Heisman Voters will Punish Trent Richardson for Alabama’s Sins

Sunday night, the entire country watched the BCS countdown show eagerly awaiting the final results of the polling. When the OSU logo flashed up on the screen in the No. 3 spot I was elated, and after about five minutes of disbelief that they got it right this time, my attention turned to the Heisman trophy race.

On December 10, the Heisman trophy presentation will air live from Times Square in New York, and every Alabama fan in the country will be tuned in. Trent Richardson delivered a phenomenal season, separating himself from every other running back in the country and answered all the preseason questions about whether he could be the go-to back in the Tides offense. There is no doubt in my mind that Richardson is the best player in college football, and I’m not alone in that sentiment. But don’t get your hopes up for another Heisman winner in 2011.

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Trent Richardson will certainly be among the Heisman candidates Saturday night, but his name isn’t likely to be called. Alabama is rightfully in the national championship game, but many are unhappy about it, and Richardson is the one that’s going to pay the price.

I’m sure many of the people who voted the Tide No. 2 in the country would rather LSU play OSU for the title, but couldn’t bring themselves to vote the ‘Pokes into the title game, knowing Alabama is the better team. Richardson will wind up being punished, paying the price for the hatefest towards the SEC from the rest of the country. In a year where two SEC West teams will have a rematch for the BCS championship, amid national disgust with the system and displaced jealousy towards the conference, an Alabama player winning the Heisman trophy will be a bridge too far for many voters.

It became painfully clear what was about to happen when the selection show turned its attention to the Heisman and began the talking heads rotation. They flashed a graphic up on the screen showing stats on the candidates, and Richardson was listed with 1,583 yards instead of the 1,910 yards he actually has from the line of scrimmage. I knew right away what was happening; they were showing only his rushing yards, as if the receiving yards and three touchdown catches don’t count. I’m not saying there’s a conspiracy against Trent, but that was ridiculous. I don’t put a lot of stock in what the ESPN talking heads think, but fact is they have the largest media platform in all of sports and every analyst basically admitted to not voting for Trent.

Desmond Howard then weighed in on the Heisman race and pledged allegiance to Tyrann Mathieu. Howard didn’t even discuss the other candidates; he opted to use his face time to plug for the Honey Rodent saying “I told them I wasn’t coming if Mathieu didn’t get invited,” adding, “He has been the best player in college football this year. He shouldn’t be penalized for a one game suspension.” Oh really?

If we must entertain Mathieu as a serious candidate, then let’s be thorough in the evaluation. Having two candidates for the Heisman that actually faced one another makes for a great comparison doesn’t it? Apparently not, as not a single soul mentioned the Alabama/LSU game, because it would have hurt their case to do so.

When these two players faced off in November, Trent Richardson amassed 80 yards receiving and 89 yards rushing for a total of 169 yards. Mathieu recorded an astounding five tackles, four of them solo tackles, had no return yards, no interceptions or pass breakups. He didn’t have any caused fumbles, sacks or any stat that was even above average in that game; he was irrelevant all game long until he committed a flagrant personal foul on Dre Kirkpatrick. It stands to reason if they were being objective about Mathieu that someone would have discussed his biggest game of the season. You be the judge of this one.

One analyst said his top three were quarterbacks, and that Andrew Luck was his number one. Luck, he said, turned around Stanford football and got them over 20 wins in two years. Last time I checked, there aren’t 20 games in one season and last year’s accomplishments should be factored into last years’ voting. The Heisman isn’t a lifetime achievement award. Clearly this guy is looking for a reason not to consider Richardson, because he commented that Monte Ball of Wisconsin has better numbers. He does, but Ball isn’t even the best player on his team, much less the country.

Mark May said he had gone back and forth all year between Luck and Richardson, but would be voting for Robert Griffin III because of his late surge. The entire panel agreed that RG3 made a strong case for himself in the last game, but beating a terrible Texas team doesn’t sound like a Heisman statement. What was even worse for me was the Heisman acceptance speech Griffin gave after beating a four-loss Longhorn squad. Griffin is an excellent quarterback, but didn’t sound like the humble kid he was made out to be by the media. In contrast, when asked about the Heisman Trent Richardson has been quick to praise his teammates.

To my surprise, Craig James made the only intelligent comment of the night when he said his top two were Richardson and Luck, then commented that Trent would have 2,500 yards rushing in any other conference. That doesn’t really help his case though; the Heisman isn’t based on hypotheticals. The facts are that Trent plays his best on the biggest stage, and he has done it in the toughest conference in college football.

At the start of the 2011 season, everyone knew Richardson needed to put the team on his back if they were going to be successful. Every team Alabama faced had one main goal: stop Trent Richardson. Twelve teams lined up their defense and stacked the box against Trent and it didn’t matter; he ran right through them all. His numbers are not eye-popping, but the fashion in which he got those numbers are as impressive as any you will ever see.

No other player has meant more to his team than Richardson this year. He is the embodiment of everything the Heisman Trust claims they stand for. Look to the sidelines and you’ll see Trent talking up his teammates, coming off the bench to congratulate them and even wiping the sweat off of his offensive linemen’s faces while thanking them for playing hard. He is an excellent teammate, a great blocker, a good student, a phenomenal runner and an extremely high-character young man.

Richardson will be present during the presentation of college football’s most coveted individual award, but sadly it won’t go to the best player. During a time of so much controversy in college football, scandals and probation; the country needs a Heisman role model like Trent Richardson. Hopefully the Heisman voters put aside their agendas and vote their conscience.