Why Woodson won Heisman, and why Clowney can

[gobluejeff86]

Hey all-heard Clowney on the radio this morning talking about the Heisman, and I agree he can win it if he's dominant enough. I thought Suh should have won his last year. When Charles Woodson won in '97, he literally took away half the field and keyed our last truly dominant defense. He also ran back some kicks and caught some TD's, but his true brilliance was on defense. If you've never seen the legendary one-handed interception against Michigan State-enjoy, and try to figure out how high he is in the air as he catches a ball that's clearly being thrown away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk5u20AuXkE

[yFSC]

It sure would be interesting to see Clowney get a few looks in the backfield like he did in HS, but that would open him up to big hits, and I wouldn't put it past a few players to try & take him out.

[Rebel4ever]

Originally Posted by yFSC

It sure would be interesting to see Clowney get a few looks in the backfield like he did in HS, but that would open him up to big hits, and I wouldn't put it past a few players to try & take him out.

Interesting, yes. But no way our coaches even consider it.

[trapper82]

The problem with defensive guys is that you can go away from them, double or triple team them, and because its not stats based when that occurs, they fail to get the votes they deserve.

After this year I will be AMAZED if a purely defensive player ever wins it. I just can't see it happening, not after a Senior Linebacker on an undefeated team playing for the National Championship with great stats (103 tackles, 7 ints, 1 FR, 11 PD and 1.5 sacks) failed to win.

[brat]

Still say since the SEC refs refuse to call holding on the OL unless it is so blatant and open to view of everyone watching, he can't win. Makes it all but impossible to get the huge number of sacks, forced fumbles, etc. that he would need to be a frontrunner for the award. If the SEC refs called it like in the Clempson game (I still think they did it since they were in an ACC stadium), where he could get lots of sacks, that is another story.

Would love to be proved wrong.

[hellraiser24]

Originally Posted by brat

Still say since the SEC refs refuse to call holding on the OL unless it is so blatant and open to view of everyone watching, he can't win. Makes it all but impossible to get the huge number of sacks, forced fumbles, etc. that he would need to be a frontrunner for the award. If the SEC refs called it like in the Clempson game (I still think they did it since they were in an ACC stadium), where he could get lots of sacks, that is another story.

Would love to be proved wrong.

Great point Brat. It is a shame that holding is not as called as much anymore. They need to start calling it more before things get out of hand on the line.

Suh came close to winning it in 2009, but Ingram did put up huge numbers. I think with Teo finishing 2nd this year, earning a lot of first place votes, it paves the way for a true defensive player to win it in the next few years. If Teo won it this year, there would be no way a defensive player could win it next year, but since he lost, the idea of putting a defensive player at #1 on the ballot is a thought that could still be in voters' minds.

[Mick Chicken]

Originally Posted by hellraiser24

Great point Brat. It is a shame that holding is not as called as much anymore. They need to start calling it more before things get out of hand on the line.

Suh came close to winning it in 2009, but Ingram did put up huge numbers. I think with Teo finishing 2nd this year, earning a lot of first place votes, it paves the way for a true defensive player to win it in the next few years. If Teo won it this year, there would be no way a defensive player could win it next year, but since he lost, the idea of putting a defensive player at #1 on the ballot is a thought that could still be in voters' minds.

I agree. I'm glad T'eo didn't win it this year, partly because he wasn't the best defensive player let alone the best overall player in cfb, but also because that would have made it more difficult for a defensive player to win it this year...but i'm glad he finished 2nd and got so much publicity in the process

[trapper82]

Originally Posted by hellraiser24

Great point Brat. It is a shame that holding is not as called as much anymore. They need to start calling it more before things get out of hand on the line.

Suh came close to winning it in 2009, but Ingram did put up huge numbers. I think with Teo finishing 2nd this year, earning a lot of first place votes, it paves the way for a true defensive player to win it in the next few years. If Teo won it this year, there would be no way a defensive player could win it next year, but since he lost, the idea of putting a defensive player at #1 on the ballot is a thought that could still be in voters' minds.

But the voters you are talking about have two major things going for them that will prevent it:

1. All former Heisman winners get a vote, and they are ALL offensive players, minus one that played Defense, Offense and Special teams. By and large, they lean Offensive.

2. Regionally, guys get support. Collin Klein got 60 first place votes this year, and that's just silly. Not surprisingly, they all came from the Midwest. If you were going to vote for a QB in this class it is debatable, but not ridiculous. Voting for Klein over Manziel was laughable after Klein's performance against Baylor.

So basically you have some voters that lean offense no matter what, and you have others that lean their region no matter what, combine that together and you get a situation where a defensive player winning will be rare.

[trapper82]

Originally Posted by Mick Chicken

I agree. I'm glad T'eo didn't win it this year, partly because he wasn't the best defensive player let alone the best overall player in cfb, but also because that would have made it more difficult for a defensive player to win it this year...but i'm glad he finished 2nd and got so much publicity in the process

I'll agree to disagree here. Whether you hate Notre Dame or love Notre Dame, he came up with big defensive plays week after week when they needed them. 7 int's in one season...ridiculous.

[usc1]

Originally Posted by trapper82

The problem with defensive guys is that you can go away from them, double or triple team them, and because its not stats based when that occurs, they fail to get the votes they deserve.

After this year I will be AMAZED if a purely defensive player ever wins it. I just can't see it happening, not after a Senior Linebacker on an undefeated team playing for the National Championship with great stats (103 tackles, 7 ints, 1 FR, 11 PD and 1.5 sacks) failed to win.

Suh had a better individual year than Teo. 7 INT for a LB to me is more of a guy just being in the right place at the right time.

[U-Dub Gamecock]

Originally Posted by brat

Still say since the SEC refs refuse to call holding on the OL unless it is so blatant and open to view of everyone watching, he can't win. Makes it all but impossible to get the huge number of sacks, forced fumbles, etc. that he would need to be a frontrunner for the award. If the SEC refs called it like in the Clempson game (I still think they did it since they were in an ACC stadium), where he could get lots of sacks, that is another story.

Would love to be proved wrong.

The only time the SEC called holding all effing year long was during the Clemson game... we had 7 holding calls on us (Just 1 for Clemson)..

Only 3 times ALL YEAR LONG was holding called on our opponents...

[trapper82]

Originally Posted by usc1

Suh had a better individual year than Teo. 7 INT for a LB to me is more of a guy just being in the right place at the right time.

Agreed, but the competition for Suh was greater than it was for Te'o. Ingram was a monster for number 1 Alabama that year, and Gerhart had a great season leading the nation in rushes.