Can Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o win the Heisman Trophy?

Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 at 10:33 AM

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Just a handful of weeks ago a big, popular website scoffed openly at the potential of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o winning the Heisman Trophy, deriding the journalist who dared to suggest the possibility. Well, now that same website looks (even more so than usual) pretty stupid, as all the biggest sporting sites are openly discussing and indeed suggesting the validity of the young man’s candidacy.

Whisper it quietly, but Manti Te'o could just very well become the first defensive player to win the Heisman trophy since Charles Woodson. Manti’s play speaks for itself, as do his defensive statistics. 80 tackles in itself shows what kind of a demon he is on the field.

Obviously, the award is heavily weighted towards offensive players, to use that ugly old refrain, chicks dig touchdowns. However, as evidenced by the sheer weight of volume of text being put forth towards a Te’o win, it appears he really, legitimately is in with a shot.

Looking around the wide expanses of the World Wide Web, it is truly astonishing to see the growth of support for the fierce defender. First the best news. The ESPN fan ballot has Manti crushing it. Absolutely crushing it.

You do of course have to take that with a pinch of salt. That’s just fan voting and relative busts like Matt Barkley are still polling 5% because of the vagaries of said style of voting. The ESPN experts poll is probably a better measure of his actual chances, and they have him at number two, behind Kansas State QB Colin Klein. This is of course still very respectable

USA Today is perhaps less kind to Manti, and has him second, with 23 second place votes, again behind Klein who has a whopping 35 first place votes.

Sports Illustrated also has Te’o at the two spot.

What appears obvious is that thanks to The Fighting Irish’s incredible run of success this season, Te’o is right there in the spotlight, and is seriously being touted as a possible Heisman winner. The problem is basically Collin Klein. The logical answer to the question whether Te’o can take the award or not, is that basically Klein needs to submit a couple of stinkers.

If Te’o can keep his performance levels at the lofty heights they are right now, and if he can perhaps chip in a couple more flashy plays, and if Klein slips even just a little bit, Te’o could very well be that rarity of rarities.

A defensive Heisman trophy winner.

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pilib04 | Nov 01, 2012, 07:41 AM EDT

Phlutie, FYI, only one Defensive player has ever won the Heisman going all the way back to 1937. That was Charles Woodson 1993 Cornerback from Michigan. Manti Teo is already #2 in the ESPN Heisman Hunt which is an awesome achievement for a Defensive Linebacker. The deck is clearly stacked against a Defensive Player, only one since 1937. Teo, however is one of the biggest reasons Notre Dame is UNDEFEATED. Should they run the boards, it will get interesting. Since all attention is on Ohio this election year, I should note that John Heisman was football coach at Oberlin College and Buchtel College (University of Akron)both in Ohio.

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PhlutiePhan | Oct 31, 2012, 06:20 PM EDT

In 1956, Paul Hornung won the Heisman for ND and beat out Johnny Majors (Tenn) and Tommy McDonald (Oklahoma) on a 2-8 squad. Obviously, this was ridiculous no matter how good Hornung really was. Manti T'eo is a great person and a very good football player. However, Luke Kuechly was all world at BC last year and number one in tackles for two years running. There was not even a whisper for the Heisman for him. He is now the leading tackler for the Carolina Panthers as a rookie. Manti's defensive statistics are about 85% of those of "Cool Hand Luke". The difference is obvious. Does the emotional lift of playing for Notre Dame make one deserving of the Heisman Trophy? He may very well deserve the honor but let's evaluate him based on the criteria and not on hysteria.

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pilib04 | Oct 31, 2012, 11:49 AM EDT

Manti is currently ranked second in the ESPN Heisman hunt. KSU QB Collin Kline is first.

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pilib04 | Oct 31, 2012, 11:44 AM EDT

Manti can win the Heisman, but Notre Dame has to run the board against Pitt, NC, WF and USC. Then it will be up to the Heisman committee. One thing that could push the committee would be a Manti TD. So another interception or recovery and run back for the score. GO IRISH

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Murph46 | Oct 31, 2012, 10:40 AM EDT

1. They MUST win out.2.Bama must lose. 3.Others in the race must do bad. Too much to ask for!

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