I tend to shy away from criticizing the media, and OSU for that matter, when it comes to any sort of column/campaign/idea mostly because I know people are trying their best to create quality content and partly because…well…I think I’m actually part of the media now which makes me fair game for retributive critique.
I can’t let this one go though. Linking Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden together for a proposed Heisman campaign via Facebook and Twitter is not a good idea. In fact, it’s an atrocious lack of foresight if the goal is to bring Barry’s 22-year old Heisman back to Heritage Hall.
David Ubben wrote a post the other day where he mused,
If you honestly want a player to win the Heisman, anyone with any sense is going to market the quarterback. Receivers, unless they make a big impact in the return game, don’t win Heismans. And even then, it’s near impossible. Perception or not, marketing for the Heisman is a big deal for players at schools that aren’t traditional powers.
Ubben then had this to say after I said “so I assume you aren’t on board with the Weeden2Blackmon thing?”
The problem OSU faces, and Mike Leach is on line one to discuss this, is that their receiver is actually the better player than their quarterback. He’s the better talent, the better performer, the better pro prospect, and probably the better story. So what’s the solution? Well it’s certainly not doubling down on both of them as promotable Heisman candidates and (presumably) hoping one clarifies the already-murky picture at the end of the season.
Side note: I completely understand who OSU is marketing as its Heisman favorite is a non-issue for most people and should be treated as such in blogs and columns. This is college athletics, who cares what decisions are made off the field?!? That’s fair, just don’t forget that the administrators running the show (a few of them anyway) become wealthy people because the teams their employer fields are successful in football or basketball. Winning Heismans = more notoriety = better recruits = more talent = more wins = more money = richer administrators. Don’t forget that, I’m just bringing a little accountability to the table.
As another aside I should mention how much I hate it when people break down something specific they dislike about another entity or situation and offer up zero solutions, so yeah, I’m not going to do that.
Instead, might I suggest that you pick one of these guys and just let the marketing budget rip for all its worth. If you have to borrow from LeBryan Nash’s shoe fund then do it. If you have to lop a little off the top of Frank Anderson’s $300k+ salary I’m cool with that. Hell, if you have to move some numbers around on the ledger of Byron Eaton’s McDonald’s tab you’re probably still paying off, that’s okay. Just get it done.
For my money I’m rolling the dice with Blackmon. One of the biggest problems with this campaign is that you’re essentially introducing a nation only familiar with #81 to a quarterback you’re now telling them is his equal. The result: split Heisman votes, no clear frontrunner, and absolutely no shot at the stiff armed trophy.
I know Ubben noted that wide receivers historically have a tough time winning the thing (the last one to do it was my first, and maybe only, Big 10 crush – Charles Woodson) but the fact of the matter is that this year, as long as Andrew Luck goes down at some point, there aren’t a ton of QBs you can ride all the way to NYC in early December. Landry Jones? Okkaaay, sure, if OU goes undefeated. Kellen Moore? Meh, who are his WRs? Denard Robinson? Please. Terrelle Pryor? Oops.
So the race might be as wide open as its been in recent memory in terms of a positional standpoint.
The @Weeden2Blackmon thing, it’s a clever idea, really it is, and for any other purpose (leisure, wittiness, marketing for the school, etc.) it would be fine. But not for this, not when you’re essentially removing yourself from consideration from the most important award in sports before the games even get underway.
Here’s my question:
Who votes for the Heisman trophy winner? Isn’t it roughly 900 people, comprised of mostly national media plus the former winners?
I believe the sum of the fan voting equals 1 of those 900 total votes or so. Check my math.
So for now, and that’s key, is this really a big deal?
I may just not be in the know, but is it even garnering national attention? Is the athletic department or university pushing/backing this in any way?
Or is it just a twitter/facebook deal?
When it comes time to vote, will the #W2B campaign cause guys like Desmond Howard, Billy “Boomer-que” Sims, and Dan Partrick indecision over which OkState candidate to vote for??
I mean, I’m not so sure it will.
Point being, if the fans get a kick out of it and it boosts excitement over the summer for the football team and university, when there is NOTHING OkState related happening, why not?
Now, should this whole deal start to garner funds, time, and energy in terms of marketing and promotion from the athletic department and the university – then you couldn’t be more right, it’s a TERRIBLE idea.
But for now….for now, is it really damaging either’s chance at an invitation to New York and a shot at winning the H81smon?
You’re absolutely right about getting fans excited etc. But I was going under the presumption that this was THE Heisman campaign produced by the university for 2011. For that matter I guess I was also going under the presumption that a Heisman campaign would exist at all.
The reason I assumed that is actually BECAUSE of the university affiliation thus far – it’s all over okstate.com right now which means it’s not exactly running itself. Someone is at the controls (I’m not exactly sure who) and pushing this thing forward. Granted, I doubt there’s a ton of money poured into it but still…accountability.
Lets try to lay off the Byron Eaton weight jokes. I myself am an over sized individual and when you combine the fact that I sat by Byron in more than one class in college and that he is one of the nicest guys Ive ever met, I don’t really think he deserves to be made fun of, especially since he put in his years here and always played hard.
I’m sorry I don’t ever offer any legit comments or discussions for your website, but the Eaton McDonald’s thing made me giggle a lot.
I like how you chose Blackmon as your dark horse, yet you chose to lead the post off with a seemingly contradictory picture haha
Touche
there were a couple of PAC-10 QBs (Barkley and Thomas) on ESPN today that have legit Heisman aspirations.
who is co-founder??
Ross
I started a website for Blackmon and was promptly shut down by OSU. It is quite foolish. Is JB going to win? Probably not, but considering he does not have a website I don’t see what the harm is.