There’s an easy answer why former Redskins cornerback Darrell Green sailed into the Pro Football Hall of Fame while longtime teammate Art Monk had to wait his turn: signature moments. The same applies to Heisman voting. In a season in which several conventional contenders have emerged — including Andrew Luck (Stanford), Trent Richardson (Alabama) and Robert Griffin III (Baylor) — none has stamped his resume complete with an indelible game or play.
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That leaves us with an unconventional candidate, a cornerback who was suspended one game for using synthetic marijuana but has had no shortage of Heisman-worthy highlights.
LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu is the best player on the best team, and he made plays when it counted most. Check his work in the Tigers’ 42-10 victory over Georgia in the SEC championship Saturday.
With his team down 10-0 and on its way to going three and out on its first seven possessions, Mathieu returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown to turn the game upside down. Then in the second half, he recovered a fumble to set up the go-ahead touchdown. Minutes later, he made an even more sensational 47-yard punt return that set up another score.
Mathieu has been changing games all season, starting with the season opener against Oregon when he stripped a Ducks punt returner and scored on the fumble. He has forced six fumbles this year, recovered a nation-high five and returned two for touchdowns. He also leads LSU in tackles (70), an extraordinary feat for a cornerback.
He was on the Heisman radar of contrarians as early as September, but then came the drug debacle.
The only primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy was Michigan’s Charles Woodson. That season (1997) was a lot like this year. The front-runner, Peyton Manning, lacked a signature performance. So the Heisman went to the best player on a national championship team.
Timing also had something to do with it. In the regular-season finale against Ohio State, Woodson returned a punt for a touchdown, intercepted a pass in the end zone and made a 37-yard reception that set up Michigan’s lone offensive score.
Woodson was under the radar, but his tour de force came at the right time. Will the same formula deliver “Honey Badger” a Heisman?
– Kevin Dunleavy
