The Heisman Trophy: Who Truly Deserves It?

The Heisman Memorial Trophy is the most esteemed individual award, not only in college football but arguably in all of sports. This award is given out at the end of the year to the most outstanding college football player from that season. This year, who was the most outstanding college football player?

The list has been trimmed and cut down throughout the season, players have hyped themselves onto the shortlist only to fall out weeks later, but we still have not found the most outstanding player this year. As the countdown to the Heisman voting wanes and the hype surrounding the players involved reaches its climax, it’s time to see who deserves the Heisman, not who will win it but who truly deserves it.

Sam Bradford

The red-shirt sophomore has far exceeded expectations this year throwing for 4,080 yards, 46 touchdowns. He is leading the No.2 Oklahoma Sooners to possibly their third straight Big XII Championship, along with the Sooner offense, which is 10th all time in total points scored this year.

His talents aren’t just throwing the ball, Bradford also runs a 4.6 forty yard dash, accuracy and speed combine to make Bradford one of the most lethal quarterbacks in the game. Another thing Bradford has is insane accuracy; he has completed 68.2 percent of passes, going 268/393. That is fantastic.

The cherry on top of the Bradford Sundae is his combined passer rating of 134.8; this is the most outstanding statistic he has, that throughout 12 games he has maintained that high of a passer rating. Along with his season passer rating of 134.8, Bradford has not had a passer rating below 100.4 this season, far surpassing the other two Big XII South quarterbacks.

Colt McCoy

After a sophomore slump that ended in McCoy being sacked 24 times, the junior matured into the passer the Longhorns thought he would be. McCoy led the Texas Longhorns to a share of the Big XII South Championship and an outside shot at the National Championship.

What Colt McCoy does for his team is amazing; not only is he a phenomenal quarterback, but he also leads the Texas Longhorns in rushing with 576 yards. Do not be fooled by his rushing statistics though, McCoy also has a combined passer rating of 125.6, throwing for 3,445 yards and 32 touchdowns.

The thing that truly sets McCoy apart is the fact that he leads his team in rushing as a quarterback. This is phenomenal considering the talent Texas has at the running back position. Much like the other two quarterbacks Colt McCoy has amazing accuracy but he has the highest of the three Big XII candidates completing over 77 percent of his passes, absolutely amazing.

Graham Harrell

Coming into the season, everyone knew Graham Harrell was going to put up video game numbers. Passing for 4,747 yards with 41 touchdown passes and completing 71 percent of his passes. What Harrell throws into the mix is his deep and short pass accuracy, granted he has talented receivers around him, but Harrell has completed 406/568.

This is an insane amount of attempts but what is even better is Harrell is completing 71.5 percent of these passes, which is outstanding. Graham Harrell has been nothing short of outstanding this year, what sets him apart from the other candidates is the accuracy after attempting 568 passes, it is out of this world.

Dez Bryant

Finally stepping outside the quarterback realm, there is Dez Bryant who has been nothing short of outstanding this season. His statistics are better to even those of Michael Crabtree, catching 74 passes for a total of 1,313 yards and 18 touchdowns (Crabtree has 93 catches with 1,135 yards and 18 touchdowns).

What is amazing about Dez Bryant is his outstanding average, which is 17.7 as a sophomore. Dez Bryant is the most outstanding receiver in college football by far; he is second nationally in receiving yards and touchdowns. This year he has shown why he deserves, more than any receiver, to be in the Heisman race.

Now that the candidates have been set it is time to choose the winner. Yes, all of them hail from the Big XII South. These four, however, based on their on-field performances and their statistics they have shown that they deserve this consideration.

Although Tim Tebow is a fierce competitor and a very talented player, these players have been more outstanding than he. When comparing the statistics of Sam Bradford and Graham Harrell, Sam Bradford has the edge with an insane passer rating and he fully eclipsed Harrell when they played. Therefore, edge: Sam Bradford.

Moving onto Colt McCoy and Dez Bryant, Colt McCoy just dominates Dez Bryant’s statistics because McCoy has the rushing ability outside his throwing ability. Therefore, edge: McCoy.

This is the Heisman race that everyone has been hoping for, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy. This is a very close match; both quarterbacks lead their teams and are very, very talented however the edge goes to Bradford because of his 51 total touchdowns. He has shown dominance all season.

Colt McCoy has also shown dominance but not the way Sam Bradford has, and for that he deserves the Heisman Trophy.