Ingram not my pick, but a deserving Heisman winner

I said that last week’s Heisman watch would be my final story of the year on it since the award was handed out Saturday night, but I decided I’d at least offer my thoughts on the final vote.

Sophomore running back Mark Ingram won the Hesiman in the closest vote ever over fellow running back Toby Gerhart with Colt McCoy finishing third and Ndamukong Suh ending up fourth.

I don’t have any real argument with Ingram getting the trophy, as I predicted last week, the vote would be very very close.  Ingram certainly did a fine job when his name was announced to regain his composure after the emotion of it all and gain the where-with-all to thank everyone in the Crimson Tide nation for their help in getting him there.

He remembered everyone’s name from the trainers and strength coordinators to the school president.  Not bad for a 20 year old sophomore speaking on national television. In winning, he becomes the third straight sophomore and first ever winner from Alabama.  

His story itself is one of challenges.  On the night of his greatest achievement, his father, Mark Sr., a former NFL star was sitting just five miles away in a federal prison, convicted of money laundering and bank fraud.  He’s a deserving young man who will hopefully do great things in the future.

For Gerhart, who finished 2nd, it was a case of not being well enough known early and playing for a west coast team.  Despite his spectacular numbers that were better than Ingram’s, he narrowly lost the voting in the east and the Mid-Atlantic states from voters that probably never saw him play.  That was the difference.

McCoy was hurt by the split in voting with Suh in the midwest and western regions and of course to a certain extent by fifth place finisher Tim Tebow.  Colt will go down in my book as the greatest college quarterback never to have won the Heisman.  If there was a career award, it would be his.  In what was actually his worst year in the past three seasons statistically, he still finished a close third and has a chance to win an national title and go undefeated.

Suh was a longshot to begin with.  As we know, defenders don’t win the Heisman, but in a year when there was no clear cut offensive favorite, Suh recorded the most votes ever for a fourth place finisher.

I have no quarrel with the outcome I felt any of the top four would have been deserving and they all have my respect for their performances on the field this year.