Monday, October 24, 2011

David Wilson for Heisman?

It's been a long time since Virginia Tech has had a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.  The person I'm referencing here is obviously Michael Vick.  Ryan Williams did very well 2 seasons ago, but by the end of the season he wasn't anywhere close to the front-runners.  The truth is David Wilson has been every bit as impressive as fellow Heisman candidate Trent Richardson of Alabama, but there are two reasons why people are talking about Richardson and nobody is talking about Wilson.

The first reason is the most obvious... Richardson is sporting a robust 18 touchdowns at this point in the season.  Alabama has only played 8 games, so for you non-math types, that's over 2 touchdowns per game for Richardson.  David Wilson has only 8 touchdowns on the season at a rate of 1 per game.  VT had weak opponents in their first 4 games of the season, but with Logan Thomas needing until opponent #6 for his QB light to go on, Wilson probably missed a bunch of TD opportunities as the QB and offensive line both struggled.

The second reason why nobody is talking about David Wilson for Heisman... he is playing for Virginia Tech.  Now, I don't mean that comment in a way like, "The media hates Virginia Tech and nobody pays any attention to us."  That's not the least bit true in my opinion, the Hokies get plenty of coverage and love from ESPN.  However, VT is currently sitting at 12th in the BCS standings and doesn't really have a legit shot at the national title.  The media prefers their Heisman candidates to come from teams who are vying for the #1 spot, so they're not really looking at a player who is out of the running.  Sometimes there are guys like Robert Griffin III putting up astronomical numbers on a bad team that is supposedly in the running for the Heisman, but trust me... RGIII has zero chance to win the trophy.

I guess this post is more to inform than anything else.  Although David Wilson can do some sweet things like plant his head on the ground, spin around on it, and continue to run while the rest of his body never touches the ground, he hasn't really had the type of season that requires nationwide attention.  Not yet, at least.  Wilson is probably not going to come anywhere close to the TD totals that Richardson is producing, so he needs for two things to happen, one which is in his control and another outside of his control.  The thing that is within his control: Wilson needs to put up bigger yardage totals.  He needs a couple of games where he runs for over 200 yards while making defenders look silly.  The only way a Heisman committee can compare Wilson to Richardson is if his yardage totals are much more impressive than T-Rich and can counterbalance the lopsided TD numbers.  The thing outside of his control: Wilson needs the teams ranked above VT to lose, and lose more than just one game.  One loss for LSU or Alabama or even OK State probably won't drop them close enough to the Hokies to matter.

Although the Heisman trophy means nothing once a player jumps to the NFL, I'd still love to see a Hokie take one home one day.  Since David Wilson will probably take his talents to the NFL after this year, maybe that guy for VT can be Logan Thomas.  Thomas has made huge strides in his last 3 games and is starting to look like a real talent.  Will he continue on that path and eventually become elite?  The answer is obviously "Yes."  Next topic for discussion, please.

1 comment:

Richie said...

I'm totally with you on this. My vote for Heisman is RG3. That guy is a beast and is clearly the best college football player. I would love to see some consideration of non-offensive players too.