THE HEISMAN CORNER
"Heisman Moments" of Past Winners in the VIDEO VAULT
2012 HEISMAN BALLOT
At the beginning of the season, the assumed Heisman hopefuls included Matt Barkley, Montee Ball, Landry Jones, Marcus Lattimore, and EJ Manuel. This season was a rare case where none of the actual finalists started anywhere close to the preseason hype. As the season progressed, Geno Smith caught the nation's eye with his 8 TD performance against Baylor, and flawless stats over the first month. A few other Quarterbacks emerged atop the Heisman radar including Collin Klein and Braxton Miller. When Kansas State destroyed West Virginia in the national spotlight, Klein secured the top spot in the race, with close competition from Miller, who was leading the undefeated Buckeyes. All the while was a weekly presence on the other side of the ball- Notre Dame's LB Manti Te'o. Each week, Te'o made the key plays needed to continue the dream season, and anchored the top defensive unit in the nation. His iconic goal-line stand against Stanford put him into the Heisman discussion, while his interception at Oklahoma put him near the top. Oregon also added in two candidates from their electric offense, but both Marcus Mariota and Kenjon Barner were completely shutdown in the division title loss to Stanford. Then, Johnny "Football" Manziel threw his hand into the race with an unbelievable performance against then #1 Alabama. As Miller's numbers became more pedestrian, and the postseason ban had its adverse effects on Ohio State's media attention, Miller fell out of contention. Finally, with Kansas State's embarrasing loss to Baylor, Klein's vicegrip on the lead was lost, opening the flood gates for possibly the first freshman winner ever, or the first sole defender of the modern era. In the end, Te'o has been consistently the most dominant player week in and week out. Manziel has out-of-this-world statistics--albeit seven interceptions from Te'o is remarkable for a Linebacker--but in a schedule that featured three top-25 opponents, Manziel only played like a Heisman winner once (Alabama). Manti Te'o, you have solidified your glory in the eyes of Pick Six Previews; you are our Heisman Winner.
With the completion of the 2012 Regular Season, here is our official Heisman Ballot:
WINNER - Manti Te'o, LB, NOTRE DAME
2nd - Johnny Manziel, QB, TEXAS A&M
3rd - Collin Klein, QB, KANSAS STATE
Agree/Disagree? Let's hear it PickSix Nation: