Can Emmanuel Moody win the Heisman?

Look, I know he had the goal-line fumble at the spring game. But we’ll assume he’ll have that corrected and will start when the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors come to town.
Obviously, no Gator tailback has won the award. Emmitt was always in the discussion, but he really wasn’t there. Blame mediocre Florida teams and a merry-go-round of offensive coordinators for that. But why has this trend occurred? Class, let’s look at Gator football, circa mid-1960s.
The Ole Ball Coach is the starting QB for the team, coached by Ray Graves. With his accomplishments in a very wide variety of sports before coming to UF, he provides a precursor to Tim Tebow 40 years later. Some lab coat types interested in exercise physiology have invented a cocktail of water, salt, sugar, and electrolytes designed to stop muscle cramping and dehydration; they strike a deal with Stokely Van Camp, and the Gatorade marketing machine is born.
But in spite of Steve Spurrier’s considerable talent, the true Heisman favorite lives over 900 miles away. Six years before leading Miami to a perfect record and a Super Bowl title, Robert Griese takes snaps in spring practice at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He’s got the arm and the leadership to succeed.
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For anyone who perused this site and others linked by GatorPilot and myself, Tim Tebow’s winning the Heisman was not surprising at all. Tebow was long considered a lock for the trophy and although the final tally was closer than some predictions (yet greater than others) the result was exactly as we expected, even down to the regional breakdown. The fact that Tim managed to win the trophy despite having to overcome a number of voters who openly declared they would not vote for a sophomore or wouldn’t vote for a quarterback unless they were in national championship contention (Matt Flynn or Todd Boeckman???) proved that the old guard of is losing its grip on the throat of college football. In its place are coaches who develop new styles of play and stray from convention, players who have vastly different styles and strengths than in previous generations and a media that embraces this new revolution within the game.












