ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 20, 1996 TAG: 9611200026
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
It happens every year about this time. No, I'm not talking about my wife finishing raking the leaves in our yard.
My Heisman Trophy ballot arrived in the mail Monday. It's a great time of the college football season, with not only bowl talk warming the November air. There's also the anticipation of the Heisman race ending, meaning Lee Corso soon may stop spewing hot air about his favorite candidate.
This year, there's something else special for me in being a Heisman voter.
Never before have I had an opportunity to vote for someone who once was a neighbor in the same apartment complex.
I got a postcard in the mail Monday, too, with a Charlottesville postmark. On the front was a photo of Tiki Barber, in a Heisman Trophy pose, in front of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. I honestly can't say I remember Tiki or his twin brother, Ronde, practicing such a move years ago on the grounds at Bent Tree Apartments.
Doesn't matter.
If Tiki weren't a legitimate Heisman candidate, I wouldn't consider him, whether a Roanoke resident or not. Yes, that's a triple negative. In Barber, there are only positives, and he and his brother politely have led the way in putting the Roanoke Valley on the college football map in the '90s.
He isn't only one of the best running backs in the nation, he's one of the best players in the nation. He also should be the ACC offensive player of the year.
He's a finalist for the National Football Foundation's ``Academic Heisman,'' too. The Heisman ballot states the ``recipient of the award MUST be a bona fide student '' Barber's grade-point average is 3.3.
On the field, he averages 5.2 yards per carry. With five yards in the Cavaliers' season finale at Virginia Tech, Barber will become only the third player in ACC history to rush for 1,200 yards in consecutive seasons.
He's averaging almost 120 yards per game, and he's getting the ball fewer than 23 carries per game. He is as instrumental to his team's success as any player in the country.
Yet, Barber only has a slightly better chance to win the Heisman than Ross Perot had in the presidential race.
However, Barber may be a better talker than Perot. I like Barber because not only does he show up for interviews, he doesn't treat them like a trip to the dentist, unless you're talking about opening wide.
Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel probably will win the trophy. He's a nice and gifted young man by all accounts, too, but is he the best player in the nation? Is he even the best quarterback in the Southeastern Conference, better than Peyton Manning of Tennessee?
How about Iowa State's Troy Davis? For a losing team, he's likely to become the first player in history to run for 2,000 yards in two straight seasons.
The best player could be Ohio State lineman Orlando Pace, but guys in the trenches always have been buried unfairly in Heisman voting.
The Heisman is no different than any other voting process. It's a popularity contest, whether you're deciding on politics, or record, or statistics. There always is a regional tinge to the results, too. So, why not vote for Barber? Consider some of the reasons to do so:
Although guys named Doc, Hopalong, O.J., Vinny and Rashaan have, no one named Tiki has won the Heisman.
His mom, Geraldine, would love a new 25-pound table decoration for her home.
When he and his brother finally are separated in their NFL careers, as the odds make likely, Tiki can name the trophy ``Ronde'' and they'll still be together.
Or, the twins could turn the award into a 13 1/2-inch hood ornament on the 1996 Kelly green Camaro they share.
No one from Virginia, the commonwealth, much less the school, has won a Heisman.
University of Virginia star Bill Dudley was fifth in 1941. Martinsville native and UVa quarterback Shawn Moore finished fourth in 1990, two spots ahead of teammate and receiver Herman Moore.
Hey, back in 1955, a Navy quarterback and future coach named George Welsh was third.
So, call me a homer. I don't care. I'm voting for Tiki, and not just because it's the neighborly thing to do.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. The University of Virginia isby CNBpumping the Heisman Trophy candidacy of tailback Tiki Barber, who
starred at Cave Spring High School in Roanoke. color.