Pat White Deserves Heisman Trophy
September 5, 2007
Article from Kevin Daily - see more at The Daily Camus
West Virginia quarterback Pat White passed for 50 yards and carried the ball 14 times for a meager 41 yards in the Mountaineers' embarrassing 13-9 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday, and that sub-par stat line separated White from the pack in the Heisman Trophy race.
Why White, over names like Tim Tebow and Darren McFadden, who both closed out the regular season with dominating performances?
Because he is the engine that makes the Mountaineers' offense go, and without him, as West Virginia was for over half the game on Saturday, they are hardly a .500 team.
White left the game after dislocating his right thumb and watched from the sidelines as Jarrett Brown conducted a disastrous offense that could hardly be confused for the unit that ran circles around a stout UConn defense a week ago.
The embarrassing four-point defeat - the Mountaineers were four touchdown favorites going into the Backyard Brawl - was West Virginia's second loss of the season. Its first came in an eerily similar fashion.
Ranked No. 5 in the country at the time, West Virginia lost White to a bruised thigh midway through the second quarter in a loss to South Florida on Sept. 28. After leaving, White did not return to the game and the Mountaineers' stagnant offense managed just 13 points.
In games that White did not get knocked out of - in other words, West Virginia wins - the Mountaineers scored no less than 28 points in a game and averaged 301 yards rushing.
If the Heisman trophy is indeed awarded to the "most valuable player" in the country, White is the clear-cut choice. Nothing against Brown, who probably could start for most Division I-A teams, but if you take White off of the field, you take away everything.
Steve Slaton, who normally benefits from misdirection and defenses keying on White, isn't suited to handle the responsibilities of being a go-to ball carrier (he mustered a dismal 11 yards on 9 carries vs. Pitt). Speedy freshman playmaker Noel Devine is lost, and even senior fullback/bull-dozer Owen Schmitt lacks his usual instinct to kill anything in front of him and make himself bleed without his All-American quarterback on the field.
This, of course, sparks the age-old debate about the Heisman trophy. Many think the award should go to the nation's most valuable player - White. Others think the award should go to the nation's best player - also White.
With all due respect to McFadden, the consensus choice among experts as the country's most talented player, he does not change the dynamic of a football game the way that White does. McFadden can be contained by an eight-man defensive front. Teams stack the line against White, but time and time again we've learned there is only one way to contain him - hope he gets hurt and then keep your fingers crossed that he doesn't come back.
Calling Pat White fast is an insult. He is a human highlight reel who makes even the quickest defensive backs look like they are running with cement blocks on their feet. White runs like Justin Gatlin minus the steroids. He is Michael Vick without the pet-drowning fetish.
An underrated passer as well, White has compiled 1,548 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air, all while finding time to slice defenses for 1,185 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. In addition, he has thrown just four interceptions and hasn't fumbled the ball once all year.
Still don't think he's the best player in the country? Ask the UConn defense. I'm sure they'll tell you different.
