It looks as if QB run will end
NEW YORK – From John Cappelletti to Mike Rozier, running backs once walked off with 11 consecutive Heisman trophies.
Recently, though, quarterbacks have been too tough to pass up. The last five Heisman winners have been QBs.
Reggie Bush is a good bet to snap that streak tonight and become the 41st ball carrier to tuck away college football’s most prestigious individual award since Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger won the first in 1935.
USC’s untouchable tailback is the favorite after capping a brilliant junior season with two breathtaking performances and an outrageous average of 8.9 yards a carry.
“That’s crazy. That’s ludicrous,” said Tony Dorsett, the 1976 Heisman winner from Pittsburgh. “It is just unheard of. Reggie’s a game-breaker, a big-game player. That’s all you need to say.”
Guess where Dorsett’s vote is going?
Bush will be joined by Texas quarterback Vince Young and USC quarterback Matt Leinart in midtown Manhattan when the Heisman is handed out for the 71st time.
The three finalists have been the favorites even before the season started.
Leinart, last year’s Heisman winner, became a contender to repeat as soon as he decided to bypass the chance for NFL millions and return for his senior season. The left-hander has thrown for 3,450 yards and 27 touchdowns this season, improving to 37-1 as a starter for the top-ranked Trojans.
If Leinart wins the Heisman, he’ll join Archie Griffin as the only players to win the award twice. The Ohio State running back did it in 1974 and ‘75.
As a past winner, Leinart gets a ballot.
“Reggie’s got my vote,” Leinart said after Bush ran for 260 yards and two touchdowns in the Trojans’ 66-19 victory over UCLA that wrapped up a perfect regular season.
If Bush wins the award, he and Leinart will become the third set of teammates to win the award in consecutive years.
The last were Army’s famous Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside, Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, in 1945-46.
The two USC stars could become the first Heisman winners to play together in a college game when USC (12-0) meets No. 2 Texas (12-0) in the Rose Bowl for the national championship on Jan. 4.
Or if Young wins, the national title game will be a matchup of Heisman winners for the second straight year – and the second time overall.
Last season after Leinart won, USC played Oklahoma and 2004 Heisman winner Jason White in the Orange Bowl, marking the first Heisman showdown in college football.
Young has always been one of the most dangerous runners in the country – he showed that in last year’s Rose Bowl, scoring four touchdowns on the ground against Michigan – but this season he’s developed into a topflight passer. The junior leads the nation is passing efficiency at 168.6 with 26 touchdowns.
He would be Texas’ third Heisman winner. The first two were running backs. Ricky Williams won in 1998 and Earl Campbell (‘77) was part of that long run of running backs, starting in 1973 with Penn State fullback Cappelletti and ending with Nebraska I-back Rozier.
In between, USC cemented its reputation as tailback U. with Charles White (‘79) and Marcus Allen (‘81) joining O.J. Simpson (‘68) and Mike Garrett (‘65) as Heisman winners.
USC has returned to the Heisman-winning business in recent years with quarterbacks. Carson Palmer took the award in 2002, then Leinart last season.
With six Heisman winners, the Trojans trail only Notre Dame, which has seven.
Bush and Young seemed neck and neck in the Heisman race for most of the season, then Bush put a season’s worth of highlights together in one game against Fresno State on Nov. 19. He gained 513 all-purpose yards, helping USC escape with a 50-42 victory.
As with Leinart, Bush is being touted as a possible No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, even with a year of college eligibility left.
Bush has said he’ll decide whether to go pro after the Rose Bowl.
“Right now, college football is fun,” Bush said. “It’s everything I ever dreamed up. You only go to college once.”
Leinart wins Unitas award
Leinart has been helping teammate Bush prepare for the Heisman Trophy.
“I told him to get ready for the whirlwind,” Leinart said Friday after accepting the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the nation’s top senior quarterback. “I told him to get ready for some crazy days.”
Leinart doesn’t think he’ll join former Ohio State running back Griffin as the only players to win college football’s most coveted award twice. The way the USC quarterback looks at it, he’s not the best player in his own backfield, so how can he be the best player in the country?
“I’ve kind of been there, done that,” Leinart said. “I was spoiled and had a great experience last year. Now I’d like to see my teammate get it. I think he’s the best player in college football.”
The 2004 Heisman Trophy winner cast his 2005 ballot for Bush and gave Texas quarterback Vince Young his second-place vote.
Young will try to end USC’s 34-game winning streak and stranglehold on the national championship at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4. Leinart and Young spoke on the phone during the season after Young passed Leinart his phone number through a mutual acquaintance.
“I just told him to keep doing your thing,” Leinart said. “We respect each other and I have a lot of respect for what he’s done for that program and that team.”
Thursday, Young beat out Bush and Leinart for the Maxwell Award as the nation’s top player, and also edged Leinart and Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn for the Davey O’Brien Award given to the nation’s top quarterback.
Lofton interested in Aztecs job
NFL Hall of Famer James Lofton is interested in the coaching vacancy at San Diego State, his attorney said.
“I placed a call to the school this morning and am waiting to hear back from them,” said Rich Nichols, who works for the Dallas firm of Hughes & Luce.
Lofton has been the San Diego Chargers’ wide receivers coach for four seasons.
Lofton said he couldn’t comment because of head coach Marty Schottenheimer’s rule barring assistants from being interviewed by the media.
“I think James would be an excellent choice to be a coach at any major university, and San Diego State makes a lot of sense for him and that university,” Nichols said. “He’s an NFL Hall of Fame receiver and he has had quite a successful tenure developing the wide receiver corps.”
San Diego State fired Tom Craft on Monday after he went 19-29 in four seasons, including 5-7 this year.
San Diego State hasn’t had a winning season since 1998, when it played in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Aztecs have played in only two bowls the last 15 years.
Colorado begins search
Colorado’s athletic director was pleased with the school’s progress in the search for a new football coach, a day after severing ties with Gary Barnett and putting himself on the clock to save this year’s recruiting class.
“We know that every day that goes by without a replacement certainly has a price in the recruiting area,” athletic director Mike Bohn told the Associated Press. “But if we get the right fit and right coach, we can make up that ground quickly.”
Thursday, Bohn said he had one specific “star” in mind for the job and landing that person would be a home run. A day later, the A.D. said too much was made of that quote.
“There are numerous candidates out there,” Bohn said. “The point I was trying to make was, we will get a home run. We’ll find him and we’ll make it work.”
In the meantime, Bohn tabbed Barnett’s defensive coordinator, Mike Hankwitz, to coach the team against Clemson in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 27.
Around the nation
Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker coach Brian VanGorder was hired as the head coach at Georgia Southern. The 46-year-old VanGorder is in his first year with the Jaguars after four seasons as defensive coordinator at Georgia. He replaces Mike Sewak, who led Georgia Southern to an 8-3 record but was fired last month after a 50-35 loss to Texas State in the opening round of the Division I-AA playoffs. … Offensive coordinator Tom Kearly was hired as Michigan Tech’s head coach. He replaces Bernie Anderson, who left to take the coaching job at Northern Michigan. Kearly had been the Huskies’ offensive coordinator and associate head coach the past six years.