The most prestigious award in college football has produced less than prestigious players and has lost some of its gleam. The Heisman Trophy was intended as an award to be given to college football's best player. That criteria, however, has been somewhat ignored by those selecting the winners, due to contract inequities, the supporting talent on teams of the favorites, and general ignorance on the part of sports writers who do not look at all of the NCAA's 117 Division I-A programs, concentrating instead on the biggest conferences.
The Big 10, Big 12, Big East, South Eastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Pacific Athletic Conference have a veritable monopoly on Heisman candidates. Mid-major and minor conferences are all but ignored by voters, the Mid-American Conference being an example of a group of good, but not great football programs with stellar players who have been overlooked in favor of big names on big teams.
Ken Dorsey, Heisman hopeful and quarterback for the University of Miami Hurricanes in Florida, has less impressive numbers than Ben Roethlisberger of the University of Miami Redhawks in Ohio. Roethlisberger has not been mentioned in the same breath as Dorsey because Dorsey plays for the defending NCAA Div. I-A champions and Roethlisberger is in the MAC. Roethlisberger's statistics read 13 touchdown passes, eight interceptions and 1,945 yards passing, for a completion percentage of 64.6. Dorsey, with a better offensive line, better running game, and better receivers has 16 touchdown passes, seven interceptions, but only 1,405 passing yards for a completion of 54.2.
Dorsey has tougher opponents, but the Hurricanes would likely be in the national championship running if Jeb Bush were their quarterback. The Redhawks would be nowhere without Roethlisberger. Who is the better quarterback? Who is the better player? The Heisman voters would say Dorsey; after all, Miami of Florida's games are televised and everyone has the chance to see him play. Miami of Ohio rarely gets national attention and is never seen on TV; this puts Roethlisberger at a distinct publicity disadvantage. Add that to the fact that MAC schools rarely have the same money as a major conference school for advertisement and the travesty propagates.
The Heisman Trophy is perhaps the most useless award in sports. The system of voting does not take into account great players on mediocre teams, and it fails to take into account that the best players do not always end up in the best conferences. Marshall's Byron Leftwich, who leads the nation in total yards per game, will graduate this year, be drafted in the first round by an NFL team and probably end up a smashing success. Seneca Wallace of Iowa State, another Heisman hopeful, may also be drafted early, but he does not have talent and skills equal to Leftwich's.
Perhaps the Heisman has outlived its relevance, with disappointing professional players like Eric Crouch and Ron Dayne taking home the honor, while David Carr, LaDanian Tomlinson, Joey Harrington and Michael Vick are huge successes in the NFL, while losing the Heisman.
Awards should be given out for the best player in each position, much like the NFL has in its Pro Bowl. This way, college players who are dominating in their positions, like offensive linemen and defensive players, have more of a chance to be recognized for their superior talent and importance to their team.
If there was an award just for college quarterbacks, players like Leftwich and Roethlisberger would be less likely ignored. There are just too many players to consider for the "best in college football." With 117 teams in Div. 1-A possessing 22 offensive and defensive starters, 2,574 men are rendered eligible for the award. The system of selecting winners needs to be simplified, or inequities will persist and a great amount of in collegiate athletics will remain unrecognized.
