Consistently dominant Tebow edges McFadden

Arkansas' Darren McFadden could become a star in the NFL, but a few bad games in the middle of the season may have cost him the Heisman. Doug Benc/Getty Images

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Back in August, I addressed a Mailbag question about the recent proliferation of "Heisman busts" and how it has hurt the trophy's prestige. I said one of the main problems with the award was, despite all the dramatic changes to the game over the past 70-plus years, voters have unofficially restricted themselves to a narrow pool of candidates -- almost exclusively junior or senior quarterbacks and running backs who play for traditional powers, and in recent years, solely from BCS contenders.

Finally, it seems, the times they are a-changin'. Two of the four finalists for this year's trophy -- Tim Tebow (a sophomore) and Colt Brennan (from Hawaii) fall outside the traditional criteria. So do two of the three players included on the ballot I submitted earlier this week -- and if they asked us to list five, it's quite possible the next two would have gone against the grain as well.

Here's how my ballot looked:

1) Florida QB Tim Tebow. The Heisman trust asks us simply to select "the most outstanding college football player" in 2007. To me, what Tebow accomplished this season was the definition of "outstanding."

I look at it this way: If Tebow had not carried the ball a single time all season, he still would have merited consideration as an All-America QB based solely on his passing statistics (68.5 percent completions, 3,132 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions). And even if he had not attempted a single pass, his rushing numbers (838 yards, 22 TDs) would likely earn him consideration as an All-SEC running back.

The fact that one player managed to do the job of two -- and do both of them extremely well -- is a truly amazing feat. Furthermore, the two things I look for most in voting for the Heisman are consistency and big performances in big games. Tebow was incredibly consistent on a week-in, week-out basis -- his production in the Gators' three losses was about the same as his averages all season. Meanwhile, he was brilliant in Florida's 59-20 win over Tennessee (360 total yards, four TDs) and in late-season victories over South Carolina (424 yards, five touchdowns) and Florida State (351 yards, five TDs).

2) Arkansas RB Darren McFadden. You don't have to be an NFL scout to see McFadden is supremely talented. The junior is unquestionably an elite running back who can also line up and play quarterback. He turned in two of the finest individual performances of the season against South Carolina (34 carries, 321 yards, one TD) and LSU (32 carries, 206 yards, three TDs).

What elevated Tebow over McFadden, in my mind, was the consistency factor. Unlike Tebow, who played at the same level virtually all season, McFadden started and ended fast but basically disappeared for a month-long stretch in the middle. Particularly damning was an Oct. 13 game at Auburn -- one of the three biggest Arkansas played all season -- in which he was held to a mere 43 yards on 17 carries.

Obviously, McFadden's production might have been higher in many games if he wasn't sharing the load with Felix Jones. Some voters probably took that into consideration in anointing McFadden as their top choice. Personally, I view the fact that Tebow took on a larger role in Florida's offense (out of necessity) was simply another factor in his favor.

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