Michael Tillery.com

Best College Player. Period.

by Michael Tillery

Troy Smith won the Heisman Trophy Saturday by a landslide. The points he received rendered every other candidate irrelevant and will be forever mentioned whenever a future winner blows away the competition. He was the most deserving player across the college landscape and deserves any post season accolade thrown his way. In my opinion, he should win every college award given because he came through in the clutch whenever his team needed him to do so, time and time again. His body of work this year logically can't be surpassed by any other athlete--even the ones with outrageous superior statistics like Hawaii's Colt Brennan.

Hart, McFadden and Slaton all have at least another year to prove their respective cases for winning the Heisman and should all stand in line and take notice of the masterful job done by Smith.

Troy congratulations on winning the most coveted award in the history of sports.

I'm not trying to take away from anything you have accomplished with the upcoming rant. I just want to help make sure the world doesn't consider you an afterthought well after you are gone. Kids that look like you need to have someone to look up to when they read about you say 50 years from now.
I forgot to mention Brady Quinn you ask?
The jury on him should still be out like a comparative deliberating a corrupt and shoddy judicial sex scandal case. Yeah, visualize that.

Quinn questionably won an award this past weekend that must be discussed.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Maxwell Award anyone?

Why did Quinn win the Maxwell award for best college player?

Troy Smith then wins the Davey O'Brien award for the best QB?

Wait! What? Hold on! Who else is confused?

Did the Maxwell award voters transform into the corruption political most associated with Vegas ringside or Olympic figure skating judges?

I personally just don't get this Brady Quinn hype. Yes, it's factually evident that he has done well statistically at highly pressurized Notre Dame and on paper, has assumed NFL QB tools. It just has to be mentioned that he did so with a proven pro offensive mind in Coach Weiss, put up numbers against inferior competition (service academies) and usually played from behind against the nation's powerhouses (Michigan, USC) meaning his team had to pass to not get blown out of the water. This consistently kept scores close, thus not truly being true pulse game indicative especially where the opposition pitifully began sitting starters in the third and fourth quarter. In the big games of his career Quinn choked like a holiday turkey next in line waiting for slaughter. Did he ever do shut yo mouth when the game was on the line?
What big game did he win? Name one besides initial Michigan game, Willingham and Weiss.

Quinn has the best job arguably in all of sports, secured his future--graduating in three and a half years with a double major--but conspicuously never put his team in a position to win a National Championship. Seriously, the hype associate with Quinn reminds me with sickening similarity the same ridiculous adulation currently directed Steve Nash's way.

Nash is an extremely gifted point guard who has brought a much needed team nuance in the individual ego driven NBA, but has won nothing. You would think he has won 10 championships the way the media swings on his jock. His two most valuable player awards should have been given to Shaq and LeBron if any intelligent quotient was used in the voting process. Until Nash wins a championship, he deserves the same chokers label that has been quickly given to players with much more talent. That unfair characterization diminishes the accomplishments of so many athletes for what?

Kobe's classic dunk on Nash in last year's playoffs typified that sentiment. I wonder what Kobe was thinking about when he threw it down Barkley style and Nash begrudgingly became part of some Kobe fan's poster.

When media personalities start objectively describing Nash, let us see if he can handle the cataclysmic blizzard windshield blinding scrutiny that so many Black athletes have to deal with before their feet hit the floor any given morning.

Simply put, his two MVPs are bogus and smack of underlying major sports award denigrating ulterior motives.
Ok back to Troy Smith.

His poise and clutch passes against a talented Michigan defense locked up the Heisman vote and crushed another late season Maize and Blue dream.

Before Troy Smith came on the scene, Michigan ruled the rivalry. It was a foregone conclusion that the Wolverines would win regardless of site, record or season momentum.

That all changed when Ohio State called Smith's number. He paid his dues in the process even when he initially stepped into Columbus unheralded and taking a back seat to Teddy Ginn Jr. He must be given proper credit for his body of work at Ohio State University for his legacy's sake.

His accomplishments cannot be swept under some media career shaving conundrum.

There is no way logical Quinn wins anything of merit regarding post season awards.
If you want to get technical, I would take Troy Smith, Brian Brohm and even JaMarcus Russell over Quinn in this upcoming draft. It's all hypothetical of course, because the latter two quarterbacks are juniors.

Why is Brady being touted as the number one pick and not Troy Smith?

Weren't we having this same discussion last year with Vince Young and Matt Leinart?
How did that turn out? Houston, you gambled on your regions future with a punch drunk David Carr, who already has been sacked with Jaworski like season numbers. The Texans franchise might have sealed an unsuccessful fate for years to come simply because they were afraid--if that was the case, you never know--to pull the trigger on who should have been the obvious choice, just give me the win baby, Vince Young.

Young's affect on the state of Texas is legendary and will never be forgotten. He's made the 200/200 game NCAA fashionable and wins even when his stats belie his ever maturing talent. How many come from behind victories does this kid own already in his fledgling career?

He's 2-0 against the Texans as a rookie with a team that was expected to be a NFL doormat and has quietly rushed for more yards than Saints rookie phenom, Reggie Bush. His touchdown run to win in overtime against his hometown team will also never be forgotten and truly has to be the typical Houston Texans fan's ultimate nightmare.

Troy Smith is Vince Young 2006. Even with consistent and almost laughable success, he's being touted as merely a NFL something or other. Pundits have him going mid first to second round in the upcoming 2007 NFL draft. Laughable..

It's obvious that Troy Smith is a winner. He has a strong arm and makes quick team confidence giving decisions consistently the precise time. Brady Quinn is a golden boy ticket master who needs to be put in the proper system. His lack of improvisation and fearless fortitude skills necessary for the what have you done for me lately personality that drives the NFL are becoming more and more supremely evident.
He will fail America if you continue to unnecessarily stroke his youthful ego without letting him fall on his face where the media is concerned.

Just because his name is Brady and plays under the guise of Weiss doesn't mean he's going to emulate Tom Brady.

What happened to the win first mentality that used to be the barometer for award success?
Award winners should come from the most successful teams. After all they are the reason for said team success. Right?

Where are the sports writers writing about what should be a hot topic? With all the soap opera driven bull crap that writers are currently scrambling over to break, isn't this truly something the world should be asking why?

Am I wrong here? Do you think I'm a Quinn hater? Have my own ulterior motives maybe? Undeservedly Pecksniffian?

No, no, no and a resoundingly no!

I'm merely stating that something should be said about Brady Quinn winning the Maxwell Award for the best player. It rudely smacks of something and is assuredly a bold statement especially when you logically dissect Troy Smith's probable championship season.
What are the Maxwell voters really trying to say?

If it were up to me, Smith would be voted into the NCAA Hall of Fame right now.

It just shows you that some athletes have to continuously prove themselves regardless of how many Heisman trophies are in the backfield.

Troy if you happen to read this, just continue to do your thing. I applaud you for challenging yourself to reach new heights regardless of the road blocks that were vicariously thrown your way. There were also some self inflicted moments that you've owned up to and moved on. You've learned from your mistakes and hopefully fans of football can reap the benefits for years to come.