Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Tebow Adds To Trophy Case

The Heisman is still the big one, but being named the SEC Male Athlete of The Year is pretty damn cool too. Today, Tim Tebow added that award to the trophy case.

Florida Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was named the Southeastern Conference's Roy F. Kramer Male Athlete of the Year in a vote of the league's athletic directors, the league announced Wednesday.

He was joined in the honor by Tennessee basketball player Candace Parker, voted as the league's Female Athlete of the Year.

"The SEC is very proud to honor Tim and Candace, as they are outstanding examples of what a student-athlete can accomplish, both on and off the field of competition," SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said. "Their hard work and dedication to excellence have made them fine representatives of their universities and this conference. We congratulate them and wish them the best in their future endeavors."

Tebow, the only sophomore to win the Heisman, already owns Gator quarterback records for rushing yards (1,364) and touchdowns (37). In two seasons, he has thrown for 3,644 yards and rushed for another 31 scores. He also was the first quarterback in college football history to pass for 20 touchdowns and run for 20 scores.

It's another achievement that Tebow gets to add to the long list that he's compiled in a relatively short amount of time. Eventhough Tebow can obviously do a lot of things, I would like to know if he can dunk like Candace Parker.

Wasn't Someone Overlooked In The Comeback Player Of The Year Voting?

Every year(well, except for 1985) the Associated Press hands out their award for the NFL Comeback Player Of The Year. It's given to the player that shows perseverance in overcoming adversity, in the form of not being in the NFL the previous year, a severe injury, or simply poor performance. This year's recipient was Dallas Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis. Ellis tore his achilles tendon nine games into the '06 season, and returned in '07 to tally 12 1/2 sacks. I don't really have a problem with him winning the award, but here are the other players that received votes:

10 Votes: Randy Moss(WR-New England)
7 Votes: Ben Roethlisberger(QB-Pittsburgh)
5 Votes: Brett Favre(QB-Green Bay), Jamal Lewis(RB-Cleveland)
3 Votes: Bobby Engram(WR-Seattle)
2 Votes: Patrick Kerney(DE-Seattle), Derek Anderson(QB-Cleveland)
1 Vote: Amani Toomer(WR-New York), Albert Haynesworth(DT-Tennessee), Mario Williams(DE-Houston), Andre Carter(DE-Washington)

Of those players, Engram, Kerney and Toomer missed significant time last season due to injury. Moss missed a few at the end of the season due to an ankle injury. Roethlisberger was involved in a motorcycle accident, and had his appendix removed during the offseason prior to the 2006 season. Haynesworth missed some games, but that was because he was suspended for kicking Andre Gurode in the head. The other players receiving votes contributed for the majority of the '06 season, except for Anderson who was a back-up for much of last year.

So those players basically overcame poor performances in 2006, and turned in great ones in 2007. If that's the case, how could Wes Welker not receive any votes? Granted, he hasn't really had a year quite like this one to compare him against, but he definitely perservered through some rough years in Miami and put up stellar numbers this season. Besides, it's not like Mario Williams or Derek Anderson returned to greatness this year.

Welker finished tied with T.J. Houshmanzadeh for most catches in the NFL this season, and he beat his previous best by 45 receptions. He also lead the top 10 receivers in terms of catches with a 5.7 YAC average. And was a consistent contributor on punt and kick returns.

Welker might not have the longest stat sheet to draw from, but he's definitely turned in a performance this year that's worthy of some individual awards. He might have come back from an injury, but he's just as worthy of inclusion on that list as some of the other players that received votes.

Breaking Down The Heisman Finalists

Yesterday, the finalists for the Heisman Trophy were announced. And they are:


Colt Brennan, quarterback, Hawaii
Chase Daniel, quarterback, Missouri
Darren McFadden, running back, Arkansas
Tim Tebow, quarterback, Florida

I've listed them there in alphabetical order. Now let me list them and their stats in the order that I think they should finish in the Heisman voting.

Fourth
Colt Brennan. The University of Hawaii quarterback only faced one ranked team all season, and while he did put up impressive stats against #17 Boise State, he didn't face the tougher opponents that the others did. Here is his statline from that game:

Vs. #17 Boise State(W): 75.5% comp., 495yds, 5TD/2INT; 18yds rush, 2.0avg, 1TD

Third
Darren McFadden. I imagine that most people probably have McFadden in either the #1 or #2 spot. However, his down games against two of the five ranked opponents that he faced pushes him down in my estimation. In those two games, both losses for his team, he actually failed to score any touchdowns. Overall, McFadden ended with a 2-3 record against the five ranked opponents that he faced. Here are his stats from those five games:

Vs. #21 Kentucky(L): 173yds, 6.0avg, 1TD; 10yds receiving, 0TD
Vs. #22 Auburn(L): 43yds, 2.5avg, 0TD; 5yds rec, 0TD
Vs. #23 South Carolina(W): 323yds, 9.2avg, 1TD; 4yds rec, 0TD; 23yds passing, 1TD
Vs. #22 Tennessee(L): 117yds, 5.3avg, 0TD; 17yds rec, 0TD
vS. #1 LSU(W): 206yds, 6.4avg, 3TD; 34yds passing, 1TD

Average: 172yds, 5.8avg, 1TD; 7.2yds rec, 0TD; 11.4yds passing, .4TD/0INT

Second
Chase Daniel. The Mizzou quarterback was unable to defeat Oklahoma twice, but he's the only one out of the four candidates that has a winning record against ranked opponents. Daniel finished with a 3-2 record against those teams, and scored at least one touchdown in all five of those games. Here are his stats from those contests:

Vs. #25 Nebraska(W): 70.2% comp., 401yds, 2TD/0INT; 72yds rush, 6.5avg, 2TD
Vs. #6 Oklahoma(L): 78.7% comp., 361yds, 1TD/2INT; -1yds rush, -.1avg, 0TD
Vs. #22 Texas Tech(W): 73.7% comp., 210yds, 1TD/2INT; 11yds rush, 1.6avg, 0TD
Vs. #2 Kansas(W): 81.6% comp., 361yds, 3TD/0INT; 6yds rush, .9avg, 0TD
Vs. #9 Oklahoma(L): 59% comp., 219yds, 0TD/1INT; 26yds rush, 2.4avg, 1TD

Average: 72.6% comp., 310yds, 1.4TD/.8INT; 22.8yds rush, 2.2avg, .6TD

First
Tim Tebow. The Florida quarterback faced four ranked teams, and lead the Gators to a 2-2 record against them. In each of those four contests he scored at least three total touchdowns, and was the prime example of a dual threat type of quarterback. Here are his stats:

Vs. #22 Tennessee(W): 73.7% comp., 299yds, 2TD/1INT; 61yds rush, 3.4avg, 2TD
Vs. #1 LSU(L): 46.2% comp., 158yds, 2TD/INT; 67yds rush, 4.2avg, 1TD
Vs. #8 Kentucky(W): 69.2% comp., 256yds, 4TD/0INT; 78yds rush, 3.9avg, 1TD
Vs. #20 Georgia(L): 63.6% comp., 236yds, 1TD/0INT; -15yds rush, -1.2avg, 2TD

Average: 63% comp., 237yds, 2.2TD/.4INT; 47.7yds rush, 2.5avg, 1.5TD

Yes, Tebow's stats in the completion percentage and average passing yards departments are down a little from Daniel's, but Tebow also averaged more passing touchdowns and less interceptions against the ranked opponents that he faced. Overall, Tebow averaged an astonishing 3.7 total touchdowns versus the ranked teams that he faced. Daniel averaged a solid 2.0, and McFadden averaged 1.4.

I believe that these stats show that Tebow was able to perform better overall against his toughest opponents than either Daniel or McFadden. All of the finalists chosen are tremendous athletes, but only one deserves to have his name called for the Heisman. And that's Tim Tebow.