(This is part one of a two part series looking at PITT’s chances of having both a Heisman Trophy and a Biletnikoff Award winner in the 2015 season. Part II will be posted tomorrow)
There was a topic on the Rival.com pay board the other day talking about the idea that PITT might have both a Heisman Trophy and a Bliletnikoff Award winner on the 2015 team in RB James Conner and WR Tyler Boyd. I chipped in my two cents then realized that this would be a good topic for some off-season football discussion on this blog. So here it is. An interesting thing is that when I responded to the message board topic I had done minimal fact checking but while writing this I delved into both awards and see that I was rather mistaken when it came to my thoughts regarding Boyd and the Biletnikoff Award. At first I thought he had no shot at all but maybe he does… (later article).
We PITT fans love these two valuable and star players but sometimes do tend to look at them through our Blue & Old Gold colored glasses, especially when mentally comparing them to other candidates for prestigious awards. Here is a breakdown of how realistic our chances are to have those two major awards sitting in the PITT clubhouse at the end of the 2015 season. Both players are in consideration for the awards; Conner is on the Heisman list (at 33-1 odds) and Tyler Boyd is among 75 players on the preliminary Biletnikoff ‘watch list’. Let’s take a closer look at Conner and the Heisman first.
THE HEISMAN MEMORIAL TROPHY
Just for background, the Heisman Trophy as stated “annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work. “ The Heisman selection committee is comprised of sports journalists who have been selected from six broad geographical areas covering the US. There was 929 voters last year including one ‘at-large’ vote cast by the American public football fans.
It is usually awarded to offensive players (all but one, DB Charles Woodson) who play on winning teams although every player in college football is actually an eligible candidate…. sure! There is hope for Chris Blewitt then. Here are the winners in ‘modern times’. I started at 1975 because that was right before The Hawk won it for the home team. Yea Us!! It is a a long list but the names are linked so it it nice to be able to see what each winner actually did. Plus in the linked info you can see the runner-ups and their voting point totals.
