Alabama's Ingram has Heisman fever again
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Archie Griffin knows that one day he won't be the only multiple Heisman winner. "Somebody's going to do it three times," the former Ohio State star said. "It's not going to be an easy deal, but somebody out there can get it done."
Enter Alabama's Mark Ingram. The Crimson Tide running back has a chance this season to win his second, and if he sticks around for his senior year, possibly a third.
Last season, he became the third straight sophomore to strike the Heisman pose, when only juniors and seniors had previously won the award. But Florida's Tim Tebow couldn't do it. He made two unsuccessful runs at winning a second Heisman. And Oklahoma's Sam Bradford had his quest for a two-peat end early with a shoulder injury last season.
For his part, Ingram sidesteps talk of a Heisman repeat.
"You really can't worry about that type of stuff," the compact tailback said, "all the pressure that people put on you." But it's there, and will likely be there all season. So will the scrutiny, the attention and of course the trophy - which is on display in Alabama's football building. It's the only one, after all, a Tide player has ever won.
Before the sophomore surplus, 11 juniors had won the Heisman since Griffin captured his second straight in 1975. Only Oklahoma running back Billy Sims (1978), BYU quarterback Ty Detmer (1990), Oklahoma quarterback Jason White (2003) and Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart (2004) returned for another shot. The rest turned pro early.
Ingram has a couple of things in his favor: He plays for the defending national champions at a program that prides itself on winning national titles. Tebow says that makes winning Heisman No. 2 secondary.
"There was people talking about it, but in my mind, it wasn't a big deal because there was always so much more pressure in trying to win games and trying to win a championship than winning a Heisman," said Tebow, now a Denver Broncos rookie. "So if you were maybe somewhere else where you didn't have that pressure and that expectation of winning a championship, maybe the Heisman would affect you more. But I don't think it really had an effect because of our level of expectations and then the expectations others put on us, too, were so high that you were always more focused on winning a championship than winning a Heisman."
Tebow came close - twice. He was the first three-time finalist and the first player since Georgia's Herschel Walker, the 1982 winner, to finish in the top five three times. Tebow was third in 2008 behind Bradford and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, and fifth last season.
Ingram and Tebow became friends at the Heisman ceremony in New York last December.
"He just tells me to be the best player I can be," Ingram said. "Just focus on being the best player I can be for my team and winning games, because that's all that really matters. You've just got to be focused on yourself and your teammates."
One of those teammates might hinder Ingram's chances to match his school-record 1,658 yards. Trent Richardson ran for 751 yards as a freshman and could be in line for even more carries this season.
Whatever happens, Griffin plans to take it all in.
"It doesn't bother me if somebody wins it a second time or even a third time," Griffin said. "It's one of those situations where I just enjoy the race."
