Colt McCoy put Texas on his back and nearly punched the Longhorns' ticket to the national championship game.
Iowa's Shonn Greene carried the Hawkeyes to a stunning upset of then-undefeated Penn State, a surprising 8-4 record and a New Year's Day bowl bid.
Texas Tech's Graham Harrell lifted the Red Raiders program to new heights.
And Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford led one of the best offenses college football has ever seen.
But my pick for the Heisman Trophy this year is same guy who won it last year: Florida's Tim Tebow. Find out why in this week's Heisman Trophy Watch
1. Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow
(Getty Images)
He didn't put up quite the same kind of stats in 2008 that he posted in 2007, but down the stretch—when it mattered most—nobody in the country was better than Tebow. Though McCoy, Greene, Harrell and Bradford are all certainly all deserving of Heisman consideration, I just think we've seen over the past two weeks what SEC fans have known for two years now: Tebow is one of the greatest players in the history of the game. For the season, he threw for 2,515 yards and 28 touchdowns (against just two interceptions) and chipped another 564 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. Maybe more importantly, he was at his best in clutch, delivering a virtuoso performance in the fourth quarter of the SEC title game to lift his team over Alabama, 31-20.
2. Oklahoma Quarterback Sam Bradford
(Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images)
Just about any other year, Bradford would have gotten my vote. Just look at the numbers this kid put up: 4,464 passing yards, 48 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. He led an offense that scored 60 or more points in five straight games and has scored a record 97 touchdowns. Bradford is efficient, smart and unflappable. He'll have a chance to prove just how good he is when he takes on Tebow's Gators in the national title game. That Florida defense is better than any unit Bradford has faced all year.
3. Iowa Tailback Shonn Greene
(David Purdy/Getty Images)
Though he was recently named the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year, I'm willing to bet most of the country still doesn't know who Greene is. Which is unfair, of course. Besides, all this kid did this season was rush for 1,729 yards and 17 touchdowns, average 6.2 yards per carry, and generally serve as the entirety of the Iowa offense. Defenses knew Greene was coming. They just couldn't stop him: He rushed for more than 100 yards in every game this season, including a 117-yard effort against a Penn State defense that ranks in the top five nationally in both scoring defense and total defense.
4. Texas Tech Quarterback Graham Harrell
(Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Harrell gets the edge over McCoy at the No. 4 spot for one reason: He plays for Texas Tech. One could argue that Harrell actually had more weapons around him than McCoy did. And that may be true. But I still believe it's easier to go 11-1 in Austin than in Lubbock. Harrell took this program to the cusp of a national title berth. That's something no other quarterback in Tech history has ever done. Oh, and his numbers aren't bad either: 4,747 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 6 rushing touchdowns.
5. Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy
McCoy's season mirrors Tebow's in a lot of ways. Neither of those guys put up numbers like those posted by Harrell or Bradford (McCoy threw for 3,445 yards and 32 touchdowns). But both Tebow and McCoy seemed to have the incredible ability to make big plays in the clutch—and make everyone around them better. McCoy says he will return to Texas for his senior season. If he does, I fully expect him to have the 'Horns right back in the national title mix in 2009. He'll likely be in the middle of the Heisman race, too.
