Heisman Round Up

By Heismanpundit on December 21, 2006 in Uncategorized

My first Heisman ceremony was a memorable one. I arrived at the Nokia Theater at 6 p.m. and, along with ESPN’s Ivan Maisel, was one of only two media members present at the pre-Heisman cocktail reception. Of course, only one of us was supposed to be there, but I’ll let you figure out which one of us that was.

The reception is actually much more interesting than the ceremony. Former Heisman winners mingle with various bigwigs and school administrators while youngsters run around trying to get their footballs signed. And the drinks and hors doeuvres are excellent.

I had a chance to talk to Gary Beban (UCLA ’67), who was very gracious and informative and wasn’t offended at all when I approached him by saying “I know you won the Heisman, but which one?”

From our conversation, I found out how much simpler the Heisman process was in those days. Turns out Beban was studying for finals in his apartment when former UCLA athletic director J.D. Morgan phoned him with the news that he had won the Heisman. That’s it. No manufactured suspense necessary. This was just a couple weeks after a tough 21-20 loss to USC in which Beban threw for 301 yards. Most remember O.J. Simpson‘s circuitous run to win it for the Trojans and, for a long time, Beban and Simpson were linked together because of their valiant efforts in that contest.

“Then, at some point, we became, uh, unlinked,” said Beban, referring, no doubt, to the events of 1994.

I ran into George Rogers (South Carolina ’80), too, and he was in a boisterous mood. He went through some hard times a few years back from what I hear, but he looked to be enjoying life to the fullest (he probably is 40 pounds over his playing weight). I asked him what his Heisman experience was like.

“Man, it wasn’t anything like this,” said Rogers. “It’s a lot classier now than it used to be. Back then, they only invited the winner to the television ceremony and we had to pretend that the other contenders were there, too. Then at the end, they would present the winner with the trophy.”

Rogers really had no interest in even going to the Heisman. He was hanging out with friends in Duluth, Georgia, when one of the South Carolina assistant coaches informed him that he had to go to New York for an awards ceremony.

“I told him that I didn’t want to go,” said Rogers. “I just wanted to stay at home and spend time with family and friends.”

A phone call from head coach Jim Carlen changed his mind.

“Coach called me and said that I had to go, so I went,” he said.

A lot of people bash Geno Toretta (Miami ’92) for being an undeserving winner, but he was all class at the reception. He marveled at the amount of hype and scrutiny the current players have to go through.

“When I was playing, I didn’t become the front runner until about mid-season,” said Toretta. “So I missed out on a lot of the early hype. But these days, it’s so much more. When Ken Dorsey was the front runner a few years back, he had so much pressure on him. Everyone was looking for reasons to say why he shouldn’t win. The same thing happened to Peyton Manning. It’s almost better to sneak up on people, I think.”

Marcus Allen (USC ’81) arrived looking tall, dapper, with a blonde attached securely to his arm. Desmond Howard (Michigan ’91), hung out most of the night away from the crowd, talking with a friend at the bar. He looked considerably shorter than I remember. Charles White (USC ’79) seemed especially interested in the pasta, which I don’t think would’ve gone well with his mustard-yellow suit had he fumbled any of it. But this wasn’t the 1979 Rose Bowl against Michigan, so he didn’t.

Other Heisman winners in attendance that I spotted: John Lattner (Notre Dame ’53), Dick Kazmaier (Princeton ’51), Mike Rozier (Nebraska ’83), Tony Dorsett (Pitt ’76), Joe Bollino (Navy ’60), Billy Sims (Oklahoma ’78) and Pete Dawkins (Army ’58).

No surprise at the ceremony that it was Troy Smith. The margin wasn’t a shocker either. But my eyebrow did rise a bit at the late surge by Darren McFadden, who took second ahead of preseason favorite Brady Quinn. Even though the Razorbacks lost their last two games, the sophomore running back turned into refreshing option for voters to consider, especially in a race that had grown a bit stale toward the end.

Did Smith deserve the Heisman? I think there is no question. Was his win as impressive as it looks? Not really. Smith benefitted almost as much from the mishaps of the other candidates as he did from his own accomplishments. Quinn’s Heisman hopes were damaged early thanks to a poor performance against Michigan and a late loss to USC sealed his fate. Meanwhile, Adrian Peterson‘s broken collarbone might have been the real key to Smith winning as big as he did. I still think that if Peterson had stayed healthy, he would have gone for 2,000 yards and captured the trophy. But, the Heisman gods were clearly not in the mood for such an occurence. The rest of the field? Pfff. None of them could hold a candle to Smith’s Heisman credentials.

So while Smith’s landslide was on par with Reggie Bush‘s from last year, it came against a much weaker field.

I still marvel at how much the Heisman process can change a player. Troy Smith, like all Heisman winners, went through the media ringer and, by the end of it all, seemed like an old pro at expressing himself before the cameras. My impression of him now is completely different from last summer, when I talked to him at the Elite 11 quarterback camp. Back then, I came away not overly impressed with his personality. He was a bit gruff and very dry with his answers. But his speech at the Heisman ceremony was eloquent and heartfelt without an ounce of pretentiousness. It flowed naturally and he didn’t stumble for a second. In other words, he was in command, just like being in the huddle or over center.

So who goes to the Heisman anyway? Besides the players and their families and friends, former winners, school officials and program boosters, the audience is filled plenty of random invitees, not all of whom could be described as ‘bigwigs’. I ran into one such fellow who had been to eight previous ceremonies and asked him how he had done it.

“You either have to be someone or know someone,” he said. “Me, I know someone.”

I can’t say that the post-Heisman press conference is of much use. They brought in Quinn and McFadden, who had to go through another round of questions despite coming nowhere close to winning the trophy. Quinn was very focused on the Sugar Bowl, while McFadden talked about how nervous he was during the ceremony–”more nervous than before a big game” he said.

I’m sure he’ll have the hang of it by next year.

About Heismanpundit

Chris Huston, A.K.A. ‘The Heisman Pundit‘, is a Heisman voter and the creator and publisher of Heismanpundit.com, a site dedicated to analysis of the Heisman Trophy and college football. Dubbed “the foremost authority on the Heisman” by Sports Illustrated, HP is regularly quoted or cited during football season in newspapers across the country. He is also a regular contributor on sports talk radio and television.