Opinion: Big East stars ready to strike Heisman pose
Louisville's Brohm, West Virginia's Slaton and White among favorites
OPINION
By Ken Davis
Updated: 4:35 a.m. ET Aug 4, 2007
Life is good for Brian Brohm these days — and the NFL can wait.
The Louisville quarterback, MVP of last season’s Orange Bowl, is heading into his senior season and still playing in his hometown. His brother, Jeff, remains as the school’s quarterbacks coach despite the transition at head coach from Bobby Petrino to Steve Kragthorpe. The new staff happens to enjoy the explosiveness of a spread offense just as much as the previous administration, so the Cardinals should continue to light up the scoreboard. Brohm has speedy receivers to throw to and a fleet of talented runners at his disposal. If that’s not enough, Brohm’s name is near the top of almost every preseason checklist for college quarterback awards.
And, as usual, the Cardinals are considered top contenders in the Big East race, as well as contenders for the national championship.
What’s the bottom line? Brohm is still having too much fun in college to think about the NFL. He surprised many by not plunging into the professional pool after last season. But Brohm really, really wants that BCS championship before he moves on. And who knows? There could be Heisman Trophy in Brohm’s future.
“You can’t think about [winning the Heisman] too much,” Brohm said. “ It’s the most prestigious individual award out there but only one guy is going to win it and it’s hard to do. You’ve got to have a great season individually. Your team has to have a great season. You can’t focus on it too much.”
On Big East Conference media day in late July, all Brohm had to do was look around the ballroom at the Hotel Viking in Newport, R.I., and he could understand exactly how competitive the Heisman race will be this season. A few feet away, sitting at the Rutgers table, running back Ray Rice was answering questions about the Heisman. And across the room, West Virginia running back Steve Slaton and quarterback Patrick White were entertaining reporters by comparing scores in a cell phone game known as Jawbreaker.
Maybe Brohm doesn’t want to focus on the Heisman, but the Big East certainly can dream. No, this is not the Southeastern Conference. And, no, this is not some publicity stunt invented by the conference office. All four are legitimate Heisman candidates. Whether they are still in the running at the end of the season remains to be seen, but right now they have the resumes to back it up.
“That’s unheard of in the history of our league,” Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said. “We’ve been playing football since 1991 and we’ve had a lot of great players.”
Tranghese uttered that observation with pride, not disbelief. For those who regularly attend Big East media day, the upbeat mood this summer was an amazing contrast to the conference’s recent history. Since the summer of 2003, when expansion of the Atlantic Coast Conference threatened the Big East’s very existence, the conference kickoff has sometimes resembled a wake.
The league’s lowest point may have come when Tranghese used that stage to promise his resignation if the Big East split into separate football and basketball conferences. Now the member schools and the national media gather for a golf tournament and a clambake in scenic Newport.
Wake? Or clambake? Which sounds more fun?
Tranghese and his staff have become, well, downright giddy. The commissioner made his opening statement surrounded by five bowl trophies. Bowl game victories by South Florida, Rutgers, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Louisville last season gave the Big East possession of the Bowl Challenge Cup, awarded to the best postseason record in the nation.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Brohm, who led the Big East in passing yards (3,049) last season and was ninth nationally in both passing efficiency and total offense. “The perception in the media around the country has gotten much better because of last season. There were three teams 8-0 [going into November] in one conference. In a conference with only eight teams, that’s pretty much unheard of. We just gained a lot more respect.”
Brohm admitted he has no clue what Heisman voters look for or how they compare players. But he should realize perception plays a big part in the balloting and the Big East often comes up short in that department.
Big East fans that would rather disregard Miami’s part of conference history — now that the Hurricanes reside in the ACC -—must face the reality of an empty Heisman vault. Miami quarterback Gino Torretta won the trophy in 1992. Since then, Big East players have struggled to keep up with the powers from USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida State.
Pittsburgh receiver Larry Fitzgerald was second in 2003 and Michael Vick of Virginia Tech was third in 1999. Other than those isolated incidents, the best Heisman finish by a Big East player has been fourth place.
Slaton, a consensus All-American last season, was fourth in the Heisman balloting last season behind winner Troy Smith of Ohio State, Darren McFadden of Arkansas, and Brady Quinn of Notre Dame. McFadden is the only other returnee. That momentum could establish Slaton as the Big East frontrunner in this year’s Heisman race. Slaton ranked second nationally in all-purpose yards and fourth in rushing yards.
The combination of Slaton and White (two of nine offensive starters returning) gives the Mountaineers one of the most dangerous offensive packages in the nation. That’s why West Virginia is heavily favored to win the Big East and an extremely serious challenger for the national championship. The two Heisman hopefuls constantly compete with one another — on and off the field — but always add a dash of laughter.
It remains to be seen whether the two forces from West Virginia will collide and hurt each other in the Heisman race. But it is obvious there is no animosity between the two.
“No. We do whatever we can to win,” Slaton said. “That’s the biggest thing.”
Rice, like both Slaton and White, is just a junior. Even though he was the nation’s second leading rusher last season and broke the Big East’s single-season rushing record (1,794 yards), Rice says he is humbled by the Heisman hype. That includes the high-tech Internet site set up by the Rutgers media relations department.
Just set your browser on seerayrun.com for everything you want to know about Rice this season.
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano says Rice can handle it.
“He’s a mature young man that doesn’t get caught up in the hype,” Schiano said. “Ray has neither embraced it nor pushed it off. I think that speaks to how much of a team-guy he is.”
The Big East has never seen anything like this. All four Heisman candidates are pictured on the conference media guide. Let the fun begin.
But, as Brohm said, only one guy can win it.
Ken Davis is a frequent contributor to MSNBC.com and freelance writer based in Hartford, Conn.
URL:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20037607/
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