defensive lineman and 12 more than any other defensive lineman, as well as 12 sacks, another number that's atypically high for someone whose primary job it is to stop the inside run. He also leads Nebraska's defense (which is ninth in the country in yards allowed per game and second in points per game -- not too shabby) in tackles, tackles for a loss, sacks, blocked kicks (Suh's blocked three by himself) and quarterback hurries.
Everyone who watches him play is blown away by how much he visibly affects every play. At a position where it is hard to stand out, either in the eyes of the casual football fan or statistically, Suh has accomplished both. Again, just about every football talking head acknowledges Suh is the best, most outstanding player in college football. And at the same time, they all acknowledge that Suh probably won't win the Heisman -- and they have both history and common sense on their side.
Without fail, the Heisman is won almost every year by a quarterback or running back, as 16 of the last 17 have come from either position. The last defensive player to win the Heisman was Charles Woodson in 1997, and he had the benefit of returning kicks as well. I'm pretty sure Suh would be the first player to win the Heisman without scoring a touchdown in that season (ends scored touchdowns in the 1940s, right?).
The love given to running backs and quarterbacks makes sense. They're the ones who put up the statistics, who get the ball virtually every down on offense and who score the points. Anyone can tell when a running back or quarterback is playing well. It's the easy choice, and it's the choice Heisman voters invariably make. So, Big Suh's got the RB/QB factor going against him. He's also got two things going in his favor, though.
The first is that this has been a particularly dull year for Heisman candidates. Of the other finalists invited to New York, none are up to typical Heisman standards. Running back Toby Gerhart had an impressive year but plays for 8-4 Stanford, which lost to Wake Forest in the season's second week. Alabama Running back Mark Ingram meanwhile was held to 30 yards on 16 carries on national television under two weeks ago.
Quarterbacks Tim Tebow of Florida and Colt McCoy of Texas have struggled mightily compared to last year. If either had posted their 2008-09 numbers this year, he would have run away with the award.
The second factor in Suh's favor is his dominant performance against Texas in the nationally televised Big 12 Championship game. Suh finished with 12 tackles, 4.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries and was within a last-second field goal of leading Nebraska to the upset of the season. And voters love a dominant recent performance (the memory of Suh bringing fellow Heisman finalist McCoy down to the turf five times), almost as much as they love quarterbacks and running backs.
Suh really has a better-than-average shot at winning the Heisman, much better than he would in an average year. I'm hopeful, but not optimistic, that Heisman voters will make the right decision and honor uncommon greatness from such an unheralded position.
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Ethan Frigon is a junior majoring in economics and international relations. He can be reached at Ethan.Frigon@tufts.edu.
