Dwyer for the Heisman….why not?
It’s one of those oddities that no player from Georgia Tech has ever won the Heisman Trophy, named for one of the Jackets’ greatest coaches, John Heisman.
As you know, Heisman coached Tech from 1904-1919 and led the Golden Tornado, as Tech was nicknamed then, to 33 consecutive wins.
Could this year snap the 74-year streak?
Could Jonathan Dwyer bring the Heisman Trophy to Atlanta?
The credentials are obvious: 2008 ACC Player of the Year, 107.3 yards per game rushing average from his B-back spot, 1,395 rushing yards overall last season.
This after just one season in coach Paul Johnson’s offense.
Just think what could be accomplished in Year 2.
The competition will be tough: Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy will likely top everyone’s lists of favorites.
And, throw in the possibility that Dwyer’s stats may not be as good as they were last year. Why? Because Tech has a lot of players who figure to get a lot of touches this year. So, while Dwyer’s stats could theoretically go down a bit, his impact could still be as, well, impactful (I work with words you know).
The campaign gets going early: Jacksonville State followed by national TV games against Clemson and Miami, followed by North Carolina, Mississippi State, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
I think if Tech can make it through that tough stretch, and Dwyer gets his 100 yards a game, it’ll be tough to keep him off the top 5 favorites.
And please don’t discuss how Johnson’s offense is geared toward the rushing game so of course he’s going to have great stats. That’s a silly argument, especially considering the three favorites listed above. Those offenses are also geared toward their skills, just as Dwyer’s skills are utilized best in Johnson’s offense.
So, what do you think?
Who are your Heisman favorites?
Should Dwyer be listed among the top 10, the top 5, the top 3?
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145 comments Add your comment
RAMBLE ON!!!
May 22nd, 2009
5:08 pm
Huh? bets his his life savings?
I don’t think anybody on here needs or wants your collection of Billy Beer.
GT
May 22nd, 2009
5:24 pm
I have said before in this blog I wondered how you keep this guy a secret yet other schools make their stars sound like superman only to go to the pros and never to be heard of again. How did Manning at Tennessee not win the Heisman or some other’s win it over guys like this? College football if you are a born southerner is the greatest sport in the world, but it has one flaw and that is bias reporters and not winning the national championship on the field. What I like about Paul Johnson none of that matters. We here for one thing and he makes that very clear and that is to kick the other teams ass. Still it would be nice to see the home of the guy they named the damn thing after win it at least once.
Baba O'Riley
May 22nd, 2009
5:29 pm
Huh? proved wrong again by facts.
Hal Vernon
May 22nd, 2009
5:43 pm
Huh?, the reference about not being familiar with Moreno was a knock against Moreno saying he didn’t know who Dwyer was before Dwyer ran wild over UGa’s defense. Please tell me you aren’t that stupid.
SEC
May 22nd, 2009
5:47 pm
Clay- u say your a college football fan but have never heard of moreno? He was one of the top backs in the draft and made several highlights. I’m not a Tech fan but believe me i know who dwyer is. Stupefy? hmmmmm. As for the stats of the two, UGA had a more balanced offense we just couldnt stop anybody. Did Tim Tebow have more passing yards than Bradford of Mccoy? No. So you tell me where those stats come into play. The simple thing is if Dwyer wants to be mentioned for the heisman GT has to get national media attention. Beating us last year was a good start. The only problem is the ACC has fallen off a bit. Can anyone name the last ACC player in the running for the heisman besides Matt Ryan?
HEY HUH
May 22nd, 2009
5:48 pm
hey huh news flash here for you! nobody respects anyteam proffesional or college in this state! Hawks, braves, falcons, UGA, Tech! snap your self back into reality! The dawgs and jackets are in the same boat buddy
GTFan478
May 22nd, 2009
5:53 pm
i love dwyer tp death but no way in hell he wins it the media will look at cpj’s system and say no just cause its a run friendly offense and another reason is because its gonna take a lot from nesbit actualy hitting his receivers down field more than twice a game for dwyer to win its not gonna happen not with our o-line and nesbit at qb i now i prob pissed a bunch of yall off but thats my opinion tech wont be as good as they can be til nesbits gone
HEY SEC
May 22nd, 2009
5:53 pm
Calvin Johnson was in the mix one year but he didnt have a qb! i know joe hamilton came in second behind ricky williams….im sure theres more i just cant think of them! Have to do a lil research
SEC
May 22nd, 2009
6:03 pm
Calvin Johnson def should of won it if he had a qb. The last ACC player to win was chris weinke and Vick placed 3rd in 1999. Thats as much as i know on that. If the ACC got stronger then GT victories will carry more weight and get the attention. The question isnt can yall win the ACC its how strong is the ACC
GT GRAD
May 22nd, 2009
6:12 pm
The consistently negative attacking comments from Mr. Huh? are starting to get old; he sounds like the “sterotypical UGA Fan” which gives UGA a bad name. Most of these guys have no idea how much they hurt the UGA football team and are not aware that many avid college football fans have developed a distain towards UGA fans due to people like Mr. Huh?. My wife and MANY of my close friends are die-hard UGA fans, but most of them are reasonable and none of them fit the “stereotypical UGA Fan” mold. Mr. Huh? seems to be ignorant or has decided to ignore any and all facts which do not support his delusional world. We all have biased opinions, but he is obviously blinded by his biased opinions (very inflated opinion regarding UGA & very negative opinion of all things GT).
I say grow up, get a life and try to post a few comments which benefit the various blog participants OR post your comments on the UGA blogs. I do not post comments on the UGA blogs. I try to keep my posts on topic and attempt to stay positive most of the time; however, I will admit there are times (like now) when I get tired of reading the same old negative ranting and unfair GT bashing from the same UGA fan bloggers.
Have a great weekend!
Go GT!
RAMBLE ON!!!
May 22nd, 2009
6:14 pm
SEC…The ACC has 3 Heisman trophy winners since ‘88, the SEC has two…so what’s your point.
http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/heisman/heisman_trophy_winners.htm
SEC ignorance is something else.
HEY SEC
May 22nd, 2009
6:15 pm
the ACC is pretty strong every year! But they dont get the attention everybody else does! im pretty sure the ACC had the best out of conference record in division 1 last year including a 6-4 regular season record against the SEC!
Clemson 1-1 (Alabama loss, South Carolina win)
Duke 1-0 (Vanderbilt)
Florida St. (0-1) (Florida)
Georgia Tech (2-0) (Mississippi St., Georgia)
Miami (0-1) (Florida)
NC State (0-1) (South Carolina)
Wake Forest (2-0) (Ole Miss, Vanderbilt)
RAMBLE ON!!!
May 22nd, 2009
6:15 pm
Call it 2 ACC winners since Miami wasn’t in the ACC then
FL DAWG
May 22nd, 2009
6:22 pm
Two things to consider, 1) his O-line will need great blocking the entire season as he will need to up his production to a minimum of 1500 yds and 20+ TDs, 2) He needs big highlights (like hurdling a player) to get the exposure. Neither is a knock on Dwyer, he is a very solid back, he just has to have the stats and exposure. IMO, he doesn’t have a shot this year with media darlings of Tebow, Bradford, McCoy returning. He is a longshot for top 5, he has to improve for top 10.
SEC
May 22nd, 2009
6:26 pm
Ramble- The point was that the ACC has fallen back due to strenght as of recent. Not 88. Ignorance has nothing to do with it. Im actually in support of dwyer and im not bashing Tech. As you can see from HEY SEC is the only ACC with a quality win against the SEC was Tech. If you wanna talk about ignorance, actually read my comments before you respond. I know you won a national championship in 1990. I’m not the type of Dawg fan that always goes back to the 80’s.
GTFan478
May 22nd, 2009
6:31 pm
sec while you say weve fallen back (being the acc) if im not mistaken wasnt the acc a better conference last than the sec and wasnt the acc considered the no.2 conference behind the big 12 while the sec was 4th or 5th with only 2 really good teams 2 decent and the rest were just god awful last year so whos fallen off
SEC
May 22nd, 2009
6:37 pm
Actually thats completely false the GTfan. I really hope not all GT fans claim you. Even though GT beat us we were only a 3 loss team.
GTFan478
May 22nd, 2009
6:42 pm
actually thats true look it up the acc had something called parity last year we only had 2 or 3 teams tops at 500 or worse what about the sec 5 or 6 wasnt it look it up the acc was better last year than the all mighty sec get over and what does gt beating ugay have to do with this im talking about out of conference schedualing in confrence competivness which the sec had none of and the acc was full of look it up if you dont believe dont let the facts cloud your judgement the sec isnt what it used to be get over it and look it up
Jimbo
May 22nd, 2009
6:43 pm
QBs usually win it, and a QB will win the Heisman this year for sure.
Dwyer could make the top 10 but not the top 5.
Brewer
May 22nd, 2009
6:48 pm
FL Dawg is right, Jon Dwyer is a very solid back. But with the depth that GT will have in the backfield I think his total number of yards will go down due to lack of touches. Coach Johnson is way more concerned about winning football games then wooing the turds in the media. Also, to win a Heisman in modern college football, you need to have a good year, get the media hyping you up all off season and then a stellar year after that to live up to what they’ve build you up to be. Probably helps your case if you are going to play a bunch of games on ESPN as Heisman-Hype helps their bottom line. Impossible for Jon this year, slight chance next year.
Paddy
May 22nd, 2009
6:51 pm
SEC.. Dwyer is going to be so much better than Adrian Peterson when he finally turns pro. Petterson can’t get off the bench to even be a factor in an NFL game. Dwyer was player of the year in Div 1. And that is not to take away from Peterson’s award in 1 AA. Hate to disagree with you on this SEC.
Paul
May 22nd, 2009
6:51 pm
The first question is “Will Ga Tech spend the money to promote Dwyer in the media?”. If we do, like we promoted the ‘96 games,with astounding showmanship, of course he can make it. Have a rushing season like last years, coupled with catching a few passes inthe expanded triple option; on a team that might go undefeated, and there you have it. The Heisman!
SEC
May 22nd, 2009
6:57 pm
The reason i mentioned it GTfan was to give credit where credit is due, but obviously you havent learned how to take that yet. Everyone knows the SEC is the most dominate conf. The last 3 national titles kinda give that away. I was on here to support you boy dwyer but then there are idiots like you who have lost their mind because u had a winning season and you finally got a good coach
Drexel Gal
May 22nd, 2009
7:20 pm
If Joe Hamilton couldn’t win the Heisman, neither can Dwyer.
GTFan478
May 22nd, 2009
7:27 pm
just because their are good teams that win in conferences doesnt make that conference great look at usc and the pac10 look at ohio state and their conference and how is saying the acc is falling back a compliment get it out your head the sec as a whole is not that good look at the last 3 nc’s for proof they were won by 2 teams not 3 their are only a couple of good teams in the sec its not great as a whole which is what i was sayin look at last year 5 teams over 500 not good at at all compared to 7 or 8 over 500 you idiot
RAMBLE ON!!!
May 22nd, 2009
7:48 pm
Everyone knows the SEC is the most dominate conf.?LOL
…6-6 vs. ACC doesn’t sound dominate…does it?
I mean wouldn’t dominate be something like 11-5 or 12-4…hmmm I just don’t think 6-6 is very dominate.
RAMBLE ON!!!
May 22nd, 2009
7:50 pm
whoops, bad math…8-4, 9-3 sounds dominate. maybe
RAMBLE ON!!!
May 22nd, 2009
7:52 pm
love these fleabags riding UF coat tails…sprinkle in a LSU and the SEC is the most dominate conference in the history of the universe.
DOMINATE…LMAO!!!!
BS Patrol
May 22nd, 2009
8:10 pm
What everyone doesn’t know is the SEC is not the dominant conference. The last 3 MNC’s only go to show that the conference is top heavy. This myth of the SEC must be dispelled. BTW, Tech hasn’t had a losing season since 1996 as I recall.
I do like to watch Dwyer get into an opponent”s secondary with a nice head of steam.
SEC
May 22nd, 2009
8:13 pm
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/8819383/
SugarHillDawg
May 22nd, 2009
8:38 pm
Ramble On, trying to reason with you is like trying to herd cats! Just one question, who has won the NC the past THREE years??? An ACC team won’t win til after I give up the oxygen habit you basement denizen!!
gtfanfrom1951
May 22nd, 2009
8:50 pm
JD is the best back in college football. But it will be hard to beat Tebow but it can be done….can you say Mississippi
BS Patrol
May 22nd, 2009
9:07 pm
Above ESPN link simply proves that the SEC has more rabid football fans than any other conference. I would not care to argue that point.
Rick
May 22nd, 2009
9:11 pm
I think Dwyer would take a NC over a Heisman anyday………… GO JACKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GM
May 22nd, 2009
9:54 pm
No way. He won’t have the stats.
GT GRAD
May 22nd, 2009
9:59 pm
Running backs can win the Heisman, but it seems like the QB has a huge advantage (unfortunate). Dwyer’s best chance of winning the Heisman will be in 2010; he will need to have a great 2009 season and he will need to stay at GT for a chance at the Heisman (rather than going to the NFL). The sad truth is that the modern Heisman trophy almost requires two consecutive stellar seasons for a player to win. Maybe he will stay and win the Heisman and possibly help GT win another NC!!
The future of the GT Football team is so freak’n bright!
I am ready for some College Football. GT is VERY fortunate to have Coach PJ.
poopdawg
May 22nd, 2009
10:06 pm
I think Dwyer may be the best back in the country next year and defintely should be a Heisman candidate. Problem may be the publicity already received by the big 3 qbs, Tebow , Mccoy and Bradford. Dwyer was argubly the best back last year. But i do not see Tech’s record improving next year. Last year for Tech was truly a storybook season. Alot of things went tech’s way in several of their close wins. I know Tech will be much deeper , but the future qb injuries , and tougher schedule will have tech finishing around 6-6.
Robert
May 22nd, 2009
10:10 pm
Dwyer is a very talented back but don’t think he has a chance with the big 3 QBs this year.
gtforever
May 22nd, 2009
10:46 pm
poopdawg, I think 6-6 is a stretch, but this years schedule will be a whole lot tougher. I’m thinking 7-5, 8-4. We will see, if the defense stinks it up again this year you could be right!
Fo Real
May 22nd, 2009
11:03 pm
Since a QB HAS to win it, maybe GT’s QB will sneak in and get the Heisman…….what’s his name again?
GT Boss
May 22nd, 2009
11:06 pm
Paul, GT will spend the money on media promotion when we can actually fill up more than half our stadium. Which is never.
Tokyo jacket
May 22nd, 2009
11:30 pm
SEC, thanks for being a reasonable blogger. I appreciate when the other side uses real information in posts not just stupid bias.
A lot of things have to happen for Dwyer:
1. 11 wins or more, must have 14 games played.
2. Other stars for GT must emerge – I know this sounds counterintuitive, but every Heisman since 02 (I stopped looking there) has played with at least one, but frequently two or three first round picks.
3. YPC has to go up (I think it will) because touches will go down. Probably needs to be around 8.0 for serious contention.
4. Wow factor/play. I’ve said since his freshman year, he looks like Hershell Walker. He needs the run over two guys at once play. Must continue/increase home run threat.
5. Needs to score more, and it would help if it were catching passes.
6. Draft stock needs to go up. If he’s a top ten pick, then he’s a top 10 candidate.
7. GT’s points per game needs to go up. If we score 40 a game (like w/ Joe), he gets on Sports Center and Game Day more.
Also, here’s some interesting factors that could really affect the season for Dwyer:
1. More speed/talent on the outside this year could only put 7 in the box instead of 8 or 9, leaving more room for Dwyer up the middle.
2. O-line, don’t need to say more.
3. Does better special teams and or D give us a shorter field leading to more points per yard gained for GT? Look up past Heisman winners and you’ll see their teams have high points per yard ratios. That means they have better defenses, special teams, and more home runs.
Sorry about the novel.
Sled Dog
May 22nd, 2009
11:42 pm
OUR STADIUM IS SO BIIIIGGGG!!!
Tokyo jacket
May 22nd, 2009
11:44 pm
One more thing…QBs are winning because QBs are getting the yards/points these days. That’s not to say RBs can’t get it but that they’re not doing as much in today’s “modern” offenses. Since GT runs an “outdated, high school offense” that will lead the nation in rushing that argument should go out the window.
The lone advantage Dwyer will have is that he plays in the toughest defensive conference statistically 6 in top 29 PPG and 7 in top 25 YPG. Of course some homers will say that’s because we have a weak conference. But, I respond that we had the best OOC record in the nation last year. So, we needn’t have that argument.
Sled Dog
May 23rd, 2009
12:26 am
We always have a great game plan(score more than 50)but we just can’t execute!
Bulldawg
May 23rd, 2009
1:37 am
Because he will FLUNK-OUT like ALL the other Georgia Tech “student-ATHLETES.”
Baba O'Riley
May 23rd, 2009
6:39 am
Bulldawg…why are you on Tech’s blog @ 1:37 on a Saturday morning???
UGASUX
May 23rd, 2009
7:38 am
Huh?…Dwyer is a much better running back than Moreno…so I think he has a shot at the top 3.
KG
May 23rd, 2009
7:41 am
Sugerhill Douche, when are you picking up my trash?
JT
May 23rd, 2009
8:51 am
2009 score
GT 35
uga 6