Dufek: Why ESPN should vote Todd for the Heisman Trophy
No one on ESPN’s expert panel has deemed Reesing worthy of appearing on the Heisman watch list, despite his high-ranking statistics.
By Alex Dufek (Contact)
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
Nissan will sponsor this year’s ESPN Heisman Watch. Its commercial describes the 2009 Nissan Maxima as “a sophisticated sedan and a sports car ... together.”
I’m not a car salesman; I’m just trying to get you to buy into an idea.
As a quarterback, Todd Reesing is an identical match to the description used in the commercial. He’s intelligent, poised and athletic. Nissan couldn’t find a better real-life advertisement in college football than Reesing.
Despite Reesing’s similarities to Nissan’s car and his eye-popping numbers, ESPN’s panel of experts hasn’t yet deemed Reesing worthy of one vote for their Heisman Watch. I’m not about to place myself on any panel of experts, but I think it’s clear that Reesing is one of the top 10 players in college football and he shouldn’t be off anyone’s radar — especially ESPN’s.
They list 13 players on their watch. The Big 12 is well represented, as six of the top nine players on the list play in the conference. Missouri’s Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree are all receiving Heisman hype, but there is no love shown for Reesing.
It’s fairly absurd considering there is not a large difference between the four Big 12 quarterbacks listed and Reesing. The only major difference is in the loss column. Reesing and the Jayhawks have one loss in comparison to the zero losses recorded by Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
However, without Reesing, Kansas wouldn’t have escaped Ames, Iowa, last weekend or kept it close in Tampa against South Florida. To be honest, with a rushing attack that ranks 96th in the nation and an offensive line that ranks 54th in sacks allowed — largely due to Reesing’s escape tactics in the pocket — it’s scary to think about where Kansas football would be without “Sparky.”
I’m not throwing the rest of the team under the bus. Kansas has talent and heart, although it’s been lacking at times this year. However, most team attributes come from your leader.
The Heisman Trophy goes to the most outstanding player in college football. One could argue that Reesing easily fits the bill. He has thrown for 1,724 yards, 14 touchdowns, three interceptions and has a 70.2 completion percentage. He also has another 68 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Keep in mind. Reesing would have 127 yards rushing if it weren’t for the 59 negative yardage from eight sacks.
Anyone who watches Kansas knows any quarterback other than Reesing would have spent a lot more time with his face down in the turf this year. Reesing has relied on his feet to create magical plays out of virtually nothing numerous times already this season.
In the last eight years, the only nonquarterback player to win the Heisman was USC’s Reggie Bush in 2005. With seven quarterbacks currently on ESPN’s watch list, a quarterback is likely to win again this year.
Reesing’s resume only contains one blemish: a 37-34 loss to South Florida. All four Big 12 quarterbacks listed in the Heisman Watch play for undefeated squads including BYU’s signal caller Max Hall. The other two quarterbacks listed — last year’s Heisman winner, Tim Tebow of Florida and Mark Sanchez of USC — each suffered upsets to teams not nearly as talented as South Florida.
On paper, Reesing has actually been more impressive than Tebow or Sanchez. Unlike Reesing, Sanchez’s credibility is definitely lifted because of the team he plays for. Two USC quarterbacks have taken home Heisman hardware in the past six years.
Tebow is sixth on the list, despite compiling only 1,025 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception throwing; 157 yards and two touchdowns rushing. His completion percentage is at 61.7 percent. That’s 8.5 percent lower than Reesing. The rest of his stats are significantly lower as well.
However, last year’s season is still in the mind of voters. Tebow had one of the best seasons in the history of college football last year. If voters are going to keep that in mind for Tebow, then why not do the same for Reesing?
Reesing led the Jayhawks to a 12-1 record and an Orange Bowl victory. He re-wrote the Kansas record books and helped establish a fan base in Lawrence. That fan base has been one of the most loyal in college football this year as they’ve filled Memorial Stadium to an average of 101.5 percent capacity for the first three games. Only an outstanding team can generate that type of buzz and it’s obvious Reesing is the main attraction on the team.
Watching Reesing has become well worth the price of admission as he scrambles behind the line of scrimmage making defensive ends look foolish before unloading a rifle to Kerry Meier, Johnathan Wilson or Dezmon Briscoe.
Will Todd Reesing win the Heisman? Probably not. After watching Kansas’ first half in Ames, it’s fairly obvious that Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech all have better odds of attending a BCS National Championship or bowl game.
However, Reesing is 16-2 as a starting quarterback so you can’t count Kansas out against anyone. If they are able to pull two wins out against four of the Big 12 teams nationally ranked in the top seven, watch for his name to surface on a lot more watch lists as it did at the end of last year.
Does Reesing deserve the trophy? Now that’s debatable, but there is no debating that Reesing deserves to be on ESPN’s and other publications’ watch lists considering what he’s already accomplished this season.
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"The Heisman Trophy goes to the most outstanding player in college football."
No it doesn't. The Heisman goes to the best player on the best team. That or Jesus, er, Tim Tebow.
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