The Pecan Park Eagle

  Look. I get it. – I don’t like it, but I get it.

Andrew Luck of Stanford will most probably win the Heisman Trophy in December as the “individual who deserves designation as the most outstanding college football player in the United States” for this current 2011 season. Luck fits the physical prototype of size and ability that is most favored by the NFL,  he is currently having a very successful year quarterbacking prestigious and undefeated Stanford on the path for perhaps a place in the BCS championship game, and he’s doing it all in the face of top-flight competition as a longtime member of the highly regarded Pac 12 Conference.

If Luck wins, however, it will not be because he actually fulfilled the expressed intentionality of the Heisman award better than any other player in the United States or that no other player had a better statistical year on the collegiate Division 1 level. It will be because of his prior anointment by the media, the pro scouts, and NFL fans as the second coming of Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colt Consolation Prize for going 0-16 in 2011, and the next great Moses in some pro team’s future search for a Super Bowl title.

Fair enough, if that’s what the Heisman is now about, but that’s not what their formal language for describing the purpose of the trophy says it’s about. It says exactly what we quoted above. Repeat: The Heisman Trophy is intended for the “individual who deserves designation as the most outstanding college football player in the United States.” It doesn’t say anything about giving it to the player who comes from a prestigious school whose Greek God body and ability reminds everyone of the next great NFL QB.

A few years ago, the Heisman went to a fellow named Earl Campbell from UT and deservedly so. Earl didn’t win simply because he was from UT or the best pro prospect that practically everyone had ever seen. He won because he was best college football player in America by his on-the-field collegiate accomplishments.

On the heels of Campbell came another Texas Heisman winner, Andre Ware of UH, who also won for his collegiate accomplishments. Ware’s runner-up candidate was a young fellow named Emmett Smith from Florida, whose collegiate accomplishments were not nearly as strong as Ware’s, but whose professional upside was considerably greater, to put it mildly. Ware didn’t make it in the pros, but Smith, as we all know, went on to a NFL Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys.

My point is simple: Based upon the stated purpose of the Heisman Trophy award, Earl Campbell and Andre Ware both deserved to win the Heisman for their collegiate accomplishments. Now we have a situation this year in which the man who best deserves the award for his record-shattering collegiate accomplishments will likely not win because of the anointment of Andrew Luck as the top pick in the NFL draft – and not because his actual accomplishments on the field relative to those of Case Keenum of UH were even close to comparable.

I don’t expect all of you to agree with me, but there can be no argument with the results achieved by Case Keenum on the field. After last night’s 56-13 win over Alabama-Birmingham, Case Keenum now holds five major career offensive marks – and these are records that Andrew Luck does not even come close to matching. Forget that UH does not play the toughest schedule on the block. UH (we) would do so if the BCS hot-shot schools didn’t mostly see us as one of those “everything to lose and nothing to gain” scheduling choices. Thank goodness that schools like UCLA have the guts to give the Cougars a fair shot in combat, but that’s beside the point in this Heisman matter. The Heisman qualifier does not say anything about ruling players out who have achieved in the face of “lesser regarded” by reputation competition.

Case Keenum Finds Peace on Each Record Night.

Here’s the quick breakdown on Case Keenum’s career marks, with each record showing the name and numbers for the previous holder:

Case Keenum’s NCAA Football Records:

(1) Career Touchdown Passes: 141 (Graham Harrell, Texas Tech – 134)

(2) Total Yards Gained: 18,101 (Timmy Chang, Hawaii – 16,910)

(3) Career Touchdowns, Passing & Running: 163 (Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan – 150)

(4) 300+ Yard Games: 34 (Timmy Chang, Hawaii – 33)

(5) Passing Yards: 17,212 (Timmy Chang, Hawaii – 17,072)

If the New York Athletic Club decides to turn the tide and choose the candidate whose accomplishments best fit the requirements of the Heisman, they could do the trophy great honor by picking Case Keenum of the University of Houston. Case is a fine upstanding young man who should also enjoy a nice career in the NFL after this season, no matter what happens from here. Keenum’s head and value system are also on straight. He is a devout Christian gentleman who married his high school sweetheart this past summer. When you see this young couple together, they seem to have the word “always” written in the blue skies over their shoulders. I wouldn’t see there ever being a need to request a return of the Heisman from Case Keenum for any reason.

I’ll admit to some bias in my support of Case Keenum for the Heisman, but I really do think he objectively deserves it based upon his many great accomplishments. Andrew Luck is a good man too – and he will represent the Heisman honorably too, if he is chosen – and – as politics go, I think he will be the pick.

If Luck is chosen, however, I hope the selection committee will also change the language of their award requirements to match their real reasons for making a selection. If the Heisman is really about picking the next number 1 NFL draft choice, just say so – because there’s no way that either the productivity or character of Andrew Luck deserves the Heisman Trophy over Case Keenum.