Heisman voters focus on quarterbacks

By Fred Guzman
MauiNow.com

I am not a big fan of the Heisman Trophy, largely because it fails to live up to its purported intent of recognizing and honoring the best college football player in the land during a particular season.

More often than not, as we know, the award is presented to the quarterback from one of the more highly rated teams.

In fact, eight of the nine last Heismans have gone to quarterbacks. Some of them, quite frankly, proved to be fairly ordinary players – or worse – at the pro level. Guys like Chris Weinke, Eric Couch, Jason White and Troy Smith.

Predictably, the front-runners for this year’s award are a pair of QBs – Tim Tebow of top-ranked Florida and Colt McCoy of No. 3 Texas.

Not since Charles Woodson in 1997 has a player other than quarterback or a tailback been recognized as the nation’s best.

My pick for this year’s Heisman is Stanford running back Toby Gerhard, who made a compelling case for his candidacy last week when he rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns and threw for another score in Stanford’s victory over Notre Dame.

Gerhart is the prime reason Stanford is 8-4 and headed to a bowl for the first time in eight years. His 1,736 yards lead the nation in rushing and his 26 TD are a Pac 10 record. But if the recent trend continues, it will be a QB that will be presented with the award two Saturdays from now in New York City.