Here's what's bad about college football: Someone should be making a bigger deal out of it all. The Heisman folks, the NCAA, radio, TV.
The sport is so decentralized that there is no one place to go for the celebration. Sure, the schools are going to have their individual announcements but Wednesday was a collective gift to college football fans. Oklahoma's Sam Bradford was the tipping point among the annual underclassman declarations. Against all odds, and maybe logic, the Heisman winner decided to stay.
Not only Bradford but his teammates are returning -- defensive lineman Gerald McCoy, offensive lineman Trent Williams and tight end Jermaine Gresham. Put that in perspective: Bob Stoops lost three starters early from the 2007 Fiesta Bowl team (Curtis Lofton, Reggie Smith, Malcolm Kelly). The Sooners reloaded and got to the championship game in 2008. Now it looks like everyone is going to be back in 2009.
If anything can begin to heal the hurt from Stoops' fifth consecutive BCS bowl loss (and third championship game loss in a row) this is it. The heart of his team -- and least the underclass part -- is coming back. A chance to break both streaks at least looks more likely than it did before Wednesday.
But it's not just an Oklahoma thing. We are all better for it because with Bradford's announcement it means the Heisman finalists are returning as a unit to duke it out again. The return of Bradford, Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy -- all of them underclassmen -- means three of the top five teams in the final 2008 coaches poll will return more or less intact in 2009.
Four of the top five returning passers from 2008 will be guys who could have left early -- Bradford, McCoy, Tebow and Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson -- reports on Wednesday had USC's Mark Sanchez opting to enter the NFL Draft.
It means there could be a little bit of Peyton Manning, Matt Leinart and Matt Ryan in all them. Remember those old men? They stayed for their senior seasons passing up money and risking injury. Mostly, because they like college.
Sounds corny, sure, but you could read that into Bradford who was asked Wednesday what he liked about playing in college.
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| Braford could stand to add some weight to his 6-foot-4, 212-pound frame. (US Presswire) |
That's good for them, good for their teams and good for us. For one year, the college game won. The NFL didn't get its hooks in early to all of our game's best players. Sadly, it probably isn't the beginning of a trend. It is an indicator of Stoops' worth as a recruiter.
Or rather a re-recruiter.
In 10 years, Stoops has lost less than 10 underclassmen. His message is getting through -- unless you're in financial straits and/or a slam-dunk top 10 pick, it's not worth it.
Stoops likes to use the example of Jimmy Wilkerson, a lineman who came out early for the 2003 draft. Wilkerson left a lot of money on the table because he was drafted in the sixth round. While he has stuck in the league, Wilkerson has done it, as Stoops says, "at low money."
"Everyone says you can always go back and get your degree, that's kind of hard," Stoops said. "It's easier said than done. If you stay and improve a round, you can get three or four times the money. They all want to take care of their parents and their family. In the third round, you can take care of yourself. You start getting into the first round you can take care of some other people."
Just guessing, but Stoops probably communicated a lot of that to Bradford, Williams and Gresham. On one hand, Bradford had to be stupid not to come out after throwing 50 touchdown passes and winning the Heisman. On the other hand, he is a little light for his height (6-foot-4, 212 pounds) and has played only 28 college football games.
And OU isn't exactly going to be Washington State next season. The offensive line takes a hit, but the season still boils down to that friendly meeting with Texas in October. The return of McCoy makes Texas-OU the early game of the year.
You've got to love this process. Wednesday, essentially nothing happened. Three impact players who were on the roster are still on the roster. But they're dancing in the streets of Norman.
There has to be a place to go, then, where we can all celebrate. Now it's time to work on two other Florida underclassmen, linebacker Brandon Spikes and burner Percy Harvin. Let's get the whole crew back do it again in Pasadena early next year. Just think of it: If, say, Harvin or Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray wins the Heisman, we could have three Heisman Trophy winners on the same field in an Oklahoma-Florida rematch.
It means the Big 12 better get its act together on that tiebreaker because considering the strength (again) of its South Division, we could have the same ugly mess on our hands. And it would be great.
It means those of us who held off on putting together an super early Top 25 look, well, smart. Now that we know who is coming back, the next step is determining who is No. 1.
Got a coin to flip?
