Heisman Trophy Finalists 2009: Toby Gerhart and Ndamukong Suh Join Favorites Tebow, McCoy, and Ingram

The Heisman Trophy finalists were announced by Notre Dame standout and 1987 Heisman winner, Tim Brown, Monday evening on ESPN. And as expected, the voting was close. Unlike last year, where the standouts were obvious enough that only three players made the trip to New York for the award ceremony, this year's Heisman Trophy balloting was so close, five players made the cut, including, that rarity of all rarities, a defensive ballplayer, Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh.

The Heisman Trophy is a hallowed piece of statuary that has only been given to those considered the best all-round player in collegiate football. This year's trophy will be the 75th presentation of the prestigious "straight arm trophy." Only one person has ever won the award twice: Ohio State's Archie Griffin (1974, 1975). In the 2009 Heisman race, Florida's Tim Tebow stands a chance of becoming the second person to win a second time, having won the award in 2007. He will be joined at the ceremony by Colt McCoy of Texas, Mark Ingram of Alabama, Toby Gerhart of Stanford, and Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska.

Alabama's star running back, Mark Ingram, made a statement against the #1 ranked defense in the country Saturday with a 113-yard game, scoring three touchdowns. He has also rushed for 1,542 yards this season.

Tim Tebow, who holds countless records as he readies to leave Florida, passed for 2,413 yards his senior season and completed 18 touchdown passes. However, going into the final voting stage, Tim Tebow lost the SEC Championship Game against Alabama.

Toby Gerhart is the nation's leading rusher, pounding out 1,736 yards against mostly first-rate defenses in the PAC 10 Conference. He finished the season with six straight 100+ yardage games. In his final game against Notre Dame, Gerhart ran for 206 yards, scored three touchdowns and even threw a touchdown pass.

Colt McCoy is considered the Heisman Trophy favorite. He lost the Heisman in 2008 to Sam Bradford of Oklahoma, who spent most of the 2009 football season injured. McCoy entered the final voting stage with a near loss to Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game, throwing only one touchdown pass and three interceptions. However, he threw for 3,512 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2009.

The most obvious reason why Colt McCoy fared so poorly in Saturday night's game was due to a defensive tackle named Ndamukong Suh. Nebraska's Suh sacked McCoy 4.5 times, was responsible for twelve tackles total, seven of which threw Texas for a loss of yardage. Ndamukong Suh is also up for the Lombardy, Outland, and various other awards given to outstanding collegiate defensive ballplayers.

Although Ndamukong Suh is considered an outside shot as a defensive lineman, Hugh Green of Pittsburgh, a defensive end, came in second in 1980. Charles Woodson of Michigan remains the only defensive ballplayer to win the Heisman, playing cornerback (primarily) and wide receiver in 1997.

******

Sources:

DallasNews.com
ESPN.com