One Man, One Vote

Stand back -- I have a ballot, and I'm not afraid to use it. This year, for the first time in my professional career, I am a Heisman Trophy voter.

The process of being selected as a voter is hardly a "process" at all, it turns out. In my case, I received an e-mail from Orlando Sentinel columnist and Sun Sports contributor Mike Bianchi, who asked if I was interested. Mike is one of several dozen "State Representatives" who is granted the authority by the Heisman Trophy Trust to invite new voters into the fold. The electorate is based on state population, meaning that big states like California and Florida get more voters than smaller states like Rhode Island and Delaware. Apparently, Florida had some vacancies, and all it took was a "hell yes!" via e-mail from me to Mike. I'm in, baby.

My official ballot, number 862, came in the mail in mid-November. It looks very, umm, official. Plain white postcard with instructions and three lines: my first, second, and third choices for the 2007 Heisman Trophy. I am to return the ballot to an accounting firm in Connecticut by the stated deadline of December 5th. In keeping with the times, there's also an online option for my vote, complete with a secure password to the Heisman Trust's private balloting site, a piece of information that most college football fans I know would kill for.

My first semi-official duty as a Heisman voter was to provide my "watch list" to the producers of the Sun Sports pay-per-view broadcast of the Florida-Florida Atlantic game on November 17th. Wisely anticipating a blowout, they wanted to stash away some filler material for the second half, and once the game got out of hand, my list made the show, along with the lists of several other Florida voters. For the record, my five guys, in no particular order, were Tim Tebow of Florida, Colt Brennan of Hawaii, Kevin Smith of UCF, Chase Daniel of Missouri, and Ray Rice of Rutgers. That was my list as of November 17th, mind you, and it's subject to change.

Even though that list was made public almost a full month before the official Heisman announcement, and even though the game was on pay-per-view, I was stunned at how many fans jumped on it via the message boards. The UCF faithful, in particular, were geeked to see that both Bianchi and I placed Kevin Smith on our list, although one viewer noted that "the two Orlando guys" were probably far more aware of Smith's stunning performance this season than the 900-something other voters nationwide, and therefore cautioned his fellow Knights fans against getting their hopes up.

That's a terribly insightful point, when you think about it. For me and Bianchi, placing Tebow and Smith on our list is a no-brainer. We see them every week, cover them every day. However, while the whole world knows Tim Tebow by now, it's not a given that every Heisman voter in America is aware that Kevin Smith was on pace to become the first running back at any Florida school to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season. Similarly, a voter in the Midwest who covers Missouri football may consider Chase Daniel to be the second coming of Joe Montana. A voter in the Pacific Northwest may view Dennis Dixon's body of work at Oregon to be more than sufficient for the 2007 Heisman. Despite our digital TV universe and the endless streams of coverage coming via the Internet, it's impossible for any one voter to gain a comprehensive understanding of every great college football player in every conference in America, which is one reason why the Heisman, like any other national college football award, must be taken with a healthy grain of salt.

And on that point -- the ballot reads as follows: "the recipient of the award must be a bona fide student of an accredited college or university including the United States Academies." Note that it doesn't say "Division I," or "Football Bowl Subdivision," or "BCS Conference." Just a "bona fide student." Theoretically, any voter could cast his or her ballot for any college football player in the country at any level, up to and including Division II, Division III, and even NAIA schools. However, based on the history of the Heisman, we all know that's not the case.

The reality is that the list of winners is filled with quarterbacks and running backs from power programs like Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Southern Cal. Going back to the very first Heisman Trophy ballot in 1935, exactly one defensive player has won the award: Charles Woodson, defensive back, Michigan, 1997. The last winner from what we now call a Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA) school was Princeton's Dick Kazmaier in 1951. That's why I have historically been dismissive of the Heisman as a popularity contest, and yet, as a voter, I have to consider every possible candidate, regardless of position or school. Lord knows I want to do this right. Criticizing the process from afar is one thing; being one of the voters, I am discovering, is something else.

Without any personal precedent, my criteria will include some combination of the following: stats, team record, strength of schedule/conference, and overall value to his team. There's a part of me that asks, "what would X's team be without him?" as a criteria, but does that necessarily produce the "best" player in college football, or simply the most valuable? It's not a team MVP award, it's the Heisman Trophy. Best player, period. Perhaps an impossible task, but I'll give it a shot.

I'll post my three choices once the award is announced. Wish me luck.