Who Should Win the Heisman Trophy?

The three finalists, Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o, Kansas State’s Collin Klein, and Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel. (Photo credit: NFL.com)

The voting for college football’s most prestigious individual award, the Heisman Trophy, is officially over. The 928 voters have made their selections as to who they believe is the NCAA’s best and most valuable player, and now all that the rest of us have to do is wait. The three finalists who have been announced are Manti Te’o of Notre Dame, Collin Klein of Kansas State, and Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M, and any one of them could take home the trophy on Saturday night. Before the presentation I would like to give candidate’s case, and state who I believe will win the award. First with the finalists:

Manti Te’o- Linebacker, Notre Dame

The 2012 season has been a nearly perfect one for Manti on the field, with his Fighting Irish currently undefeated and heading to Miami for a shot at the national title. But off the field he has dealt with an incredible amount of hardships, as he lost his girlfriend and grandmother within one day earlier this year. Te’o has certainly not let that affect his play on the field, as he has been the anchor of the Irish defense and has made the big plays in their biggest games. In my opinion he has had several “Heisman moments” this season, as his his three best games have arguably been in Notre Dame’s biggest games. He had two interceptions against rival Michigan back in a September win, an interception and sack in their road win at Oklahoma, and an interception in their BCS Championship-clinching win at Oklahoma. Head coach Brian Kelly stated of Te’o ” if Manti doesn’t win the Heisman, just cut to the chase and give all future awards to the offensive player of the year.” I happen to agree with him on that.

Collin Klein- Quarterback, Kansas State

In my opinion, Collin Klein epitomes the idea that one bad game can absolutely crush a players Heisman hopes. He and the Wildcats were riding high at 10-0, and appeared headed for Miami to play for the national title. What followed next was a 52-24 loss at Baylor in which he threw three interceptions, effectively ending Kansas State’s title hopes and his shot at the Heisman. Besides that game, Klein has been almost flawless this season for the Wildcats. Throwing for 2,490 yards and rushing for 890 more, all while amassing 37 total touchdowns. He has rushed for at least one touchdown in every game they’ve played this season, excluding the opener against Missouri State, and he leads the Big 12 in both quarterback rating and scoring. Back in November he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, and had the magazine called him “The best player on the nation’s best team.” That statement may no longer be true, but if was that late in the season, it should certainly qualify him to still be in the running.

Johnny Manziel- Quarterback, Texas A&M

Johnny Manziel, or “Johnny Football” as he is known by most of the nation, may be the most electrifying player that college football has seen in a long time. He has led the Aggies to a 10-2 record, and has 4600 total yards (an SEC record) along with 43 total touchdowns this season. Oh and by the way, he’s done this all as a red-shirt freshman. If you don’t believe that Manziel is the real deal then you simply must have a screw loose. He’s led Texas A&M to three wins against ranked opponents this year, including a 29-24 victory over then-number-one Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Ever since that improbable win he has been the presumed front-runner for the Heisman, and I cannot dispute that. The only problem that I have with his case is that his team was never really in the national title race. Now I understand why that should not factor into the voting, but it is still important to me. Building off of that point, in their two losses this season he has looked incredibly average. I’m not saying that Manziel doesn’t deserve this award, but he will certainly not run away with it.

Final Verdict: If I had a vote for the Heisman trophy this year, it would go to Manti Te’o of Notre Dame. Now I know that defensive players almost never win this award, but I believe that Te’o has held together the best defense on the best (right now) team in the nation. Manziel and Klein have each had games where they have looked over-matched, while Te’o and the Irish defense have been incredibly consistent this season. In fact, they’ve given up more than 20 points just once. This Saturday we are certainly bound to see a very rare occurrence in the college football world. Either a freshman or a defensive player will most likely win the Heisman trophy, and I think that Johnny Football will have to wait another year as Manti Te’o will take home the hardware.