Texas Christian running back LaDainian Tomlinson may very well become the Western Athletic Conference's all-time leading rusher. He'll need to average 153 yards in TCU's remaining 10 games to do it. But even in a wheelchair, he will against the likes of Arkansas State, Navy, and Rice.
He'll also eventually become TCU's all-time leading rusher and so on. And most likely, Tomlinson will be named an All-American. But a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, he ain't.
Unlike the previous Heisman winners before him, Tomlinson plays at TCU. And the Horned Frogs play in the WAC. Eddie George, Ron Dayne, Marcus Allen, and O.J. Simpson. Marquee players at marquee programs.
TCU may be ranked #22 but their schedule is equal to that of Cal State Northridge or Central Michigan. And let me point out his 176 yards rushing against the Nevada Wolf Pack defense is probably equal to 12 yards against Florida State's defense (third string). If the "Juice" lined up against this year's Nevada defense, he could sit out and still somehow end up with 50 yards rushing the next day in the box score.
"We contained him at times," Nevada coach Chris Tormey said. "He's about what I expected."
That's the problem. One of the worst defenses in the nation shouldn't be able to contain a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. Not even at times. I mean, isn't that what is suppose to make the best college football player in the country the best. The unexpected, the unbelievable.
"He's strong, hard, and quick," Wolf Pack free safety Paul Jolley said, "He's got a good running game."
That's all a Wolf Pack defender can say about him immediately after they just got beat 41-10. If Tomlinson is a Heisman trophy candidate, anybody affiliated with Wolf Pack football should be gloating over him. The Mackay Stadium janitors should be hearing his name through the vents when cleaning the toilets. But there was none of that. Just a few complimentary remarks.
It's too bad because Tomlinson has all the tools to become a NFL running back. And a good one at that. He should be the front runner for the Doak Walker award, which goes to the college football's best running back. But the Heisman is an award reserved for those special players whose football talent and athletic gifts are unmatched. Somehow I think that the Heisman voters consider Danny Wuerffel leading Florida to a national championship infinitely more impressive than Tomlinson rushing for three touchdowns against the Nevada Wolf Pack. Or the Rice Owls. Or the UTEP Miners.
Saying that, Tomlinson is good for the WAC. The conference lost BYU, Air Force, and Utah to the Mountain West. Most people thought that when those teams left, the WAC would be a joke. Well, except for TCU and Fresno State, they're almost dead on. The Mountain West doesn't have a player like Tomlinson. And does it matter that TCU football boosters spent $30,000 on a Website dedicated to Tomlinson and his run for the Heisman. Of course not.
If you log onto www.LTfor2000.com. and look around long enough, you might start to believe that Tomlinson will be one of the four finalists at New York's Downtown Athletic Club in December. But do you really think that the Heisman voters will choose a Horned Frog as college football's greatest player? Surely not.