HEISMAN RACE SEEING DOUBLE TROJANS' TOP PAIR BATTLE FOR COVETED TROPHY.Byline: Scott Wolf Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Steven Wolf and Susan Enowitch, Wolf was raised in West Orange, New Jersey. He graduated in 1986 from West Orange High School. Staff Writer Everything was so neatly planned at USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. this season, with quarterback Matt Leinart Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983 in Santa Ana, California) is an American football quarterback (QB) for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Southern California Trojans, leading them to an AP national placed alone on the cover of the school's media guide, an honor never afforded to Carson Palmer Carson Palmer (born December 27, 1979 in Fresno, California), is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He attended the University of Southern California, where he won the Heisman Trophy Award in 2002 in his senior season. . Leinart even got his own Web site, a way to promote his Heisman Trophy Heisman Trophy Annual award given to the outstanding college gridiron football player in the U.S. The trophy was instituted in 1935 by New York City's Downtown Athletic Club and was officially named the following year for the club's first athletic director, the player-coach candidacy. The USC quarterback's campaign is smoothly on course. But, perhaps because of the No. 1 Trojans' success, a grassroots movement has also emerged with the candidacy of sophomore tailback Reggie Bush Reginald "Reggie" Bush, birth name: Reginald Alfred Bush II (born March 2, 1985 in San Diego, California), nicknamed 'The Human Highlight Reel' and 'The President', alluding to President Bush, is an American football player who plays for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. . That means the Trojans have two legitimate Heisman candidates, and, frankly, two of the top four players in the country, if you go by the Scripps Howard News Service Heisman Trophy poll, which queries voters each week. Leinart is currently running second and Bush fourth, an eye-opening stat if it weren't for the fact that Oklahoma quarterback Jason White Jason White is the name of:
Are two superstars better than one? On the field, yes. For awards, it might be another matter. Does Bush take votes away from Leinart? Or Leinart from Bush? ``Possibly, it could hurt us,'' said Bush, a sophomore. ``I've heard that. It seems logical. That's how it is though. Nothing you can do about it.'' It also places the schools in a bit of a dilemma. Oklahoma already features last year's Heisman Trophy winner (White) and never anticipated a freshman would capture the nation's attention like Peterson, who has gained 1,373 yards. No freshman has won the Heisman. Neither has a sophomore. So this season already provided some unique challenges to schools with traditional candidates. ``The fact (Peterson) is a freshman has landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated is the largest weekly American sports magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. It has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men, 19% of the adult males in the country. and made him a center of conversation alone,'' said Kenny Mossman, Oklahoma's assistant athletic director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic for media relations. Mossman said although Peterson has generated so much buzz, or maybe because of it, he's not doing any special promotions for his Heisman candidacy. ``The whole promotion thing kind of turns my stomach a bit,'' Mossman said. USC plans to send out e-mails next week touting Bush as a Heisman candidate. His penchant for big plays, which generate repeated viewings on weekend sportscasts, are his greatest asset. He is currently No. 1 on the Heisman ballot of ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network analyst Kirk Herbstreit Kirk Herbstreit (born August 19, 1969, Centerville, Ohio) is an analyst for ESPN's College GameDay, a television program covering college football and a provider of color commentary during college football games on ESPN and ABC. . ``I think it helps people to see you're making plays. That's important for the Heisman,'' Bush said. ``It feels good to have supporters and people who believe in my ability and know what I'm doing and recognize it.'' Leinart said he doesn't mind sharing the stage with Bush, even if it does split some votes. ``I think it's great, it shows what this team is capable of,'' he said. ``Reggie's a great player and deserves the attention.'' Bush said he is not unhappy with the lack of a full-scale promotional assault. Asked if he wanted a Web site, he said, ``Not really. It's not needed. We're all making plays. People can see that.'' Whether or not Bush's insurgent INSURGENT. One who is concerned in an insurrection. He differs from a rebel in this, that rebel is always understood in a bad sense, or one who unjustly opposes the constituted authorities; insurgent may be one who justly opposes the tyranny of constituted authorities. bid actually deprives Leinart of votes is another matter. History says it won't hurt his chances. If he actually wins. In the past 25 years, there were 12 instances when a school placed two candidates in the top 10. Four times, a player won the award with a teammate also finishing in the top 10. Most recently, in 1995, Ohio State tailback Eddie George won while teammate Bobby Hoying finished 10th. USC tailback Charles White won in 1979 while his teammate, quarterback Paul McDonald, finished sixth. Perhaps more important, there's never been a case in the past 25 years when the vote totals of two losing players surpassed the actual Heisman winner's votes. Two years ago, Palmer beat out Miami tailback Willis McGahee and quarterback Ken Dorsey, who finished fourth and fifth in the balloting. But even if you added McGahee and Dorsey's ballots, they did not surpass Palmer. The closest case occurred in 2001, when Dorsey and Hurricanes offensive lineman Bryant McKinnie combined to finish 16 votes behind Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch. ``I'm not worried about it,'' Bush said. ``That would be cool if we both got to go to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , though.'' Mossman said he doesn't think one player cancels out another's bid for the Heisman. ``Their performances swing back and forth like a pendulum,'' he said. ``The player who's hot takes the place in the minds of the voters. I think people will just weigh one against the other.'' While Bush and Leinart were already given notice by the Heisman Trophy organization that they are on a short list of players who might be invited to the ceremony in New York, Bush is really hoping Utah quarterback Alex Smith makes the trip. Smith and Bush were teammates at Helix High in San Diego. ``Now that would be cool,'' Bush said. ``He deserves it and I'd love to see him get to go.'' Scott Wolf, (818) 713-3607 scott.wolf(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 4 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) MATT LEINART (2 -- color) REGGIE BUSH (3 -- 4) Trojans tailback Reggie Bush (5) and quarterback Matt Leinart (11) are a successful superstar tandem on the field but might not share the same fortunes together in the Heisman chase. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer Box: WHERE THEY STAND |
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