MaxwellAward Pundit Ballot, Week 8

by Peter Bean on Oct 24, 2006 9:43 PM CDT in Texas Longhorns Football

It's time once more for our weekly ballot in the MaxwellPundit Award, conceived, hosted, and tabulated by the the good folks of Rakes of Mallow. The award seeks to honor college football's best overall player. Linemen, punters, safeties, receivers - everyone is eligible for this prestigious end-of-season award.

This week's ballot, with last week's rank in parentheses:

1. Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State (1)
Last week: 15-23, 220 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
Season: 131-193, 1715 yards, 21 TD, 2 INT

Well, SMQ more or less stole my idea to 1a and 1b the top candidates. And, I guess since he did it first, it's not stealing. Maybe I'm stealing. Anyway, barring some unlikely stains on the resumes of the #1 and #2 players on this week's ballot, we may just be headed for a MaxwellPundit Award finalist showdown on November 18th. Either Smith will be the unstoppable force he has appeared to be thus far this season, or Michigan's defensive line will ruthlessly thwart him play after play, as they have with every other quarterback that has dared take the field with them. Winner takes all, yes?

2. LaMarr Woodley, DE, Michigan (2)
Last week: 3 tackles, 2 TFL (both sacks), 1 Forced Fumble
Season: 22 tackles, 12 TFL, 9 sacks (-92 yards), 2 Fumble Recoveries, 3 Forced Fumbles

Accolades aplenty for the entire MGoLine, but LaMarr is our choice for the face of the monster. Longhorn fans have been treated to an ungodly defensive performance against the run this season. Amazingly, Michigan's has been better. The Wolverine defense leads the nation in: fewest rush yards per game (33.63), yards per attempt (1.42), TD allowed (2), and total sacks (29). So, yeah, they're good.

3. Aaron Ross, DB, Texas (Not Ranked)
Last week: 6 tackles, 1 Forced Fumble, 2 Passes Broken Up
Season: 53 tackles, 3 TFL (-14 yards), 1 sack, 14 Passes Broken Up, 4 INT, 3 Forced Fumbles, 2 TDs

It's hard for a defensive back to be an "impact player" in the sense that we normally think of it, but Ross is managing to do just that. Ross single-handedly buried Oklahoma, he leads the nation in pass defended, he returns punts (very, very well), and against Nebraska, with the game in the balance, he did what teams usually have to rely on their quarterback to do: he won it. The only thing that could save Texas on the season was a fumble from Nebraska's Terrence Nunn, and Ross forced it. For that, he gets the big nod this week; and that despite his egregious blunder that cost Texas the Marlon Lucky thrown touchown.

4. Ian Johnson, RB, Boise State (NR)
Last week: 27 rushes, 183 yards, 4 TD
Season: 169 rushes, 1181 yards, 18 TD

Back to back 4 touchdown Saturdays have me joining Kyle in praising Johnson. Without the luxury of seeing the Broncos play much, I'm forced to rely on the statistical insanity on its own. That's usually a point for hesitation, but Johnson's numbers are sufficiently ridiculous to warrant a good look.

5. Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson (NR)

Last week: 3 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 Pass Broken Up, 3 QB Pressures
Season: 30 tackles, 11.5 for loss (-75 yards), 8.5 sacks, 18 QB Pressures, 2 Forced Fumbles

Adams has gone flat berserk of late, single-handedly sparking his team's stunning turnaround against Wake Forest, and generally pressuring the hell out of whichever opposing quarterback is under center. He figured prominently in Clemson's emasculation of Reggie Ball in primetime on Saturday, and looks like he may wind up on the short list of all those fun defensive awards at the end of the season. Not to mention this one.

Still on the radar

Mike Hart, Limas Sweed, DeSean Jackson, Garrett Wolfe, Reggie Nelson, Calvin Johnson,

--PB--

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Comments

Aaron Ross

#3, bold.

P.S. I spotted you (untagged) in a Facebook tailgate photo full of hotties from my grade, PB.

by whoopspat on Oct 24, 2006 11:31 PM CDT reply actions

I'm like Waldo

Where there are hotties, I'm usually lurking. Sometimes invited, sometimes predatorily.

by Peter Bean on Oct 25, 2006 7:43 AM CDT up reply actions

Except...

... unfortunately, at Gregory Gym, where as you know there are hotties aplenty.

Real men DO watch volleyball - AND women's basketball!

by patienthornsfan on Oct 25, 2006 11:23 AM CDT up reply actions

Poor Calvin Johnson

He may be the best player in college football, or at least the best athlete, but we don't really know, because THEY DIDN'T GET HIM THE BALL ONCE! Sheesh.

by hornbone on Oct 25, 2006 8:36 AM CDT reply actions

Pathetic, isn't it?

Reggie Ball is atrocious.

I'd still take Calvin #1 overall in the NFL Draft.

by Peter Bean on Oct 25, 2006 8:49 AM CDT up reply actions

That brings up a question

Do you give your Heisman (or Maxwell) to the person who has the best year in regard to stats, the best athlete, or the one who should go number one in the draft? I think the best answer is probably a combination of those factors. For example, Adrian Peterson would go very high in the draft, but he shouldn't win the Heisman because of his injury.

by hornbone on Oct 25, 2006 9:21 AM CDT up reply actions

Heisman

I think your question was specifically directed at PB, but I've always thought the best way to describe my feelings on the Heisman is that it should go to whoever is "the face of college football" for that year. I prefer when this distiction is not awarded to an NFL player in the waiting. A perfect example of that would be someone like Carson Palmer. He put up monster stats and may have been the best player that year, but we all know he was an NFL QB just waiting, and he'll be remembered more as a Bengal than as a Trojan. My prototypical Heisman winner would be someone who is likely to be remembered as a collegiate force more than anything, so these would be players like Rocket Ishmail, Tommy Frazier, Desmond Howard, etc. I think its fair to say that these guys were THE face of college football in their respective years, and nobody was thinking about what they would do once they made it to the NFL, instead they were just gods of their respective schools. To me, that player this year is probably Troy Smith, he seems to be the poster boy for the college game, whereas Adrian Peterson is an NFL running back in waiting.

by BrooklynHorn on Oct 25, 2006 10:15 AM CDT up reply actions

that's a good point, but

to me, that leads to the current Hypesman balloting that I hate. I think many players win undeservingly because of the hype surrounding them.

by hornbone on Oct 25, 2006 10:20 AM CDT up reply actions

you're right

I agree completely. But there will be flaws in any system (for example, if we went on stats instead of hype, we'd hear about how some guys play in softer conferences or had more talent surrounding them etc.). If there are going to be complaints no matter what you do, then my point is that it is at least more FUN to give the Heisman to a player that has gained a certain aura (deserved or not) as opposed to giving it to a cold, calculated, stats guy. Its a superficial argument, I know, but the Heisman is supposed to a be a celebratory award, not a distinction mathematically given to who sets the curve on the test. Carson Palmer? Sorry, not magical, just a stats guy. Vince Young? Magical.

by BrooklynHorn on Oct 25, 2006 10:33 AM CDT up reply actions

I agree with that too

And Vince was certainly magical, but Reggie Bush won because ESPN decided he was even more magical than Vince. It's my opinion that VY deserved it more than Bush, but it's hard because they were both special players.

by hornbone on Oct 25, 2006 10:36 AM CDT up reply actions

Yeah

Its just unfortunate that there were two deserving players last year. I will take to the grave that Vince deserved it more, but I can't have too big of a problem with Reggie Bush. He fits my profile exactly, he was just on the wrong side of the field. In any other year, Vince would have won it, and so I believe he suffered from bad timing. The worst is comparing him to all the other mediocre heismans (Jason White, Gino Torretta, etc.) who benefitted from having good timing.

by BrooklynHorn on Oct 25, 2006 10:40 AM CDT up reply actions

now wait a second

Chris Weinke and Eric Crouch were better than Vince could ever hope to be.

by hornbone on Oct 25, 2006 10:45 AM CDT up reply actions

awesome.

Wow, Chris Weinke. I would never have remembered him.

You know, I've been thinking about it some more, and the player I may remember most from this college football season, when I look back on it in 10 years, might end up being Jeff Samardzija. He has not done nearly enough to win a Heisman, thats not at all what I'm saying, its just that he FEELS like a classic college football player to me. He has that Big-Man-On-Campus thing going, as if playing college football is the most important thing in the world to him, and the NFL can just shut up and wait.

I think thats what I really want out of a Heisman candidate. Its just too bad that none of the front-runners have that feel to me.

by BrooklynHorn on Oct 25, 2006 11:18 AM CDT up reply actions

That's a good point

and it reminds me of other tight ends. I think, for me, this may be the season of the Tony Gonzalezes.

by hornbone on Oct 25, 2006 11:38 AM CDT up reply actions

Poor Calvin Johnson

He's just going to go in the Top 5 in the draft next year, and sign a $50 million contract. Poor Calvin Johnson. He's not going to win the Heisman.

Real men DO watch volleyball - AND women's basketball!

by patienthornsfan on Oct 25, 2006 11:24 AM CDT up reply actions

Word.

That's what I say when people say "poor Drew Bledsoe." I'm sure he's drying his eyes on his millions.

by hornbone on Oct 25, 2006 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions

Tim Crowder

I think that as long as you have Woodley (and now Ross) up there, Tim Crowder needs to be mentioned. As stated in the morning coffee post, his stat line is as good as anyone's, and he's coming up HUGE this season considering the injuries the line has suffered.

...til Gabriel blows his horn

by BigTexBD on Oct 25, 2006 1:33 PM CDT reply actions