What Does Jeremiah Masoli Need to Do to Win the Heisman Trophy?

In order for Jeremiah Masoli, the University of Oregon quarterback, to win the Heisman, there are a few things that need to happen.  The first and foremost factor in deciding whether he wins the trophy is that he has to win games.  If the Ducks lose more than one game this season, then you can almost certainly count him out.  Now, it would still be possible for him to win if the Ducks lose two games but he would need a lot of help from external forces. As much as the Heisman is an individual award, it is driven heavily by team success.  If your team doesn’t win games, then you don’t win the Heisman.  So, the Ducks need to win.

Next up, he needs to stay healthy.  This is a given but as we’ve seen in the past few years, it has to be said when you’re talking about an Oregon quarterback.  Hopefully the trend will stop and Masoli will be healthy all year.

In addition, he needs to continue his dominance in the running game but he must continue to improve in the passing game.  If you have ever watched his game film from his time at City College of San Francisco, then you know he can throw the rock.  However, Division 1 is a lot more competitive and it took Masoli a while to get used to the speed.  He certainly looked a lot better in the passing game during the spring game and he definitely has the receivers this year to make it happen.

Finally, he is going to need national exposure.  He’ll need to make the highlight reels in the same manner that he did at the end of last year by running over defenders or faking them out of their cleats and completing the big passes.  He also needs to have national exposure through televised games.  So far the TV schedule looks promising and if the Ducks are hot then more games will be televised later in the season.  He will need the national exposure to get people talking.

Is all of this possible?  Yes, but it isn’t a given.  It is going to take a team effort and an exceptional season to get Masoli the Heisman Trophy.  I’m rooting for him.