Vote for the Heisman trophy

December 12, 2008 by 23 Comments

The finalists for the Heisman trophy for the year’s best collegiate football player are these three quarterbacks:

Sam Bradford (Oklahoma)
Colt McCoy (Texas)
Tim Tebow (Florida)

Who would you vote for? (On Saturday, after the winner is announced, you can also use this space to discuss the results.)

UPDATE: My fellow Okie Bradford won it! Woo-hoo!

Filed Under: Football 23 Comments
About Gene Veith

I am a retired English professor and college administrator. I have written over 20 books on different facets of Christianity & Culture.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/17639370291865261582 Cindy Ramos

    Colt McCoy! It’s a cool name. So…Texan.

  • Brady G.

    Tim Tebow . . . his numbers aren’t the same as last year, but . . .

  • Conibear Trapp

    Shonn Greene, running back from Iowa. How can the nation’s leading rusher not at least be a finalist?

  • Manxman

    Tim Tebow

  • Holly

    Sam Bradford

  • Kirk

    Tebow gets it. Sure, he stumbled a bit at the beginning of the season, but has been practically perfect since then. Combine his arm with his intelligence, strength, speed, natural leadership and personality, and you have quite possibly the perfect QB. I think he deserves the trophy again.

  • Efrem

    I can’t understand why Graham Harell of Texas Tech has not gotten into the mix?

  • Bruce Gee

    Holly gets the Cranach Award!!

    (Folks, the point of this post is to vote for the Okie, don’t you know?)

  • Don S

    Tebow has my vote. The son of missionaries, strong Christian testimony and character, and a homeschooler to boot!

  • Don S

    Efrem @ 7: The reason Harrell is not a Heisman finalist, invited to the ceremony, is apparently because he did not get very many votes. The Heisman committee reviews the votes, and invites between 3 and 6 finalists to the dinner/ceremony. That number is determined by where there is a “natural break” in the voting. Apparently, only the three invitees received substantial numbers of votes.

    Now as to why Harrell did not receive more Heisman votes, that is a different question. I suspect it is because Texas Tech is not a storied program, as are Florida, Oklahoma and Texas, so it is more difficult for an outstanding athlete from such a school to get the same level of respect. Fair or not, that’s the way it is.

  • Matt Fleming

    Bradford clearly has the best stats of the three, the only stat he’s short on is pass completion percentage, but this is overlooked by the fact that he has more completions than either of the other two, and his rating is higher.

    Colt McCoy may get the pity vote from anyone believing Texas should have gone to the Big 12 Championship, but his stats and his record don’t give him much aid.

    Tebow has a good shot, but depending on the voters’ logic, he will probably not get it. While he’s an excellent candidate and he has rallied his team well, his stats are nowhere near as impressive as they were last year, and are far behind the other two. His performance has not merited being the second person ever to win two Heismans.

    My vote would go to Bradford, but then again, I’m biased. So will the fact that he boasts the best stats and has proven his athleticism over the past few weeks be enough to overcome the fact that he’s a sophomore? We will see.

  • http://watersblogged.blogspot.com Bob Waters

    Write-in: Shawn Greene of Iowa.

  • http://thekurths.com Karianne

    Colt McCoy for president! Er, Heisman.

    Well, or president. What the heck. He’s just so cute!

  • http://topheratlarge.blogspot.com Chris H

    The only way that Bradford won’t get it is if he and Colt McCoy cancel each other out. Since the vote is regional, that is very possible. Go Big Red!!

  • http://www.geneveith.com Veith

    How could Tim Tebow be a serious contender? He didn’t have near the performance he had last year, and his numbers are far short of both Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford.

  • Matt Fleming

    BOOMER!

  • Rev. Tom Fast

    How could Tim Tebow be a serious contender? Well, you know what they say about statistics, don’t you? Seriously, a football player is more than just a stat machine. Tebow’s leadership qualities are off the charts. It’s a cliche, but it’s true, he makes everyone around him better than they really are. He didn’t win. Perhaps he didn’t deserve to win. But he certainly deserved to be a finalist.

    Of course, I’m a die hard Florida Gator fan.

  • Carl Vehse

    Gene Veith nailed the final Heisman trophy trifecta:

    Sam Bradford (Oklahoma)
    Colt McCoy (Texas)
    Tim Tebow (Florida)

  • The Rev. Tom Fast

    My “objective” opinion as to why Tebow came in third instead of second or first in the ballot? I think commentators on other sites are right in saying there is “Tebow fatigue.” Such fatigue was made evident by Colt McCoy, who came in one spot ahead of Tebow, rolling his eyes during the Tebow segment of the ceremony.

    I wish my Gators were playing Texas in a bowl game this years.

    Theology….ethics…politics….culture….I’ll just sit back and watch you guys write about all that insignificant stuff. But mess with my Gators and their fearless leader, and you’d better watch out. :-)

  • The Rev. Tom Fast

    Dr. Veith,

    I didn’t realize you were an OU alumnist.

    Bradford certainly is a worthy recipient of the Heisman trophy. I also thought he was well spoken at the ceremony.

    I’m a rabid Gator fan and am really looking forward to the championship game on Jan 8th. You want to know what I’m afraid of? I’m less afraid of your receivers and quarterback than I am of your offensive line and running backs. Seems to me Bradford has had all day to pass this season and if we can’t put any pressure on him we are in for a long day.

    I’m also afraid of Stoops, as he is a great coach and will have the team well-prepared for the game, no doubt. Along the same line of thinking, Stoops is going to have to work extra hard to prepare Bradford for the game because being a Heisman winner really serves as a distraction to the bowl games. History bears this out.

  • Efrem

    But Rev. Tom:

    I would not worry about OU too much. As much as their offense was spectacular, their defense (Texas and OK State games) leaves a lot to be desired. Tebow should have field day against them. Also, as USC and LSU has shown, OU has the habit of being a paper tiger.

  • Don S

    I attended the Orange Bowl in 2005 for the OU-USC game. 55-19, as I recall. It was a lot of fun for the minority of us who were Trojan fans. That was the last national championship game to feature two Heisman Trophy winners (Jason White for OU and Matt Leinert for USC). Hopefully, OU will put up a better fight this time. :)

  • Rev. Tom Fast

    Efrem,

    Your words are comforting. I do think if Percy Harvin, college football’s best kept secret, is completely health, we will win the game. He has the best first step in the country, as I hope OU gets to see. And I don’t think folks really realize how good Tebow is in so many ways. He can will the entire team to victory. The recent game against Alabama was a classic and one of the most gutsy performances by a quarterback I’ve ever seen.

    With all that said, I am still nervous about OU. The Gators are young on defense and I hope they’re not exposed. They are very talented, but young.

    On another note…you know who I thought deserved to be more in the running for the Heisman? Michael Crabtree did. Man, that kid is awesome. Wow.

    Go Gators!