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NCAA Scouting
And The Winner Is
by Steve Wright
17/12/2008
 So, the Heisman vote is in folks and we have ourselves a winner with Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford walking away with the trophy. Personally I would have voted for Colt McCoy, who can point to the fact that not only did his Longhorn team beat Bradfords OU squad, but also the fact that he had comparable numbers with far less of a supporting cast. McCoy is also the Horns leading rusher, despite not having anything like the DeMarco Murray/Chris Brown combo that Bradford can fall back on. Tim Tebow was always going to struggle to convince voters to make him the second repeat winner after Archie Griffin, a product as much as anything of how statistically ridiculous his season last year was.
Of course if Bradford falls apart in the National Title game and Tebow leads Florida to a convincing win then it will question once again why the trophy for the best player in the country is given before the season is even over, but that is an article for another day. Instead I would like to bring notice to five players who, because they werent QBs of National Title contending teams on ESPN each week, were not given the credit they deserved for some outstanding seasons.
James Casey – TE
Rice
The only player in the FBS to finish the regular season with over 100 catches (104. Casey was Mr. Everything for Rice this year. He finished the season with 12 TD receptions, 6 TD rushes and even added 2 TDs passing for good measure. Amazingly this was achieved while playing on the same team as Jarrett Dillard who also put up a monster statistical season. Casey was the heart of this team though, and with Dillard off to the NFL he could surpass 104 catches in 2009.
Nate Davis QB
Ball State
When Dante Love went down in Ball States fourth game of the season against Indiana, the Cardinals promising season looked lost. After all, Love is the guy who 70% of their offense was designed to go through. Into that void stepped Davis, a true leader who rallied the team around him and led from the front. His 3400 yards and 26 TDs really only tell half the story in what has been a magical season for Ball State. The ability of Davis to keep plays alive and make something out of nothing is what has keyed the Cardinals and made the run to the MAC Championship game possible.
Andre Smith – OT
Alabama
Quick, name me a skill position player for the Tide who has been anything better than average this year, anyone? Ok, so Julio Jones has shown flashes of why he will be a candidate in the next couple of years, but it was Andre Smith who led this team to the top of the polls. There are no real numbers to judge how well Smith has played this year, but Alabamas run left in key situations strategy is one that shows just how good of a player the future top 5 draft pick is. Thats not even taking into account that John Parker Wilson can ignore the left side pressure when he drops back to pass. A lineman will never win the Heisman, but Smith was as good as it gets in college this year.
Eric Berry S
Tennessee
You can make a very solid argument that Eric Berry was THE best player in the NCAA this past season. Berry is the prototype modern day safety, able to play the pass (a nation leading 7 ints) and the run (3rd on the team in tackles) with equal degrees of success. In what has been a horrible season for the Vols, Berry has been the one success story, but because the team has been so bad he has slipped somewhat under the radar. Add to that the fact that a pure defensive player has never won the award and you can see why the Heisman voters overlooked him. The sophomore is certainly one to watch for the future though.
Shonn Greene – RB
Iowa
 How the only player in the nation to run for over 100 yards in every game this season is not in and around the Heisman discussion is a perplexing one. Add in Greenes 6.2 yards per carry, and the fact he almost single handedly knocked Penn State out of BCS contention and the mystery deepens. Then throw in the fact that Iowa has no QB, and thus no passing game, that teams have been able to stack up on Greene all year, and he has still put up these numbers like 1729 yards (2nd in the nation in rushing) and 17 TDs in a power BCS conference and it all ends up making no sense at all.
So once again while the Heisman found itself in the hands of a stereotypical candidate, there were many other just as deserving candidates dotted around the college football world who were overlooked by voters. Whether it is because of the position they play, or the competition they face, some players never have a realistic shot at probably the most storied individual trophy in sport. It is, however, good to give these players recognition after some exceptional individual seasons.
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