by: CJ Oates, The Starting QB
We all know that in the history of the Heisman trophy that only one defensive player has won the coveted award. That guy was Charles Woodson back in ’97 as he beat out Tennessee’s Peyton Manning. The catch to this was Woodson was a playmaker not only on the defensive side of things but special teams and even offense. Well, Manti Te’o does not return any kicks nor does he play on offense but does he have the of best shot out of the history of defensive players to win the Heisman as a defensive player?
Honestly if you just look at the tale of the tape, the Heisman is usually awarded to a running back or a quarterback. There have been very few players have won the trophy playing at a different position. If you can recall, Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska had a phenomenal season. It was such a dominate season, he won Associated Press Player of the Year, Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Best Defensive), Chuck Bednarik Award (Defensive Player of the Year) Lombardi Award (Best DL/LB), and Outland Trophy (Best Interior Lineman). Even with all of that, he finished fourth in 2009 as a defensive tackle. Don’t get me wrong, I love what Te’o has done with that defense but no one in their right mind can say that Te’o is having a better season than Suh had.
I also love the character of Te’o and how resilient he has been this season. I love that he is helping his defense to virtually shut every offense down that they play every week but this is the Heisman trophy we are talking about. To be mentioned is a great achievement in itself but even Te’o knows, “Without my team, I wouldn’t be a Heisman candidate. If we weren’t 12-0, I wouldn’t be a Heisman candidate.” There is no doubt Te’o is the best defensive player in college football and his stats (103 tackles, 7 interceptions) speak volumes. He might even be the best player in college football but the Heisman goes to “… the most outstanding.” The word outstanding means standing out and we all know what stands out to us this season regardless if Notre Dame goes undefeated or not. And that is that some FRESHMAN from Texas A&M beat Alabama while breaking every SEC record (including Tebow and Newton). Had Johnny Manziel not beat ‘Bama and his numbers won’t so impressive (3,419 passing yards, 1,181 rushing yards and 43 total touchdowns) then he would have a great chance of winning it.
I know that December 21st is when the world is supposed to end but that does not mean we will have our first true defensive player to win Heisman. But we will have our first freshman. Strike that pose Johnny “The Man” Football.
