College Confidential

Tebow back for an encore? Possibly

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Could Tim Tebow come back for his senior year and possibly try for another national championship?
The Florida quarterback didn't rule it out, and said he and linebacker Brandon Spikes have talked about the possibility of returning. Tebow admitted he admired what members of the Gator basketball team did when they returned to defend their national title.
"It was exciting, it was fun. It's definitely something I thought about,'' he said. "It's something they needed to do and wanted to do. I think it's something we'll look at. We'll look at our situations and see what arises in the next few months and what we feel is the best decision for us."
Tebow addressed a number of other topics yesterday, including offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, who was hired at Mississippi State. Tebow said "it's a concern, but not a big one" in terms of preparing for the BCS National Championship with Oklahoma, and was confident head coach Urban Meyer won't let it be a problem.
Being the defending Heisman Trophy winner, Tebow also get a vote for this year's winner. He said it was a decision he wrestled with early, but it's not caused any stress lately, adding that both Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy at Texas are deserving as well.
Entering his second national championship, Tebow said he's also faced with new challenges.
"For me I have a lot more pressure and a lot more to do and a lot more to get ready for," he said. "It's different in that way, but they're both huge games and I think I know more (about) what to expect of the week and preparation and everything that goes on in the national championship game. That gives me a little bit of a boost."

Beyond difficult
Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford called it "an honor" to be mentioned with Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy for the Heisman. With Tebow having a vote, the question was posed to Bradford: If he had a vote, who would he vote for?
"It would be an hour long process to figure out who I'd vote for,'' he said. "...It's a good thing I'm not a voter, cause I don't know how I'd vote."

Job well done
Ole Miss offensive lineman Michael Oher, considered a top prospect in next year's NFL Draft, praised Stephenville graduate Jevan Snead for the work he's done in his first year as the Rebels' starting quarterback.
"He's come a long ways,'' Oher said. "He started developing in the spring and hasn't looked back.'

-Trae Thompson 
 

The three Heisman frontrunners

For those closely following this year's Heisman Trophy race, here's a closer look at who I think are the top three candidates. Three things to keep in mind: 1.) This will be determined on the field. You won't win it based on one game. Take down the other contenders head-to-head, and you deserve to win it. 2.) You could take these three, and flip-flop their places and each has an excellent argument to why they're deserving. 3.) Take in the entire body of work, not just the eye-popping statistics.
With that in mind, here are my top three:

1.) QB Sam Bradford, Soph., Oklahoma
Season stats: 202-of-297 (68 percent), 6 interceptions, 3,086 yards, 34 touchdowns
Where he ranks: third nationally and second in the Big 12 in passing efficiency (189.03), third nationally in passing yards per game (342.89), second nationally in total passing yards.

FIVE STARS
* Leads an offense that is first in the Big 12 in scoring (49.8 points per game) and second in total offense (538.3 ypg).
* In the win over Kansas, set an OU school record for passing yards in a game with 468 (previously set by Josh Heupel in 1999 with 429).
* Has thrown five touchdowns in a game twice (Cincinnati, Texas). In the Sooners' loss to the Longhorns, he was 28-of-39, with 2 INTs, for 387 yards.
* Holds the NCAA record touchdown passes in freshman and sophomore years combined with 70 (Rex Grossman had 55).
* Completed 19-of-34 passes for 411 yards against TCU, which has had one of the nation's top defenses all season.

2.) QB Graham Harrell, Sr., Texas Tech
Season stats: 292-of-413 (70.7 percent), 5 INT, 3,621 yards, 30 TDs
Where he ranks: Eighth nationally in passing efficiency and fifth in the Big 12 (165.90); leads the nation in passing yards/game (402.33), passing yards and total offense (402.0).

FIVE STARS
* Hit Michael Crabtree on a 28-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to beat then No.1 Texas 39-33 on Saturday.
* Key part of an offense that is first in the Big 12 in passing (424.6 ypg) and first in total offense (559.3).
* In Big 12 play, has completed 68 percent or more of his passes, has three games with over 400 yards passing and only one game with an interception (two against Texas A&M).
*  Set the Big 12 career record for pass completions (1,253), surpassing former Red Raider Kliff Kingsbury, who had 1,231 (1999-2002).
* Moved into third Saturday in NCAA career passing yards list (14,303), surpassing Hawaii's Colt Brennan (14,193).

3.) QB Colt McCoy, Jr., Texas
Season stats: 93 carries, 428 yards rushing (4.6 avg.), 7 TDs; 218-276 (79.0 percent), 5 INTs, 2,579 yards, 23 TDs
Where he ranks: Is fourth nationally in passing efficiency and third in the Big 12 (181.35); 10th nationally in passing yards per game and fifth in the conference (286.56); 10th nationally in passing yards.

FIVE STARS
* Has two or more touchdown passes in all but one game (just one touchdown pass against Oklahoma).
* Two 300-yard passing games in the Big 12
* Three straight wins over Oklahoma, Missouri and Oklahoma State
* With 294 passing yards, is now first on UT's all-time passing list with 8,452 yards, surpassing Major Applewhite's mark of 8,353 (1998-2001).
* Against Texas Tech, hit Malcolm Williams on a 91-yard touchdown pass, the longest pass play of his career.

-Trae Thompson

An old commercial with your Heisman frontrunner

Colt McCoy fans should enjoy this piece from back in the day. -Trae Thompson

Heisman ties to Tarrant

A cursory look at the voting history for the Heisman Trophy puts Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel in good company. These players from TCU or a Tarrant County high school finished in the top four in Heisman voting:

1936 Sam Baugh, TCU, 4th

1938 Davey O’Brien, TCU, 1st

1955 Jim Swink, TCU, 2nd

1983 Turner Gill, Fort Worth Arlington Heights, 4th

2000 LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU, 4th

2007 Chase Daniel, Southlake Carroll, 4th

-- Vince Langford

Daniel one of four Heisman finalsts

There are four, not five, finalists for the Heisman Trophy, as announced on ESPN's SportsCenter. They are, in alphabetical order: Hawaii's Colt Brennan, Missouri's Chase Daniel, Arkansas' Darren McFadden, and Florida's Tim Tebow. Those four go to New York for Saturday's presentation. ESPN analyst Mark May said on SportsCenter that Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree and Central Florida running back Kevin Smith should have at least received invitations to New York. Last year and in 2005, only three players were invited to New York.

-- Vince Langford

Heisman hype, Part 2

Regarding the Heisman Trophy, if it truly went to the nation's best player, Florida's Tim Tebow would be getting some serious competition from Texas Tech redshirt freshman wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

Nothing against Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell, but how about an offense with Tebow at QB throwing to Crabtree?

_ Wendell Barnhouse

Heisman hype

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow became the first Division I-A player with 20 rushing touchdowns and 20 passing TDs in the same season. Now that Oregon's Dennis Dixon is done for the season, Tebow is the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

Tebow is a sophomore. A sophomore has never won the Heisman. But in this season of firsts, why not cross the "sophomore-can't-win-the-Heisman" off the list.

Missouri quarterack Chase Daniel and Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing have slowly creeped into Heisman consideration. If either has a big game Saturday when the Tigers and the Jayhawks hook up in Kansas City Saturday, they could gather more momentum with the Heisman voters.

_ Wendell Barnhouse

Time to Duck ... again

I got home from my son's basketball practice about 9:25 p.m. and flipped on the Mitsubishi and tuned in to ESPN. After a commercial, the Oregon-Arizona game resumed and the score was flashed ... Arizona 31, Oregon 11 late in the second quarter.

Heisman Trophy leading candidate Dennis Dixon is done for the night with a knee injury. If the score holds up, the national championship game opens up for the Big 12 -- Kansas, Oklahoma or Missouri.

Strange? Yeah. But it's not that big a surprise. For Oregon, this was a trap game. No. 2 ranking, road game, Thursday night national telecast, facing a team on a roll celebrating Senior Night.

Check back after the game for an assessment of what an Oregon loss means.

-- Wendell Barnhouse

One man's Heisman ballot

During the season I've been one of 10 Heisman Trophy voters who have participated in a weekly poll by the Rocky Mountain News. Each week, we submit our top five candidates. Over the last eight weeks, there's been a different leader each week.

Here's how I voted this week: 1, Dennis Dixon, Oregon; 2, Tim Tebow, Florida; 3, Chase Daniel, Missouri; 4, Darren McFadden, Arkansas; 5, Todd Reesing, Kansas.

I strongly considered making Tebow (five rushing TDs, two passing TDs, over 400 yards total offense against South Carolina) No. 1. I voted Dixon No. 1 last week and didn't think that just because he didn't play I should change. However, I think Tebow is building the momentum he needs to become the first sophomore to win the Heisman.

-- Wendell Barnhouse