I've never paid much attention to the Heisman trophy, primarily because you never see a UNC player in contention for it, but I've also never seen a devastating takedown of the whole charade in one paragraph. Until Matt Hinton came along, that is:
Not that the anointed trio doesn't deserve their share of adulation, but the total exclusion of other viable candidates only emphasizes again how ga-ga Heisman pundits and voters remain for the classic letterman-jacket type: Seven of the nine winners this decade have been clean-cut white quarterbacks from mega programs, many of them foregone conclusions with halos around their head. In the Detmer/Torretta tradition, milquetoast winners Eric Crouch (who couldn't pass, lost his last game by 26 points and went on to be battered in a national championship rout) and Jason White (who had no knees, lost his last game by 28 points and went on to be battered in a national championship loss) will go down as eternal indictments of the Heisman formula -- especially White, who was voted in over the spectacular Larry Fitzgerald and his scary dreadlocks. Pat White, the only quarterback ever to win four straight bowl games, was never invited to New York, but Brady Quinn, beleaguered punching bag in two straight BCS blowouts, was. God forbid a David Pollack, A.J. Hawk, LaMarr Woodley, Glenn Dorsey or Brian Orakpo ever make their way into the discussion.
The Pat White - Brady Quinn comparison alone is golden. And that's just for people who made the ballot for the damn thing.