Mikey D

For as long as Michael Crabtree is running routes for Texas Tech he shall get a post dedicated to his deserving of the Heisman award. Once again, in my humble opinion, it is Crabtree who is the most deserving.

Before I begin promoting Crabtree, let me say that I absolutely hate what the Heisman award has become. I cannot decide which I dislike more: the BCS system or the Heisman award. I think that I would have to choose the Heisman because at least on some level the BCS is making an attempt to set forth some criteria for choosing the best two teams. The Heisman has become American Idol-esque. It almost feels like whichever school puts out the best advertising and promotion campaign will give their guy a chance. Seriously with that? Of course most player awards are based on "experts" opinions, but last time I checked I didn't see billboards of Alex Rodriguez or Tom Brady in Times Square pushing for their MVP consideration. It's ridiculous.

That being said, I am going to give the award to the man who is college football's best player, Michael Crabtree. He is the most dominant player at his position in college football, hands down. Best QB? Debatable. Best RB? Debatable. Best WR? Michael Crabtree. No doubt about it.

Looking at Crabtree's stats, there's nothing that there isn't to like. The man's worse day this year was 5 catches, 65 yards, and a TD. His worst day! His overall stats look something like this:
51 Catches
724 Yards
12 TDs

Not bad for 7 games, yeah? And I know that some of you (Adam) will look at the stats for wide receivers and notice that he isn't tops for any three of those stat categories. You might even point out to me that a guy like Jarett Dillard of Rice, who has 53 catches, 815 yards, and 14 TDs is better than Crabtree (and maybe more deserving if you're going to give the award to a wide receiver). First, Dillard plays for Rice. I can't even tell you what conference Rice play for. Crabtree is in the Big 12, a conference some regard as being better than the SEC as this point in the season. Crabtree is on an undefeated Texas Tech team, while Rice is a whopping 4-3. So? What's my point? My point is that Crabtree is doing it in the limelight, with the pressure on him, against better competition, and most importantly, his team is winning.

And another thing I hate about the Heisman is that it's purely a flash and stats award. The guy with the best numbers who looks the best is favored. So why isn't Crabtree's named mentioned? Or Graham Harrell for that matter? The answer is because Texas Tech is in a pass-happy offense so their numbers are skewed. I cannot stand this argument. Let's take Colt McCoy, the Heisman front-runner, for example. Tell me how his numbers aren't skewed??? He plays with an offensive line and receivers that are elite. The same with Mark Sanchez. And Sam Bradford. Tim Tebow. The talent that surrounds all of those guys gives them more weapons and playmakers than anyone else in the country, and ultimately makes them better. Watching highlights from last night's Texas-Missouri game solidifies my point. Colt McCoy had two TD passes, one in which he threw a bomb into double coverage that his receiver made a tremendous grab to haul in. Colt McCoy throws a terrible pass into double coverage and gets rewarded in his stat line? Bullshit! And his second TD pass came on a fucking 3-yard flip that the receiver took an extra twenty for a score. All I'm saying is, if you're going to downgrade Crabtree because his offense throws a lot, then downgrade the rest of the lot for competitive advantage they have.

Again, I think Crabtree is the best player at his position and as a sophomore is again putting up ridiculous numbers on a team that is in the top-10. He is the playmaker on an elite college football team in one of the two toughest conferences in college football. Give him some respect, give him some recognition...

Give him the Heisman.

~Mikey D