First time ever freshman wins Heisman

Tyler Durbin, Sports • Dec 20, 2012

The Heisman Trophy is awarded to the most outstanding player in college football every season. It is the most prestigious award and mosted anticipated award in college football. History was going to be made regardless of which of the three finalists won this year.

The three finalists were quarterback Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M, who would be the first freshman ever to win the award. Linebacker Manti Te’o of Notre Dame, who would’ve been the first primary defensive player to win. And Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein, who would’ve been the first Kansas State player to win the trophy.

This year, Johnny Manziel took the trophy home.

Johnny Manziel was the front-runner coming into the night of the presentation. Coming on as of late, Manziel exploded onto the scene and surprised many. Manziel is a redshirt freshman, which means he was on the team last year and practiced with the team, but was held out of games. Manziel has a knack to make spectacular plays when there seems to be no way out. He captured everyone’s attention when Texas A&M beat Alabama, who was the number one ranked team at the time.

Manziel passed for 3,419 passing yards and rushed for 1,181 rushing yards this season. He has accounted for 43 touchdowns and has an strong 155.9 passer rating.

Collin Klein was noticed last season and carried the attention into this season. He may not have been a favorite at the beginning, but once the games started, he took the lead. Johnny Manziel took over the favorite to win the Heisman from Klein just recently. Klein amazes people with his ability to run the football. He has accounted for 37 touchdowns, more than half of them rushing. He has passed for 2,490 yards and rushed for another 890 yards.Klein also has a better passer rating of 156.1 than Manziel.

The last finalist was Manti Te’o of Notre Dame. Who could have made history as the first primary defensive player ever to win the award.

Te’o currently is the anchor and leader of one of the strongest defenses in the nation. Te’o has recorded 101 tackles this season, but only 46 of them have been solo tackles. Te’o’s most impressive stat is his 7 interceptions, which is tied for second in the nation. Though his stats aren’t the strongest, there is something to be said for being the leader of an undefeated team.

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About the Contributor

Tyler Durbin, Sports

Tyler Durbin, junior, is in his second year on the Inkspot. He will mainly be working with the Sports desk this year. He enjoys watching and playing sports with his friends and for the school. He is a fan of all Chicago sports, except the Sox. He loves watching movies and TV, like The Walking Dead, Community, the Batman trilogy and many other shows in his free time. He looks forward the writing for the Inkspot this year and hopes you enjoy it.