2008 Woodie Awards
Out of Bounds, a Sports Commentary
UCF's Smith snubbed on Heisman, Doak Walker
Ryan Hayner
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Sports
Originally published: 12/6/07 at 5:28 PM EST
Last update: 12/6/07 at 5:28 PM EST
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The Heisman Trophy.
One of the most coveted individual honors in sports.
If my future son doesn't bring home the Heisman, well, his bags will probably be packed.
This week, the finalists were announced and, as it is every year, there are many deserving athletes left off the ballot. The finalists are dominated by quarterbacks. Dual-threat Tim Tebow of Florida, record-breaker Colt Brennan of Hawaii and the confident Chase Daniel of Missouri joined running back Darren McFadden of Arkansas.
Left off from this list, and from another award list which should have been a lock for him, was a college player who finished the regular season only 188 rushing yards short of Barry Sanders' record 2,628 rushing yards and racked up a nation-leading 29 rushing touchdowns.
He's the best player you've probably never heard of.
His name is Kevin Smith, and he goes to the University of Central Florida. He leads the nation in rushing with 2,448, yet his name is absent from the Heisman finalists.
Even more of a slap in the face to the talented back is that he's not even a Doak Walker finalist - that award honoring (although clearly not this year) the best college running back in the nation.
How did Smith fall through the cracks? UCF is in non-BCS Conference USA, limiting the chance for Smith to showcase his abilities on the national stage.
Also, Conference USA isn't exactly a hot-bed of the best teams in the nation. UCF holds the best overall record at 10-3, followed by 9-4 Tulsa.
The nation's second leading rusher at 2,127 yards is Tulane's Matt Forte, who appears to have also benefited from playing in Conference USA.
Between the two, Smith only had one game where he didn't produce at least the century mark in rushing yards. Forte has three.
Smith didn't produce a 100 yard rushing effort against a hot South Florida team, but still led his team with 100 all-purpose yards.
Florida Times-Union's Bob Thomas, who has been covering college football since 1988 and is both a Heisman and Doak Walker voter, put Smith third on his Heisman ballot and as one of the three Walker finalists.
One of the most coveted individual honors in sports.
If my future son doesn't bring home the Heisman, well, his bags will probably be packed.
This week, the finalists were announced and, as it is every year, there are many deserving athletes left off the ballot. The finalists are dominated by quarterbacks. Dual-threat Tim Tebow of Florida, record-breaker Colt Brennan of Hawaii and the confident Chase Daniel of Missouri joined running back Darren McFadden of Arkansas.
Left off from this list, and from another award list which should have been a lock for him, was a college player who finished the regular season only 188 rushing yards short of Barry Sanders' record 2,628 rushing yards and racked up a nation-leading 29 rushing touchdowns.
He's the best player you've probably never heard of.
His name is Kevin Smith, and he goes to the University of Central Florida. He leads the nation in rushing with 2,448, yet his name is absent from the Heisman finalists.
Even more of a slap in the face to the talented back is that he's not even a Doak Walker finalist - that award honoring (although clearly not this year) the best college running back in the nation.
How did Smith fall through the cracks? UCF is in non-BCS Conference USA, limiting the chance for Smith to showcase his abilities on the national stage.
Also, Conference USA isn't exactly a hot-bed of the best teams in the nation. UCF holds the best overall record at 10-3, followed by 9-4 Tulsa.
The nation's second leading rusher at 2,127 yards is Tulane's Matt Forte, who appears to have also benefited from playing in Conference USA.
Between the two, Smith only had one game where he didn't produce at least the century mark in rushing yards. Forte has three.
Smith didn't produce a 100 yard rushing effort against a hot South Florida team, but still led his team with 100 all-purpose yards.
Florida Times-Union's Bob Thomas, who has been covering college football since 1988 and is both a Heisman and Doak Walker voter, put Smith third on his Heisman ballot and as one of the three Walker finalists.
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