[Ed-Seth: This being the 20th anniversary of the 1997 National Championship, Michigan historian Dr. Sap is taking us game-by-game through it. Previously: Those Who Stayed (Colorado); The Hit (Baylor); The Stop (Notre Dame); The Captain’s Down(Indiana); Vengeance (Northwestern), Gut Check (Iowa), Six Picks (Michigan State), The Trap (Minnesota), Judgment (Penn State), The Crucible (Wisconsin) No Flags (Ohio State)]
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UM Bentley Library
December 13, 1997: Heisman Voting
| Rk | Name | Team | Yr | P | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Woodson | Michigan | Jr | CB | 433 | 209 | 98 | 1815 |
| 2 | Peyton Manning | Tennessee | Sr | QB | 281 | 263 | 174 | 1543 |
| 3 | Ryan Leaf | Washington State | Jr | QB | 70 | 203 | 241 | 861 |
| 4 | Randy Moss | Marshall | So | WR | 17 | 56 | 90 | 253 |
| 5 | Ricky Williams | Texas | Jr | RB | 3 | 18 | 20 | 65 |
| 6 | Curtis Enis | Penn State | Jr | RB | 3 | 18 | 20 | 65 |
| 7 | Tim Dwight | Iowa | Sr | WR | 5 | 3 | 11 | 32 |
| 8 | Cade McNown | UCLA | Jr | QB | 0 | 7 | 12 | 26 |
| 9 | Tim Couch | Kentucky | So | QB | 0 | 5 | 12 | 22 |
| 10 | Amos Zereoué | West Virginia | So | RB | 3 | 1 | 10 | 21 |
It was perhaps the greatest Heisman field in the history of that award. It included a generational quarterback and a guy everyone thought would be. It had the most talented receiver the game had ever seen. It had the most productive rusher college football had ever seen. And Twenty years ago today the award for the “most outstanding player in college football” finally went to a primarily defensive player. He was just that good.
In 1997, two-way stars like Tom Harmon were a thing of the past or it was something “cute” that guys like Gordie Lockbaum did in D2 football. As Warren Sapp correctly pointed out a few years earlier, the bronzed Heisman statue has a player carrying the ball, not swatting it down.
Charles Woodson challenged that paradigm. You didn’t need to be a senior anymore to win the award. You didn’t need to be a quarterback or a running back, either. The trophy is engraved thusly: “The outstanding College Football Player In The United States.” The instructions given to voters are to choose…
The outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work.
It doesn’t say anything about being an offensive MVP; but that was the paradigm. Paradigms had changed before in the history of this award—it used to be so Domer biased that QB Paul Hornung won it in 1956 while going 2-8 and throwing 13 INTs to 3 TDs (Jim Brown finished third). It says outstanding.
Woodson was. Leave aside the highlight reel and look at the effect he had on that defense. Michigan’s D spent most of that season in a Cover 1 with the free safety either shaded over the side opposite Woodson, or running around in a robber. Students made a shirt (now available on the MGoBlogStore) that noted “75% of the Earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by Woodson.” They weren’t far off. Ask any coach if he thinks he could get away with this:
Back in 1997, few in America believed the 1,000 voters had finally figured out what that truly meant, especially when they had a nice, easy senior career candidate who “deserved” it for turning down the NFL and virtually repeating his 1996 performance.
[Hit THE JUMP]
WHY EVEN PLAY THE SEASON?
The 1997 season didn’t start out with Woodson as the Heisman frontrunner. Sure he was the Big Ten’s returning Defensive Player of the Year and a first team All-American, but back in September, Tennessee’s Peyton Manning already had his name on the trophy. All you had to do was ask anybody down south and they’d tell you. It wasn’t Peyton’s to lose, he already had it wrapped up when he decided to return for his senior season.
To the Volunteer fans it was a forgone conclusion, and as soon as he would defeat Florida, the engraver could start etching Manning’s name on the award.
Ah yes – defeating Florida. Well, while Peyton’s Heisman dreams were being derailed in a 33-20 drubbing in The Swamp (again), Charles’ stock was on the rise.
Woodson’s highlight-reel plays on both sides of the ball were getting noticed and Michigan’s #1 ranking in the country only served to shine the spotlight a little brighter on Woodson’s talent.
The finalists for the trophy twenty years ago may have been the most impressive assemblance of talent in the award’s long history. You had arguably the best wide receiver in College Football history in sophomore, Randy Moss. You had the best defensive player in the game in junior, Woodson. You had probably the best quarterback in the history of the game (up to that point in time) in senior, Manning. And then you had this mountain of a QB that looked like he was carved out of an old oak tree in junior, Ryan Leaf.
MAYBE THEY’RE TRYING TO CREATE COMPETITION TO CREATE INTEREST
With the trophy being awarded on 13 December, the ballots were due by the 11th and most of the voters waited until after the conference championship games were played to send in their ballots.
Sensing that perhaps his QB was losing his lead in the race, Volunteer Coach Phillip Fulmer showed everyone his true colors when he said this about Woodson potentially winning the award: "To me, there's no question in my mind that Peyton's the best player in the country," Fulmer said. "I think he's the best player and the best representative. I keep hearing this about Woodson. I don't know. Maybe they're trying to create competition there to create interest. That's what I hope. All I know is that it would be a travesty."
Nice.
To his credit, Michigan Lloyd Carr responded much more professionally: "I read the quote from Fulmer, which if it's accurate is extremely tasteless," Carr said. "I just think I have respect for the people who have been given a vote, and it's their choice. For someone to try to influence them, who has something personal to gain, is absolutely in poor taste."
Carr said he did not attempt to speak to Fulmer about the comment, which was made during the Southeastern Conference coaches teleconference.
"No desire to," he said.
Even the night before the award was being handed out, Woodson, Moss and Leaf all felt that Manning was going to be up on the stage the next night holding the statue. So what did they do? They all went out and took in everything that downtown New York had to offer. It was a late night by all accounts!
TUNE IN
The Heisman Presentation show was being broadcast on ESPN, and the intro looked like this:
Even though he never coached Woodson, Bo Schembechler felt some responsibility for #2 coming to Michigan and being in NYC that second weekend of December. The same school (Ross) that produced future Wolverines Rob Lytle in the ‘70s and Tony Gant in the ‘80s for Bo now delivered its greatest product to Ann Arbor in the ‘90s. Don’t ever think those relationships and talent pipelines are not important to a football program’s continued success.
In the way only Bo could say it, he told the world that no one would ever need to apologize for voting for Woodson:
The made for TV Special interviewed all the players individually as well as one of either their parents or coaches. Here is the Woodson segment:
Even though Woodson had won the Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year Trophy earlier in December by a reported 3-to-1 margin over Manning, the “Best Player In The Country Standing Before You” did not have a speech prepared for the Downtown Athletic Club of New York. He knew and recognized what kind of traditional thinking he was up against.
DUDE, THAT’S YOU
You can tell from their body language that Woodson and Moss believed they were there as merely bunting to the kind of guy they always give it to. When his name was called that night, Woodson had to be nudged by Moss to realize that he wasn’t dreaming!
After hugging his mother, Mrs. Moss, and his father, the gravity of the situation finally started to sink in. As he took a knee by the podium, that’s when Woodson realized how big the moment was. To quote the man himself after the Ohio State Game, he “Did it baby! Other people do the talking, I do the walking!”
With his brother and teammate Marcus Ray on the stage behind him, Woodson tried to convey to everyone in the DAC Ballroom and everyone on TV what he felt. It truly was “BIG!”
The voting was not as close as most expected. Woodson won five of the six regions, with Manning finishing second, Leaf third and Moss fourth. The Heisman electorate had spoken and College Football would never be the same again. Woodson’s superior talent made coaches realize that if you were good enough, could make plays, contribute on the other side of the line of scrimmage, and on special teams, you should be given a look and opportunity to show what you can do.
The entire College Football world finally knew what we in the Midwest had known all along – Charles Woodson was indeed, “The Best Player In The Country, Standing Before You!”
THE LEGACY
Woodson’s breakthrough could have opened the door for defensive guys, but instead the backlash from furious Tennessee fans reinforced the old barriers. The year after Woodson’s victory, five quarterbacks finished between winner Ricky Williams and the Woodson-like Champ Bailey. The following year Ron Dayne took it as a career achievement, with Penn State’s LaVarr Arrington receiving just three 1st place votes. In 2001 six quarterbacks led all voting despite Oklahoma’s Roy Williams, and DLs Dwight Freeney and Julius Peppers dominating offenses (not to mention Miami OT Bryant McKinney—it’s not just defensive guys who get the shaft). After that defensive players all but disappeared—the next to earn a first place vote was LSU’s Glenn Dorsey, who finished 9th in 2007. Most notoriously, in 2009, they gave the award to Alabama RB Mark Ingram for running over a bunch of defensive backs his offensive line escorted him to; Ndamukong Suh, far and away the best player that year, finished fourth.
Woodson did open a smaller door for two-way players; if you’re the greatest player in the country AND you carry the ball a bunch on offense and special teams, you too can be in consideration, as Jabrill Peppers proved last year.
Perhaps the hurdle here isn’t just being a great defensive player. Perhaps they’re waiting for another player who affected the game in all facets as much as Woodson did. If so, they’ll be waiting another century.