Picking Early-Season Candidates for the Hypothetical No-Hype Heisman

I really hate the Heisman Trophy awards process. It routinely rewards the offensive skill position player with the best statistics at the biggest national championship contender of the year: Since the beginning of the BCS era in 1998, only four winners (Ricky Williams, Ron Dayne, Carson Palmer, and Tim Tebow) have played for teams that didn’t make the BCS title game. And defenders shouldn’t even dream of buying tickets to New York for the ceremony. So I want to spotlight a few players having great seasons who have no chance at the Heisman. They deserve someone’s praise.

Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State. Want a hyper-accurate quarterback who keys a national championship contender? Moore leads the nation in passing efficiency, completes almost 70% of his passes, and has thrown just one interception this season.

Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati. How about a hyper-accurate quarterback who’s basically the entire offense for a national championship contender? Pike’s story is great -- he was playing with a broken arm last year -- but his stats are even better, with 1,223 yards and 11 TDs on the season. Even more importantly, he’s carrying a team that has yet to have a running back top 200 yards for the year. (He’s also probably the closest to an authentic Heisman candidate on this list.)

Eric Norwood, LB, South Carolina. He’s been the Gamecocks’ rock for four years now, but he’s off to an especially hot start this year, with six sacks and an interception return for a score in just four games.

Eric Decker, WR, Minnesota. How’s this for consistency? Decker’s had nine, ten, eight, and eight catches in his first four games this year. Oh, and he made this catch, bled from the mouth and threw a TD pass later in that game.

Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma. The statistical contributions of a defensive tackle are hard to measure, but Oklahoma leads the nation in rushing defense and is fourth in sacks. McCoy’s a load up front and an important reason why.Eric Berry, S, Tennessee. Sure, Berry has a real Heisman campaign, but it’s not going to help. He could average 17 tackles a game instead of the 7.75 he currently does, and he still wouldn’t sniff New York, so strong is the anti-defense bias. But he’s the undisputed leader of the eighth-ranked total defense in the nation, one that’s also in the top 15 nationally both against the pass and the run, and watching him dominate games from the safety position is as fun as this hit. (Language in video NSFW.)

Feel free to add your own submissions in the comments.

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