Strike the pose: This year’s Heisman hopefuls

Man, with the sports world deteriorating, we need some football, huh? Division races, conference battles, and players jockeying for the college game’s most glorified award: The Heisman Trophy. Who has a date with the 13 1/2-inch-tall man this winter at the Downtown Athletic Club? For my favorites, please read on…After a summer of sports turmoil, relief is just weeks away. Forget about NBA officials and Barry Bonds. It’s time for football, America’s game, liberation from the sting of the past few months.

And with football comes sports’ most hyped, debated and infamous award. The only major sports honor with an official website.

A bronze statue with a look all its own: a 25-pound leather-helmet-clad football player. He lunges forward, ball secure in his left arm, the other arm outstretched, thwarting generations of would-be tacklers on his way towards an endzone of immortality.

The Heisman Trophy, presented each year to college football’s top players, attracts attention parallel with a presidential election.

Pundits list hopefuls mere days after the final flake of national-championship confetti flutters to the turf. A devoted sports enthusiast, I thought I would toss my hat into the Heisman ring. Here’s my preseason top-five 2007 Heisman Trophy candidates:

5. Mike Hart, senior, running back, Michigan
Last year: The 5-foot-9 senior carried 318 times for 1,562 yards (seventh in the nation) and 14 touchdowns, while making 17 catches for 125 yards.

Hart, who finished fifth in last year’s vote, needs his team to run the table – or at least beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten – to have any chance. But, with his relentless, down-hill running style (behind Jake Long, perhaps the nation’s top offensive lineman), Hart should post monster numbers. Any typical Michigan letdown losses, potentially against Oregon, or a hangover against Ohio State after playing Wisconsin the week prior, will hurt his stock.

4. Steve Slaton, junior, running back, West Virginia
Last year: The lightning-quick junior had 1,744 yards (third nationally) and 16 touchdowns on just 248 carries – an average of seven yards a pop. He also caught 27 passes for 360 yards and two scores.

Considered a Heisman favorite most of last season, Slaton will be right up there again. The college game’s LaDanian Tomlinson, this running back has an exposure advantage over other Heisman favorites. He plays five nationally televised games, most on Thursday and Friday nights, when viewers have just one football option. The land’s most electrifying player will have audiences all to himself. If McFadden or Booty slip up, and the Moutaineers win the Big East, Slaton should earn a top-two Heisman finish. Otherwise, he will have to have a Barry Sanders-type year to win it.

3. Colt Brennan, senior, quarterback, Hawaii
Last year: He led the nation in both passing yards (5,549) and touchdowns (an NCAA record 58) while throwing just 12 interceptions. He also finished with an absurd 186.0 QB rating after completing 72.6 percent of his passes.

Despite astronomical statistics, most still doubt Brennan. The NCAA passing-touchdown record holder has more against him every week this season than 11 defenders. The reasons are many: His team plays in a non-BCS conference, thought to have less talent; He plays in the Hawaiian time zone, putting his games during early morning hours for continental voters; He is just a product of the system, an Alex Smith, only successful because of the offense he runs. A BCS-game bid would help. But Hawaii only gets that if it goes undefeated in the regular reason. And that’s still a big “if.” It’s unlikely he’ll throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns again. But if he does, he should earn a Heisman finalist spot.

2. Darren McFadden, junior, running back, Arkansas
Last year: This all-around star took the fierce SEC by storm, rushing for 1,647 yards (fifth in the nation) and 14 touchdowns, catching 11 balls for 149 yards and a score, completing seven of nine passes for 69 yards and three touchdowns, while returning 10 kickoffs for 262 yards and a touchdown.

He’s the ultimate football player, which should make him the favorite. But the Heisman race supersedes ability. It’s about wins, exposure, and numbers. Arkansas snuck up on people last year; it won’t happen this year. Ten wins in a conference overflowing with talent will prove tough. As for exposure, the Hogs play only twice on national television – compare to USC’s six. Defenses had all spring to prepare for McFadden. His stats could dip, but not much. At this point, he looks to finish second in the balloting for the second straight year.

1. John David Booty, senior, quarterback, USC
Last year: In his first year starting, he completed 269 of 436 passes for 3,347 yards and 29 touchdowns against just nine interceptions.

Going into this year, a la Troy Smith last year, the Heisman is Booty’s to lose. He’s the best player, playing the most analyzed, admired position, on the nation’s No. 1 team. He lost some weapons from last year (receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith), but USC usually has little trouble reloading its depth chart with talent. He also bears the pressure of becoming the third straight USC quarterback to win the Heisman. If USC goes undefeated and Booty produces solid stat lines, he should follow Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer at the Heisman podium.

Now, a darkhorse for the award usually emerges to throw off experts’ projections. A player, like McFadden last year, that people knew had talent, but don’t consider among the elite until he dominates headlines and highlight shows. I’ll take a crack at this, too:

Ray Rice, junior, running back, Rutgers
Last year: Finished second nationally in both rushing (1,794) and touchdowns (20).

The lesser-known star spearheaded the Scarlet Knights’ revival. His team finished 11-2 and contented for the Big East title. Rice, rather quietly, had three 200-yard games – more than McFadden, Slaton and Hart – to claim the conference rushing title. He needs some luck, but another dynamite output could earn him a seat in New York this winter.

The long-shots:

• Brian Brohm, senior, quarterback, Louisville: Other than Booty, the most prolific senior QB in the land.
• Pat White, junior, quarterback, West Virginia: A miniature, dog-less, Michael Vick clone who passed for over 1,600 yards and rushed for over 1,200.
• Chad Henne, senior, quarterback, Michigan: Set to smash all major Michigan passing records, Henne will lead one of the nation’s best offenses.
• Colt McCoy, junior, quarterback, Texas: With his first year starting out of the way, McCoy is poised to have a big year in Austin.
• Andre Woodson, senior, quarterback, Kentucky: As polished as any college QB, Woodson’s only downfall is his team.
• Ian Johnson, senior, running back, Boise State: Last season’s national rushing touchdown leader and fourth-highest rusher won’t benefit playing in a non-BCS league.

That said, I don’t intend to come across as a know-it-all, as most sports columinsts do. I love sports; I love to write; and, frankly, I hope I’m wrong. When it comes to predicting, the best part, I think, isn’t being right. Sure, nailing a prognostication always makes a smile split my ears. But it’s being wrong, watching a new star rise from below radar coverage, shining for all to see, that adds to the beauty of sports. So let the games begin.