Archie Griffin, Reggie Bush, OJ Simpson, Barry Sanders, Mark Ingram.
Which name doesn’t seem to fit?
In the line of great Heisman running backs and Heisman Trophy winners in general, Alabama’s Ingram simply doesn’t stack up.
Ingram is not the best running back in the country
The Thursday before the Heisman presentation, Stanford’s Toby Gerhart was given the Doak Walker award signifying him as the nation’s No. 1 running back.
Ingram may only be the country’s third best running back, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to call him the fifth or six best. Five running backs who could be placed in front of Ingram:
1) Gerhart
Little needs to be said here. Coming down the stretch run, Gerhart carried a mediocre Stanford team on his back for victories against Oregon, USC and Notre Dame by averaging 202 yards and three touchdowns per game (not to mention a passing touchdown against the Irish). Gerhart thrived on the big stage and shattered records while doing so.
2) LaMichael James
After the infamous “Blount Punch,” the 5-foot-9-inch James took the Pac 10 conference by storm. The true freshman do-it-all back fueled the most high-octane offense in college football. In 10 games as the starter he rushed for 1,468 yards and 14 touchdowns.
3) CJ Spiller
The Clemson senior racked up 1,212 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. Add in 506 yards and four touchdowns through the air, and he accounted for half of Clemson’s offense. Sprinkle in 965 more yards and five more touchdowns in the return game, and you have the biggest home run threat in college football.
4) Deon Lewis
Pittsburgh’s true freshman is the only player the author has ever said reminds him a little of Sanders. Lewis, a nightmare for defensive coordinators all year, rushed for 1,799 yards and 17 touchdowns. He performed well on the big stage, rushing for 194 yards and three touchdowns in the Big East championship game against Cincinnati.
5) Jahvid Best
Before his season-ending injury, Best was easily leading the Heisman race. In nine games, the Cal back had totaled 838 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground and had 217 yards and 4 touchdowns receiving. Dennis Dixon received Heisman votes in 2007, and the same case could have been made for Best.
6) Ingram
Ingram was the leading rusher on the best team in the country. His 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns held defenses in check and protected a freshman quarterback all year. He thrives on contact and is very difficult to bring down one-on-one in the open field.
While Ingram is not getting a whole lot of love on this list, the rankings really are not all that crazy.
Ingram is not Alabama’s best player
Ingram may be the most logical choice as the Crimson Tide’s best player. However, it would not be out of the question to make a case for quarterback Greg McElroy, receiver Julio Jones or linebacker Rolando McClain.
While Ingram was a very strong, consistent back throughout the season, he ran behind one of the best offensive lines in all of college football and played in a run-happy offense. In big games, Ingram rarely led the Alabama offensive charge.
Against LSU, the game ball went to Jones who had 102 yards receiving and a touchdown. The rest of the offense struggled, and Ingram did not score.
Terrance Cody received the game ball against Tennessee. Cody blocked two field goals to help keep Alabama’s undefeated season alive as the offense failed to reach the end zone. Ingram, meanwhile, did not score and coughed up a costly fumble.
McElroy grabbed the game ball against Auburn by putting up 218 yards and two touchdowns through the air. One of the touchdowns came on “The Drive.” Ingram did not score and put up only 30 yards.
Ingram finally nabbed a game ball against Florida by rushing for 113 yards and three touchdowns. That is a great night by any measure, and his statistics alone earn him some respect. However, to continue playing devil’s advocate, Ingram’s longest run was 15 yards, and the three touchdowns were just goal-line punch-ins. Averaging 4 yards per carry on 28 touches is not a dominating performance by any means. McClain deserved the game ball just as much for effectively shutting down Tim Tebow.
Again, all this is not to say Mark Ingram isn’t a great football player. He is, and is one of the top 10 in the country. He is just not deserving of the Heisman Trophy.
The trophy could have gone to a number of deserving candidates this year, as there was no obvious choice. This factor made for the most interesting Heisman race in years. No matter who won the award, criticism was sure to follow.
With so many players able to make a case for the trophy this year, who should it have gone to?
Gerhart.
For those readers who think the author is nothing more than an Ingram hater, ask yourselves a question. If you having a fantasy draft for college football, who would you take with the first overall pick? Would you take Ingram? He’s not worthy of being in the top 5.
After Spiller was snubbed and we were down to the five finalists, this is how the voting for the Heisman should have gone:
1) Toby Gerhart
2) Ndamukong Suh
3) Colt McCoy
4) Mark Ingram
5) Tim Tebow
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