Start Talking Todd Reesing…and that Heisman Thing…Now
By Cecilio's Scribe on Nov 18, 2007 with Comments 1
The Man Who Should Be the Heisman Frontrunner
As is sometimes a necessary reminder for the broader Web world, we are passionate fans who blog. We don’t even have College Game Plan or NFL Ticket. Plus, I’ve been out of the country for awhile and haven’t had a chance to hear or read a ton of recent sports commentary. Noting the above caveats though, and following a cursory look at the Internet and hearing some Saturday wrap-ups here and there, I’ve got a question. How is Todd Reesing not the consensus Heisman Trophy favorite at this moment? And why aren’t more people even mentioning him in the conversation? Maybe tomorrow will bring the avalanche. In the meantime, someone needs to start talking a bit more about the sophomore Jayhawks signal caller. And who better to do it, right?
Now, up front, I’m not a huge Heisman fan. The hype has gotten a bit out of control over the years, and, to me, it just somehow seems one of the least objective of the post-season awards in all of sports (whether that notion is founded is another story, but it just feels more imperfect and arguable). It probably has something to do with the age-old (and worthy) debates about who the award should truly be bestowed upon and, more importantly, for what. Quite simply, the Heisman is supposed to go the “most outstanding” player in college football each year. If only it were that simple.
Instead, my 20 or so years of following the award have taught me this. Generally speaking, there are three core requirements to winning the most covered honor in college sports:
1. Sick stats…in the modern sports world, the priority on numbers has never been higher. We are a roto-altered society of fans who has now been given more ways of breaking down player performance than ever before (see: passer rating).
2. On a top-ranked team…check out the schools and records of the teams for which the Heisman winners from the past five years have played: Ohio St., USC, USC, Oklahoma, USC, Those teams’ respective BCS finishes? #1, #1, #1, #1, #4.
3. By a junior or senior…right or wrong, the Heisman voters lean towards the upperclassmen. In the 70-plus year history of the trophy, only a junior or senior has taken home the hardware.
So, back to Mr. Reesing.
1. Sick Stats: CHECK
Reesing has 30 TDs and only four picks (and some other pretty good stats) for the Jayhawks who are undefeated and ranked #2 in the country. Coincientally, he leads his offense is averaging nearly 46 points/game.
2. On a top-ranked team: CHECK
“..for the Jayhawks who are undefeatd and ranked #2 in the country.” Yes, they’ve got Mizzou and a potential Big 12 Championship game against a ticked-off Bob Stoops team. That’s a given. Live in the present.
3. By a junior or senior: Uhhh…
Not so much. Problem. Perhaps. Question. Why? Where does it say anything about the most outstanding junior or senior in college football?
Bottom line: Todd Reesing, sophomore quaterback for the Kansas Jayhawks, has to be the Heisman frontrunner as of this moment on Sunday, November 18…so it is decreed by The Legend of Cecilio Guante. If we (as the sports commenting public) could argue the merits of Todd Boeckman, Matt Ryan and Dennis Dixon, we can’t NOT assert that Reesing is the favorite.
Think it might be a little “weird” if a sophomore ultimately lugs home the Heisman? We wouldn’t disagree. But could anything be more apropos for one of the wackier college football seasons in history?
By the way, we’re sure all of our Legend readers, like us, had penned in at the start of the season that the Missouri/Kansas contest this coming Saturday at Arrowhead would be a significantly bigger game than Ohio St./Michigan in the Big House. Get your TiVo’s ready for Jayhawks/Tigers…on the gridiron!? How great is college football?
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FYI: He’s from Austin, Texas.