One writer would vote for Toby for Heisman today.
http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/sports/grillo-heisman-race-hasnt-panned-out-the-way-many-thought-972481.html
<h1 ="line">GRILLO: Heisman race hasn't panned out the way many thought</h1>
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By Ron Grillo
Telegram Correspondent
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2009-11-22 22:40:27.0
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When it comes to the 2009 Heisman Trophy, you can invoke the immortal words of former NFL head coach Dennis Green.
"They are who we thought they were,"Â he announced at one post-game press conference following a bitter loss.
There's nothing bitter about the Heisman race, but a couple of players
in contention for the most coveted award in amateur sports are who we
thought they were, minus one.
At the beginning of the season,
one of the triumvirate at quarterback â€" Tim Tebow at Florida, Colt
McCoy at Texas or Oklahoma's
Sam Bradford, who won last year's trophy â€" seemed a lock to win the Heisman in 2009.
Bradford got hurt early and has missed most of the season.
Tebow and McCoy have played well, but they're not wowing anyone with their personal statistics.
Now the race for the Heisman is wide open, and it may not go to a
quarterback, which would have been a huge upset three months ago.
A trio of running backs are very much in contention for the award.
Alabama's Mark Ingram, Clemson's electrifying C.J. Spiller or
Stanford's Toby Gerhart conceivably could walk away with the prize Dec.
12 in New York City.
If you read this column, you know I think
the world of Spiller. He's quite likely to be the first player taken in
the next NFL draft.
Gerhart is the guy who I find intriguing.
I was out in Southern California on one of my sojourns to San Diego at the end of his senior year in high school.
All I saw was some footage of him in a story on the day he committed to
Stanford. It was jaw-droppingly good, and conventional wisdom had him
going to Southern California to play for Pete Carroll.
But
apparently, in one of those Joe Paterno wanted Jim Kelly to play
linebacker; Auburn wanted Phillip Rivers to play tight end; LSU wanted
to find a place for Marshall Faulk in its defensive backfield
scenarios, Pete Carroll wanted Gerhart to line up at fullback. You're
either a tailback or you're a fullback.
Toby Gerhart is a tailback.
After he eliminated Southern Cal, Gerhart opted to go with the
Cardinals over Notre Dame. He's rushed for a school record 1,569 yards
and 23 touchdowns this season with a game remaining versus Notre Dame
on Saturday.
One refrain you're going to hear over and over
until they hand the trophy to the winner is that Alabama has never had
a Heisman Trophy winner.
Linebacker Lee Roy Jordan was fourth
in 1962; wide receiver David Palmer finished third in 1993 and
quarterback Jay Barker was fifth in '94.
I always favored
running backs when I had a vote in the Heisman. If I had a ballot right
now it would be No.1 Toby Gerhart, No. 2 C.J. Spiller and No.3 Mark
Ingram.
A recent poll of about 12 "experts"Â at ESPN had Ingram claiming the hardware convincingly.