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I thought it would be painfully obvious who Clemson fans would pick for this question when EA put it to us. C.J. Spiller is the only player I would unequivocably argue about in Clemson's past as a deserving winner of the Heisman Trophy, and he didn't get the invite.
I understand the reasons used to exclude him from contention in 2009. He was a RB who didn't put up the most yards at his position, and since the trophy has morphed from "the best player" to "the best player on the best team" (RG3 hopefully changed this trend), C.J. didn't have a great shot. Mark Ingram got it instead, and its not like he wasn't a dominant player in his own right. We were 9-5 and our coaching staff took the first half of the season to figure out how to call plays to get him the ball. If the staff had a clue up until the off week following the Maryland debacle, I think his invite to NY would've been sealed.
Although I knew CJ was not going to win it in 2009, I hoped for his sake that he'd get invited. I don't think Tebow really deserved to go that year based on his statistical performances; he got in on a career/pretty-boy ballot.
He's the most dynamic player in Clemson history if you ask me, and without the toe injury that lingered all season and a coach that would give him 20 carries from scrimmage every day, I think he'd be the Heisman winner.
The statistics from 2009 show that anytime he got the ball in his hands, he was a threat to take it to the house.
201 Carries, 1145 yards, (5.7ypc) 11 TDs Rushing
33 rec. 445 yards, 4 TDs Receiving
13 ret, 210 Yards, 1 TD punt return
22 ret, 708 yards, 4 TD kickoff return....and 1 passing TD.
The invitees were:
Toby Gerhart: 311 carries, 1736yds (5.6), 26 TDs.....10rec. 149yds receiving, 1 passing TD
Tim Tebow: 182/279 (65.2), 2413 yards, 18 TDs passing, 5 INT...203car, 859yds, 13 TD rushing
Colt McCoy: 330/468 (70.5), 3512 yards, 27 TD, 12 INT....128 rushes, 348yds, 3 TDs
Mark Ingram: 249 carries, 1542yards, 15 TD.....32 rec, 347 yards, 3 TD receiving
Ndamukong Suh: 82 Tkl, 47 Solo, 12 sacks, 1 INT
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