MORGANTOWN — Let the talk begin today, right here, right now.
Noel Devine can win the Heisman Trophy?
It won’t be easy, but he is capable of putting together a Heisman Trophy season.
In fact, winning the Heisman would be sweet justice for his decision to bypass a chance to jump to the National Football League and return for his senior season.
The problem is that no one from West Virginia University has ever won the Heisman Trophy … not Sam Huff, not Major Harris, not Steve Slaton and not Patrick White.
It just doesn’t happen.
Pitt has had a Heisman Trophy winner. His name was Tony Dorsett.
Notre Dame, Ohio State and Southern California have had seven ... each.
OK, Ohio State really had six winners but won seven Heismans because Archie Griffin won two.
Does the school matter? Well, Griffin’s second Heisman came in a year when he gained 1,450 yards, averaging 5.5 a carry and scored four touchdowns.
Last year Noel Devine rushed for 1,465 yards, averaged 6.1 a carry and scored 13 rushing touchdowns and wasn’t even a candidate.
Perhaps it’s the glasses I’m wearing, but those years look similar with an edge to Devine.
Now it’s true, the game has changed since Griffin played. It has gone away from featuring the running back. The truth is that last year when Mark Ingram of Alabama won the Heisman he was just the second running back since the turn of the century to win the award, joining USC’s Reggie Bush, who was the first running back since Ron Dayne of Wisconsin took down the award in 1999.
When Griffin won, however, offensive football centered upon the running back.
In fact, from 1972 when Nebraska’s Johnny Rodgers won the award to 1983 when Nebraska’s Mike Rozier won, running backs copped each of the 12 Heismans.
And these weren’t just running backs. These were the likes of Herschel Walker, Marcus Allen, Billy Sims, Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett.
These were legends.
And, after missing a year, in 1985 another running back stepped forward to win the award, Bo Jackson.
Now if you look at the winners and the schools on which they played, it almost always was one of college football’s premier elite, the crème de la crème, of which WVU does not belong. These were players from Oklahoma, Ohio State, Nebraska, Penn State, USC, Georgia and Texas.
Make no mistake, if all goes as it should, Devine could well become a candidate for the Heisman, and it might be to coach Bill Stewart’s benefit to really turn him loose this year, if he can. Devine needs to carry 20 to 25 times a year, especially with a quarterback who has yet to prove himself running the show.
Devine has shown himself capable of doing that and when he does he normally finds a way to break loose on a long, ESPN-highlight type run, the kind of thing that draws the attention of Heisman voters.
WVU is faced with a decision as the summer begins. Should it make a major push to try and get Devine the Heisman Trophy?
All kinds of stunts have been tried over the years to draw attention to a Heisman candidate, from renting the sides of skyscrapers for billboards to sending out bobbleheads to videos to having a web page, something WVU did when Patrick White went into his senior season.
It’s a risky thing to do, for a coach tries to build team harmony and the player featured must already own his team’s respect, as Devine seems to do with WVU.
The Mountaineers aren’t sure at present what road they will take, only that they do plan to do something to promote Devine.
“It’s in the planning stages,” football sports information director Mike Montoro said. “We want to do something but we don’t know what direction we will go in. Devine is well known now and with the television schedule we have he will get a great deal of exposure.”
Still, a Heisman winner often is promoted into something larger than life, a folk hero of the Tim Tebow, Bo Jackson magnitude. There are even companies out there willing to tackle the task, one being MVP sports media training, whose website says:
“The Heisman Trophy is no longer won solely by on-the-field performance. To be considered a serious contender, your school’s candidate must also be effective, well-spoken and comfortable during interviews. It also takes a comprehensive and effective media and marketing campaign designed to impact not only the sports writers who vote, but also the broader college football audience.
“MVP’s Heisman Media & Marketing Program includes customized individual media training sessions, to include intensive on-camera interview training. Additionally, MVP will prepare and implement a custom-designed strategic media and marketing campaign designed to give your candidate the advantage for the off-the-field competition.
“Our strategy is to move all-in and commit to making your player the clear front-runner off the field. This is not easy and it will not be cheap. We recognize that and need you to recognize it too. This is not a highlight DVD created by an intern in the sports information office. While cost-effective, that’s not going to grab anyone’s attention.”
Somehow, I think Devine would rather spend his time studying the playbook.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
