The Heisman Club: Who Should Join Cam Newton in New York City?
Out of all the awards and honors doled out at the end of the college football regular season, there’s none that can compare to the prestigious Heisman Trophy. It’s the most recognized and historically relevant award in the entire sport.
While it’s hard to pinpoint one player who meets the broad qualifications of the award which is simply the "best player" in the game, there are usually a few dominant players that tend to stand out above the rest.
Obviously the most dominant player this season has been Auburn's Cam Newton.
Newton has stepped into the Tigers offense in his first year at the school and carried the program to amazing success.
The only problem is that as much success as the junior has experienced on the field, he’s faced just as many questions off of it with the allegations that he was being shopped to the highest bidder during his recent recruitment.
So now it seems cliche to bring in the morality component and there are already certain voters who have stepped up and shown their refusal to support Newton with questions swirling about his eligibility.
With the turtle-like pace the NCAA conducts its investigations at, the Newton mess probably won’t be resolved by the time the Heisman ceremony takes place, so it offers up a lot of interesting debate.
We’re pretty sure Newton will be in New York City when all is said and done. But which players will join him?
Here are the five players I could see making the trip at the end of the season.
QB Cam Newton, Auburn
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Scandal? What scandal?
With the whole college football world questioning his every move, Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton stepped onto the field at Jordan Hare Stadium on Saturday and did exactly what we should’ve expected him to do: he dominated.
With his 300 total yard, 4 TD performance against Georgia, Newton spit directly in the faces of his growing number of critics.
The junior quarterback has brought a level excitement to the Auburn fan base that can't be rivaled by any other in the country right now and it's clear he has their full support going forward.
He’s the best player of the 2010 season: bar none, without question. If we’re going to let the "well so and so said this and Mr. Unknown Source is throwing out these allegations" type speculation enter the conversation, well then that’s just silly.
Did Cameron Newton get paid $200,000 to come play college football?
Nobody knows, no matter what tune the pretenders are singing (Middle of the Road was always my favorite).
If he did though, I’ve got to say Cam has looked like he’s been worth every single cent this season.
RB LaMichael James, Oregon
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LaMichael James is no giant, standing at just 5‘9 185 pounds, but there may be no other player in the country that comes up with as many big plays as the Oregon running back.
The sophomore leads the nation with 17 rushing touchdowns and is currently averaging over 160 rushing yards per game.
James is the epitome of a home-run threat and the fact that he’s run for over 100 yards in seven out of the nine games he’s played in is pretty remarkable.
Even if the Ducks slip up and drop a game before the season ends, James still deserves credit for a remarkable sophomore showing.
There’s no doubt he deserves to be in New York at the end of the season.
WR Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State
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I think it's time for Bleacher Report/Getty Images to get a new picture of Justin Blackmon for us to use.
I mean, my god the guy has 16 touchdowns and has played in some big games where I'm sure there have been cameramen present. It seems like every play the guy makes is worthy of a magazine cover.
Can a brother just get an action shot please?
Blackmon, who leads the nation in receiving touchdowns and yards, has been the best receiver this season and he’s pretty much carried his Cowboys team to the type of success that no one was expecting from them this year.
It would be a crime if Blackmon didn’t get an invite to New York.
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QB Kellen Moore, Boise State
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Could there be a quarterback out there more perfectly suited to write this Boise State success story than Kellen Moore?
Like his Broncos team, Moore is the type of player that gets written off at every turn as not good enough to hang with the big boys, and you what he always follows that up with?
Wins.
The little junior has a remarkable 35-1 career record as a starting quarterback. Two of those wins came last year against teams that are currently sitting in front of Boise State in the BCS Standings right now: Oregon and TCU.
No, it isn't fair.
Moore, whose thrown for 21 TDs and just four INTs this season, is the highest rated passer in the country and has his team steamrolling every opponent that’s foolish enough to step on the field with the Broncos this season.
QB Andrew Luck, Stanford
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No Andrew Luck probably won’t win the Heisman Trophy this year. Instead he’ll have to settle for all those millions he’ll earn as an NFL franchise quarterback.
Sigh.
Outside of Cam Newton, there’s nobody that’s been as important to their team’s success as Luck has been for Stanford.
The sophomore has answered the questions pertaining to him being able to run the offense without running back Toby Gerhart with a resounding, emphatic statement.
Luck, whose thrown for over 2,500 yards and 22 TDs this season, has not only run the Stanford offense, he’s elevated it.
With his pinpoint and poised play, Luck has paced the Cardinal to a 9-1 record and a Top 10 ranking.
Who knows, maybe if Stanford didn’t fall apart in the second half of that game up in Eugene, we might be talking about them as the top team in the nation right now.
And The Heisman Winner Is?
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If we're being objective, then it's got to be Mr. Newton.
Hopefully during his acceptance speech Cam will get the chance to thank all his pals in the media for their support.
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