Parity is the word for the 2002 college football season. On any given day, it was understood that one of the elites of college football would fall by the wayside, and the race for the Heisman trophy was no different.
Many players started the season on the top, but the list changed more often than Gwen Stefani’s hair color. Here are some contenders and pretenders for the 2003 Heisman trophy.
Contenders
Carson Palmer — Palmer finished his 2002 campaign at USC with 3,639 yards and 32 touchdowns, the second most in Pac-10 history, and averaged 334 yards and 3.8 touchdowns-per-game in the second half of the season. If Heisman voters care more about numbers and good performance down the stretch, Palmer should win.
Ken Dorsey — Dorsey finished the season with 2,773 yards and 24 scores. Those are decent numbers, but not Heisman worthy. If voters decide to change the main Heisman criterium from “the best player in college football” to “the lifetime achievement award,” then Dorsey will surely win. He has compiled a 37-1 record as the Miami starting quarterback, including 33 straight wins. What more could you ask from a quarterback?
Brad Banks — Banks came out of nowhere to become a legitimate Heisman candidate. He led the Iowa Hawkeyes from the depths of the Big Ten to where they are now — ranked third in the country with an 11-1 record. He threw for 2,369 yards, 25 touchdowns and just four interceptions, and he rushed for another 387 yards and five touchdowns.
Byron Leftwich — His odds of winning the bronze trophy are about as likely as Marshall winning the national title with its weak schedule, even if it had an undefeated record. But his 3,615-yard, 22-touchdown performance speaks for itself. Being the No. 1 draft pick in the 2003 NFL Draft will be a nice consolation prize.
Larry Johnson — Johnson dominated opponents in the last half of the season, averaging 233 yards per game in his final six. He joined an elite list by rushing for 2,015 yards — 8 yards per carry — this season with 20 touchdowns helping Penn State regain national prominence.
Willis McGahee — McGahee was a very consistent player for Miami rushing for 1,481 yards and 21 touchdowns. At 6-foot-1, 224 pounds, the sophomore runs a sub-4.3 40-yard-dash. He is the best player on the best team in the country and makes big plays in big games.
Pretenders
Chris Simms — Simms is possibly the most overrated player in the history of college football, and he is everybody’s favorite player to play against. He has been the Heisman front runner for the past two preseasons, but his inability to play well in big games caused him to fall off the Heisman map.
Seneca Wallace — At the midway point in the season, Iowa State was 6-1 and Wallace was everybody’s favorite for the Heisman. But a 49-3 loss to Oklahoma sent Wallace and the Cyclones on a downward spiral. He finished with 12 interceptions in the final 6 games along with a 1-5 record.
Rex Grossman — After finishing second in the Heisman ballots a year ago, he was a shoe-in for an invitation to New York this year. But three early losses, including back-to-back four-interception performances against Ole Miss and LSU ended his hopes.
Chris Rix — Rix was one of the top-rated passers in his freshman season last year, but he fell into the sophomore slump. After losing consecutive games to Miami and Notre Dame, FSU benched Rix in favor of Adrian McPherson, who was recently arrested.
Charles Rogers — Rogers was the best receiver and one of the most athletic players in the country. But Michigan State finished the season with a 4-8 record. The only player ever to win the Heisman while on a losing team was Paul Hornung, and that was only because he played for Notre Dame. Rogers is leaving school early for the NFL.