Night of suspense ends with Bradford holding the Heisman

The final vote count was as narrow as the debate was heated. But in the end, the Heisman Trophy went to Sam Bradford.

by Carmen Renee Thompson

NEW YORK -- The suspense is over. After a much-debated Heisman horse race and a long season of Saturdays on the field, Florida's Tim Tebow, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy of Texas were suited up in jacket and tie at the Nokia Theatre. But it was Bradford's big Saturday night.

The "Wow, it's really me!" factor was visible on the normally reserved sophomore's face as soon as the winner was announced. He shut his eyes and put his head in his hands when his name was called, then stood and hugged his parents, Martha and Kent Bradford, before also embracing Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops. Up at the podium, he was quickly his old self again, coolly delivering a lengthy acceptance speech -- with no notes -- extensively thanking and praising his Sooners teammates for their stellar play this season.

"I really wasn't expecting it," he said later at the post-awards news conference. "It's really surreal. Earlier today I looked at the portraits of the other Heisman winners on the wall, and it was hard to consider myself on the same level as those guys. But tonight I had a chance to join them."

Bradford also took home the Davey O'Brien Award on Thursday in Orlando as the best quarterback in the nation. He follows Tebow as just the second sophomore to win the Heisman and also became Oklahoma's fifth trophy winner and the second in five years. He broke records left and right all season, directing the Sooners' offense to an FBS-record 702 points as he led the nation with 48 touchdowns to only six INTs and helped put up a record-setting 60-plus points in five consecutive games. "Poise, confidence and toughness," Stoops said, describing the intangible qualities he believes swayed Heisman voters to give Bradford 1,726 points over McCoy's second-place 1,604 points. Although Tebow received the most first-place votes, he finished third with 1,575 points.

This year's Heisman contest tightened quickly at the end of the season, with many expecting the field to be as wide as five and inclusive of Texas Tech's QB Graham Harrell and his teammate, wideout Michael Crabtree. Harrell's exclusion stirred controversy because the Red Raiders finished tied for first in the Big 12 with the same 11-1 record as Texas and Oklahoma.

Although that debate was settled just days ago, it seemed far, far away as the three chosen ones sat backstage in the green room at the Nokia Theatre, their excitement growing the closer it got to showtime. Tebow was by far the most relaxed, having already been there and won the trophy last year. He'd hoped to become the second two-time Heisman winner after Ohio State running back Archie Griffin in 1974-75, and surged in the conversation as he led Florida to nine straight wins to end the season -- making good on his promise to follow the Gators' one loss to Ole Miss with exceptional play. Tebow -- who had 28 touchdowns to just two INTs, amassing 3,079 total yards -- took home the Maxwell Award for player of the year. After the Heisman announcement, he said he was looking forward to facing Bradford and the Sooners head-to-head on Jan. 8 in Miami for the BCS Championship Game. "Why get over it?" he said of not repeating as Heisman winner. "I'll just use it as motivation, like Ole Miss."

McCoy also was disappointed but said he'd had a great weekend. "It's tough," he admitted. "You set your sights high and want to win that trophy. But I'm excited about the opportunity to come back." The Texas junior had five 300-yard games and 32 touchdowns to seven INTs, and some speculated that there might be a sympathy bias toward him because the Longhorns defeated the Sooners in the regular season but didn't make the cut for the championship game. Instead, McCoy will head to the Fiesta Bowl to face Ohio State on Jan. 5.

Meanwhile, Bradford, an Oklahoma native who is a member of the Cherokee Nation, has two more days in New York City to look forward to, plus a big game followed by a big decision. Having redshirted his freshman year, he's eligible to declare for the NFL draft and has said that he and his parents will gather as much information as possible before he decides whether to return to OU.

As sweet as winning the Heisman is, he has a chance to make it even sweeter (not to mention raise his stock) if he can follow it up with a national championship in three weeks.

Heisman winners haven't had much luck capturing the crystal football in the same year, though, going just 1-5 in the big game since the BCS was instated in 1998. But watching Bradford cradle the Heisman trophy, calmly posing for pictures, it's a good bet he'll take the same approach to that challenge. "It will take a while for this to sink in," he said, noting that he hopes to silence critics who've said OU has benefited from facing weak defenses this season. "Soon as I get back, we're going to work."

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