He has earned it just as much as any of the others on the list!

Would be cool for him to be the first defensive lineman to win the trophy.

At a minimum he has earned a trip to NY this weekend.

Looks like he at least gets the trip to NY. Thanks rmh!



Contact: Tim Henning
RELEASE
Office: 212-425-7000 x101
Email: Tim@Heisman.com

Dec. 7, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE

GERHART, INGRAM, MCCOY, SUH AND TEBOW ANNOUNCED AS 2009 HEISMAN FINALISTS
NEW YORK, December 7, 2009 - Tim Brown, the 1987 Heisman Trophy winner from Notre Dame, announced the finalists for the 75th Annual Heisman Memorial Trophy Award live on ESPN's 6pm edition of SportsCenter. Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, Alabama running back Mark Ingram, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow were revealed as the five contenders for the award.

All five finalists will be invited to New York for the live Heisman Announcement on ESPN Saturday at 8pm EST presented by Nissan. This is the first time five finalists were invited for the presentation since 2004.

Gerhart would be Stanford’s second Heisman winner since Jim Plunkett won in 1970. Since returning from a knee injury that halted his season in 2007, Gerhart has dazzled on the field.

This season the senior has 311 rushes for 1,736 yards and 26 touchdowns. Gerhart is the second player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Right now, he is second on Stanford’s all-time rushing list with 3,182 yards behind Darrin Nelson, who finished his career with 4,033 yards. Gerhart leads the PAC-10 in rushing yards and touchdowns.

Ingram is looking to take home Alabama’s first Heisman Trophy award. The sophomore powered through SEC defenses all seasons to be the top rusher in the league. This season he rushed for 1,542 yards on 249 attempts with 15 touchdowns.

He is the first Crimson Tide to be invited to New York since quarterback Jay Barker attended in 1994. The previous year wide receiver David Palmer finished third, which is Alabama’s highest showing in the Heisman race.

McCoy is a repeat finalist finishing second to Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford last season with 1,604 points. He would be the third Heisman winner from Texas joining Earl Campbell ('77) and Ricky Williams ('98) and the first quarterback to win. McCoy has won 45 games in his collegiate career the most in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivsion history.

The senior is 330 of 468 attempts for 3,512 yards and 27 touchdowns. He has also produced on the ground rushing for 348 yards and 3 touchdowns. McCoy leads the Big 12 in total yards with 3,860. He was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year this year. For the second straight year, two finalists will face each other in the BCS Championship as McCoy will go up against Ingram.

Suh attempts to become only the second true defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. Charles Woodson of Michigan accomplished that feat in 1997. He is the first defensive tackle to be invited to New York since Warren Sapp of Miami attended in 1994.

The senior and 2009 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year holds Nebraska season records for interceptions by a defensive tackle (2), interception returns for touchdowns by a defensive tackle (2) and a career record for interceptions by a defensive tackle (3). He will be the Cornhuskers fourth Heisman recipient behind Johnny Rodgers (’72), Mike Rozier (’83) and Eric Crouch (’01).

Tebow attempts to become the second two-time Heisman winner following Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975. Last year, Tebow finished with 1,575 points– the most for a third-place finalist.

The senior capped off his incredible career this season leading the Gators in rushing with 859 yards and 13 touchdowns. He eclipsed Herschel Walker Southeastern Conference record for most career rushing touchdowns this season (56). In the air, Tebow has completed 182 passes out of 279 attempts for 2,413 yards and 18 touchdowns.

The Heisman trophy is awarded to the most outstanding college football player in the United States as determined by 870 media representatives, 55 living Heisman winners and one overall fan vote through a partnership with Nissan, Heisman's presenting sponsor.

"This has been an extraordinary year for college football and the Heisman race," said Robert Whalen, Executive Director of The Heisman Trophy Trust. "We anticipate the announcement of the newest member to the elite Heisman Fraternity and continuing our celebration of 75 years of tremendous Heisman History."

Heisman Memorial Trophy Awards Dinner: Tickets are still available to the 2009 Heisman Memorial Trophy Dinner on Monday, December 14. The winner of the 75th Annual Heisman Memorial Trophy will be presented his award at this event. Three previous Heisman winners will also be recognized: Billy Cannon (LSU, 1959) on the 50th Anniversary of his award, Doug Flutie (Boston College, 1984) on the 25th Anniversary of his award and Ron Dayne (Wisconsin, 1998) on his 10th Anniversary. Tickets can be purchased online at www.heisman.com or by calling the Heisman Trophy Offices at (212) 425-7000. Only ticketed guests will be permitted at the event.

Credentials to Cover The Heisman Press Conference at the Marriott Marquis: A limited number of credentials will be available to media members for coverage of the Heisman post-announcement press conference. Accredited media outlets can apply for credentials via the News Room section of www.Heisman.com.

It would be great if he could win it, and well deserved. I think he is definitely the most dominant player I've ever seen in college football. Unfortunately too many of the voters are lazy sportswriters who aren't sure if the ball is blown up or stuffed and only look at the statistics. "Hmph, this guy only scored two touchdowns in his entire career. Why is he even on the list?"

But we can only hope and be proud of a great player who also seems to be a great guy.

From Huskers.com

Ndamukong Suh Selected as Heisman Trophy Finalist




Senior defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was named one of five finalists for the Heisman Memorial Trophy Award, given annually to the most outstanding college football player in the country. The announcement of his selection as a finalist came on Monday afternoon in a live segment of ESPN SportsCenter.

Suh will join Colt McCoy (Texas, quarterback), Mark Ingram (Alabama, running back), Toby Gerhart (Stanford, running back) and Tim Tebow (Florida, quarterback) at the 75th Heisman Trophy awards announcement, which will take place on Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square. The event will be televised live from New York City at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN.

"It is a tremendous honor and very humbling to be a finalist for a prestigious award like the Heisman Trophy," Suh said. "I'm excited to be included with a great group of finalists for this year's award."

"Suh is certainly deserving of any honors that may come his way this week," Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini said. "He is a special football player -- as good as anyone in the country, in my opinion. It is good to see that the Heisman voters have recognized the true impact a dominant defensive lineman like Suh can have on a football game."

Suh is the first Heisman finalist for Nebraska since quarterback Eric Crouch won the school's third Heisman Trophy in 2001. Crouch joined past Husker winners Johnny Rodgers (1972) and Mike Rozier (1983) as Nebraska ranks third in Heisman Trophy winners since 1970.

Overall, Suh is likely to be the 17th Husker to finish in the top 10 of voting for the award and third NU defensive player. Middle guard Rich Glover was third in the voting in 1972 behind teammate and winner Rodgers, while Wayne Meylan, also a middle guard, was ninth in Heisman voting in 1966.

Only once has a defensive player won the Heisman Trophy, as Michigan's Charles Woodson took the top honor in 1997. Primarily a cornerback, Woodson also played on offense and special teams while winning the award in his junior season. Suh has only played on offense once this year, lining up in the backfield for a few snaps in Nebraska's 13-12 loss to Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game.

During that contest, Suh demonstrated why he should be included among the most outstanding players in the country. The Portland, Ore., native dominated the line of scrimmage against the Longhorns, racking up a career-best-tying 12 tackles while adding 4.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss. He pressured fellow Heisman finalist Colt McCoy throughout the night, individually recording more sacks against McCoy than any team as a whole has ever sacked him during his four-year career.

On the season, Suh leads the Cornhuskers with 82 tackles, including 50 solo stops. He is bidding to become the first defensive lineman ever to lead the Blackshirts in tackles in consecutive years, as he also paced the team with 76 tackles last season.

Suh is sixth nationally in sacks with 12.0 this season, moving him to third on the Cornhuskers' single-season list while bringing his career total to 24.0 to place fourth all-time in Nebraska history. He also moved to second on the Huskers' career TFL chart with 56, just three away from the record currently held by two-time All-American Grant Wistrom (58.5).

Suh also has 26 quarterback hurries this year while adding 10 pass breakups. The 6-4, 300-pounder ranks in the top 80 nationally (all positions) for passes defended as he added his fourth career interception earlier this fall. Suh has added a forced fumble and has blocked three kicks this year while leading the Huskers to a 9-4 record, and a berth in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl against Arizona on Dec. 30.

On Monday, Suh started a national awards tour that will eventually end in New York City, as he was on his way to Charlotte, N.C., for the banquet to announce the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner, given to the best defensive player in the country. Suh will then travel to Houston on Wednesday for the Lombardi Award presentation and will be on hand for the Home Depot ESPN College Awards Show on Thursday, Dec. 10. Suh is a finalist for the Outland Trophy at the event, as well as the Bednarik Award. The Walter Camp All-America Team also will be announced during the live telecast on ESPN starting at 6 p.m.

quote:

He will be the Cornhuskers fourth Heisman recipient behind Johnny Rodgers (’72), Mike Rozier (’83) and Eric Crouch (’01).

I hope this statement becomes fact on Saturday.

where is that quote from? i hope it is true

From the press release Rocker posted.

The thing about Charles Woodson, though, is that he was not EXCLUSIVELY a defensive player. He also returned kicks for Michigan, and if memory serves he played some receiver as well. Woodson was the last of the mutli-faceted standouts that could kill your team on either side of the ball or in special teams.

If Suh wins, he will be the first player to EXCLUSIVELY play defense (although he has been used on a few, and I emphasize, few, offensive plays) to win the Heisman.

I wonder if Suh would have benefitted more from using him on offense like he was used last year. It could have given him a little more exposure, and who knows it could have potentially helped our offense!

He couldn't have hurt it!

Nagurski, Lombardi, Bednarick and Outland in his trophy case so far. See what happens Saturday night!

McCoy took the Walter Camp POY and the Maxwell Award. Winners of those awards USUALLY win the Heisman.

Let's hope that's not the case here...

I may be wrong but i'm pretty sure like 5 out of the last 7 Maxwell winners didnt win the heisman. Sportscenter was talking about it...that its almost turning into the "sorry you didnt win the heisman but still had a good year" award

http://www.omaha.com/article/20091213/NEWS/712139929

This is a great article from the OWH.

Suh became the first Defensive player to win the AP Player of the Year yesterday.