SEC
As the regular season winds down and three SEC West teams are still fighting for a berth in Atlanta and the BCS championship, the Heisman race has come down to three players in the SEC. No surprise, these standouts also represent the top three teams in the current BCS standings.
1. Trent Richardson, Alabama, RB: He’ll get an invite to New York by default. The Crimson Tide will be 11-1 without having to play in Atlanta and Richardson will be the SEC’s leading rusher. Richardson has been Mr. Reliable for Alabama this season with eight 100-yard games and 20 touchdowns. The workhorse on a boring offense, Richardson gets the nod as the SEC’s favorite to win the bronze statue. He would join former Tide back Mark Ingram as a recent winner.
2. Tyler Wilson, Arkansas, QB: A darkhorse player of the year candidate in the preseason, Wilson has solidified his name in Heisman talks with impressive numbers since a Week 4 loss at Alabama. Wilson utilizes his talent at wide receiver with pinpoint accuracy and finds the end zone on well-placed fade routes. Wilson gets an opportunity this week against the country’s best defense to win the award outright. A 400-yard, four-touchdown tally against LSU would have a handful of wealthy Razorback fans booking flights to the Big Apple.
3. Eric Reid, Tyrann Mathieu, Brandon Taylor, Morris Claiborne, DB : LSU’s Heisman candidate(s) can’t be a player on offense because no one jumps out at writers as the Tigers’ go-to playmaker. Besides, LSU’s best talent, perhaps the most impressive in the country, is on the other side of the ball. Reid, Mathieu, Taylor and Claiborne have anchored a dominant Tigers’ secondary, combining for 217 tackles, 14 TFL, 11 INT, 6 FF and 3 TD. Since only one of these players would get an invite, I’d give the nod to Claiborne who also returns punts for the Tigers. It’ll be interesting to see how this four-headed monster performs against pass-happy Arkansas Friday afternoon.
Richardson is the best of this bunch, with Wilson a distant second. LSU is a team of players without one individual. TR is accurately described as a workhorse, a blue collar man that earns every yard he gets against defenses who know he’s going to tote the ball most of the time.
I would argue the same for Wilson. People know he’s going to sling the ball because of a mediocre (at best) running game, and yet he still delivers with efficiency and accuracy despite being put on his back so much. He has endured as much criticism as he has praise and still his work ethic and his ability to operate outside of the criticism (especially the comparisons to Ryan Mallett) has the Razorbacks at 10 wins. He would for sure need the marquee win in Baton Rouge to win but I would say he and TR are on the same level.
Wilson is a longshot for the award this year, mostly due to the fact that you have to run a PR campaign before the season begins. RGIII should win the award hands down, since he is Baylor’s entire offense and a freak of nature. What surprises me the most with him is his football IQ, did you see some of those plays where he was able to escape the sack and get the ball out of bounds? You rarely see that kind of poise from a mobile QB, even Vick gets sacked all the time. That being said, Wilson has a great shot at being a front runner next year, and I’m still pulling for Richardson to keep the trophy in the SEC. Thank God the goldenboy Luck is out of the picture.
I’m with you Michael, not a big fan of Luck and that yucky Pro-Style O
Completely agreed. Richardson is first by miles. I think he favors anyone in the nation at that.
Why will Trent’s invite be by default? He seems pretty dang legitimate to me…
Its kinda sad but looking around the SEC, there have been so many injuries to top players that there is a big gulf between 1st to 2nd and a bigger gulf between 2nd to 3rd. If only Lattimore and Bray were able to play the whole year, then the list would be a closer race. But its Obvious that Richardson is the best player on the list. I am sold on Arkansas’s receivers more so than Wilson.
‘Bama has only played a bunch of cupcakes. Their only real SEC team they have played is LSU, where they lost. This weekend they play their nemesis, Auburn. Look out, ‘bammer we’re waiting on you. WDE!
LOL. At least Bama beats their cupcakes! The two that we played.
Make mistake, bama is for real. The season and it’s victories or losses goes out of the window during the iron bowl but make no mistake, if auburn keeps it close, I’ll be shocked.