The
Reisman
Trophy
Voters search
winner in the
the non-candidate
Times are b - ad all around. The nation is embroiled in
Watergate, beef prices have skyrocketed and linemen are
in the running for the Heisman Trophy.
Sportswriters and broadcasters charged with selecting
this year's recepient are at such a loss, they are even
considering a lineman for the Heisman, awarded
annually to the top college football player in the country.
In the past there was always - at least one dominant
figure the voters could pick, even if they were nudged a
little by the sports publicity offices.:What ever happened
to the good old days when you could tell the winner from
the pack of pretenders. O.J. Simpson in 1968. Jim Plunket
in 1970.
This year there are a half dozen candidates for the
Trophy, named after Football Hall of Fame coach John
W. Heisman. The Downtown Athletic Club of New York
distributes between 1,200 and 1,300 ballots and receives
about 75 per cent of them back.
Checking the list of top teams, there is no one player
who has taken charge of the imagination of the voters to
have his name announced as the winner on Dec. 13. In
fact, many people are billing this year's Heisman follies
as the Year of the Non-candidate.
Looking at the list of preseason all-Americas, it is still
difficult to find one standout who deserves the Trophy yet.
There is still more than three weeks of the season left and
any spurt of yardage or touchdowns might be enough to
determine this year's winner.
A quick look at the possible winners reveals there are
four underclassmen in the running. This leads one to
believe this year they will be just jockeying for position.
Whatever happens in the stretch drive next year or the
following one is what counts.
Herschel Nissenson, who covers college football for the
"Nobody has had a great year.
The best picks would be linemen,
but nobody votes for them."
Associated Press, has come to this conclusion regarding
the current race.
"There doesn't seem to be any one player as in recent
years," he said for his New York office earlier this week.
"Nobody has had a great year," he added. "The best
picks would be linemen, but nobody votes for them."
Ohio State is hoping to break the lineman jinx and is
pushing its two All-Americas offensive tackle John Hicks
and linebacker Randy Gradishar. At 6-3, 260, Hicks
for a suitable'
year of
usually leads the way for the Buckeyes punishing ground
game and Gradishar is the top stopper in the Ohio State
defense, ranked first in scoring defense.
If the swing to lineman is for real, then Lucius Selmon
of Oklahoma might be a good choice. Selmon is a quick,
strong middle guard for the Sooners. He gave Penn State
fits in the Sugar Bowl - last year. Oklahoma is on national
television against Nebraska Thanksgiving and Selmon
could turn a few heads while voters nibbled on the turkey.
Other linemen have fantasized winning the Heisman
and learn that it is for the backs and quarterbacks to tote
around. With the voting in an uncertain state, the first
eight weeks of the season will probably be forgotten for
the final three. Television appearances and "Back of the
Week" mentions go a long way in the Heisman
countdown.
Publicity plays an important part in the grooming of the
Heisman candidate. Oklahoma feels Steve Owens' Back
of the Week honors a week before the 1969 Heisman
voting was enough to push his campaign over the top.
Here is a look at the current standouts who have a shot
at the Trophy:
Texas fullback Roosevelt Leaks is the NCAA rushing
leader with 1,146 yards. The 5-10, 218-pound Longhorn
junior was named Southwest Conference Player of the
Year in 1972. He didn't hurt his chances any last week
when he sprang for 342 yards against Southern Methodist
and earned "Back of the Week" honors from the
Associated Press.
According to Ohio State's sports information office,
Archie Griffin is a non-candidate in the non-candidate
year. "He is not in our plans, we are not pushing him," the
spokesman said, indicating the efforts are squarely
behind seniors Hicks and Gradishar and not the
sophomore Griffin. Griffin (5-10, 185 pounds) has seven
100 yard-plus games to his credit for 888 yards rushing.
Ohio State ends the season against Michigan on
television.
Anthony Davis is finding that USC 1973 isn't the same as
USC 1972. Last year the 5-9, 190-pound Davis excited the
country when he ravaged Notre Dame for five TDs. Last
year Davis gained 1,191 yards on 207 carries and scored 17
touchdowns as the Trojans won - the national champions.
This year Southern Cal is 6-1-1 and Davis has a 3.7 yard
rushing average (678 yeards on 182 carries and nine
TDs).
Penn State's entry in the Heisman race is John
Cappelletti, the only senior of the bunch. Cappy is rushing
to make up lost time (he was . a defensive back his
sophomore year). He passed Franco Harris Saturday
with 202 yards against Maryland to move into third place
Looking for the Heis
man trophy winner?
One of these four
could walk or run off
with it this year. They
are Notre Dame QB
Tom Clements, Texas
FB Roosevelt Leaks,
Penn State TB John
Cappelletti and
Southern Cal TB
Anthony Davis.
By Mark Simenson
on Penn State's all-time rushing list. He was nominated
for Back of the Week for that game. The 6-1, 215 tailback,
praised by coach Joe Paterno as the best football player
he's ever had, has rushed for 937 yards. He had 1117 yards
in 1972. Penn State is not on television again this season.
The final candidate is Notre Dame quarterback Torn
Clements, who has compiled 1,014 yards offensively,
leading the Irish to a 7-0 record. Clements, a 6-0, 185-
"The Notre Dame quarterback
has a certain magic about him."
pound junior, has completed 43 of 79 attempts for 665
yards and has better than a 5.0 yard rushing average.
There are a few darkhorse candidates who could get hot
the final weeks and sneak in: Woody Green of Arizona
State is not having as good a year as he did in 1972 and the
fact that his games are played too late to be mentioned in
the early Sunday morning Eastern papers will hurt his
chances.
A win over Southern Cal would boost UCLA
quarterback Mark Harmon's chances of winning the
Trophy his father received in 1940.
Tennessee quarterback Conredge Holloway could pick
up much of the Southern vote, although the Vols aren't on
television any more this year.
While the main thrust of the Heisman voting is
dependent on the field action, a few blocks by the
publicity department is always helpful. It is unlikely that'
any school will try to rhyme its player's name with
Heisman this year as Notre Dame did in 1970 with
quarterback Joe Theisman (its these-man), but expect
some wild campaigns.
After seeing the top players around the nation,
Nissenson leans toward Clements. "The Notre Dame
quarterback has a certain magic about him," he said. "If
the voting were held today, Clements would win." Since
1935, six Irish quarterbacks have won the Heisman.
Davis is having a bad year and Ohio State is saving
'Griffin for next year or the following one. That leaves
leaks and Cappelletti.
Cappelletti doesn't have the same problem Ed
Marinaro of Cornell had in 1971. Marinaro led the nation
in rushing, but lost the Heisman to Auburn quarterback
Pat Sullivan. Besides playing Eastern football, he played
in the Ivy League.
Nissenson sees these five names as being very close
together. "Throw these five names in a hat and anyone
could win," he said.
P.S. Friday, November 9, 1973-5