South Florida quarterback Quinton Flowers (9) winds up to pass against San Jose State during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron)
Congratulations, you made it! You put in long hours on the practice field, gave it your all at the gym, and spent a herculean effort on the field, raising the eyebrows of more than a few college scouts. You are now a college football player.
So now that you’ve made it, being the ultra-competitive person that you are, you set your eyes on a new prize: the Heisman Trophy.
It won’t be easy, after all, it is the most prestigious individual award in your sport, and every other player in the country is, at least in theory, vying for the honor.
Well, you’re in luck, because I can tell you exactly how to do it. All you have to do is follow these three simple rules:
Of course, you have to be immensely, incredibly talented, and peak at exactly the right time as to gain the eyes of the voters (who aren’t supposed to discuss the Heisman race as it’s going on).
You have to play on offense, preferably at the quarterback position. 12 out of the last 15 Heisman winners have been quarterbacks, and you have to go all the way back to 1997 to find a defensive player who won it, defensive back Charles Woodson, and even he did it on the back of his astounding punt returns.
You have to play for a P5 school. It’s been nearly 25 years since Gino Torretta won the Heisman for Miami, who was playing in the Big East at the time (RIP). He’s the last Heisman winner to play for a school that wasn’t in a power five conference. This may seem unfair, but hey, this is college football we’re talking about. Only ten or so teams have a chance at the national title from the jump.
And there you go. Easy, right?
Quinton Flowers will be, in all likelihood, one of the most electric players in college football. He can run, throw, and do pretty much everything except snap the ball to himself. He came in the top ten in the NCAA last year in QB rushing yards (1,530), yards per carry (7.73), rushing touchdowns (18), and total offense (334 yards per game).
All that, and he didn’t even get an invite to the Heisman ceremony in New York. Flowers might put up even gaudier numbers this year, and he still might not get acknowledged. Honestly though, it shouldn’t matter.
We should appreciate him for what he is, and not worry about his play through the lens of some award voted on by media members that, for the most part, focus on power five schools.
Just enjoy when he scrambles out of the pocket, evades all your best edge rushers and makes a flat-out nuts touchdown pass.
Or when he hits the hole with 4.4 speed and outruns all of your defensive backs.
Or when he makes your team look real dumb.
Oh no.
Just enjoy it, because it will be all over before you know it.
Luke Swanson is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at luke.swanson@uconn.edu
