2010 College Football Pre-Season Awards

Every year, one of my favorite professional talkers on ESPN, Kirk Herbstreit, comes out with his own “Herbies” awards.  I like ‘em. Unique categories, some deep picks, not much writing, pretty pictures, and on and on and on.

There’s only one problem… I don’t always agree with all of his picks.  Shocking, I know.

So, no disrespect to one of the Worldwide Leader’s best college football analysts, but I think I can do better.  Or at least I can pick guys that make more sense to me.  Funny how often that happens…

Anyway, without wasting any more time, here’s what we’ll call the DeeZee’s.  No, that’s horrible.  How about the Ultimaties?  Screw it, just read the list.

Herbstreit calls the category “The Right to Excite.”  Basically, electrifying players.  Think CJ Spiller if this was 2009.

1. Jake Locker, QB, Washington
2. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia
3. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon
4. Ryan Williams, RB, Virginia Tech
5. Titus Young, WR, Boise State

This one’s called “Born to Run” by Mr. Kirk. You guessed it, it’s best all-around running backs.

1. Mark Ingram, Alabama
2. Trent Richardson, Alabama
3. Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech
4. Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State
5. LaMichael James, Oregon

Up next, we’ve got “Catch a Rising Star.” Not only is the name hyperbadass, it’s a category that contains some serious WRs this year.

1. AJ Green, Georgia
2. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame
3. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
4. Darvin Adams, Auburn
5. Jon Baldwin, Pittsburgh

On to “Off and Running” or players who will/could/should step up in a big way this year. We’ll call it anti-Jevan Snead.

1. Shane Vereen, RB, California
2. Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia
3. Baron Batch, RB, Texas Tech
4. Juron Criner, WR, Arizona
5. Ricky Stanzi, QB, Iowa

This category is perfectly named… “Rodney Dangerfields.” Players who don’t get no (enough) respect. And infuriate country club owners.

1. Josh Nesbitt, QB, Georgia Tech
2. Ricky Stanzi, QB, Iowa
3. Montel Harris, RB, Boston College
4. Austin Pettis, WR, Boise State
5. Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State

Now we’ve got “Fresh Approach.” Don’t sleep on these freshman, in case you were planning on sleeping on a person.

1. Michael Dyer, RB, Auburn
2. Lache Seastrunk, RB, Oregon
3. William Gholston, DEF, Michigan State
4. Kadron Boone, WR, LSU
5. Lamarcus Joyner, CB, FSU

Here we move to “Quarterback: Pocket Presence.” QBs that don’t use their feet all that often, but still provide the good kind of danger.

1. Kellen Moore, Boise State
2. Andrew Luck, Stanford
3. Ryan Mallett, Arkansas
4. Case Keenum, Houston
5. Greg McElroy, Alabama (watch him breakout this year)

And, of course, “Quarterback: Dual Threat.” You get the idea.

1. Jake Locker, Washington
2. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State
3. Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech
4. Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M
5. Jeremiah Masoli, Ole Miss

Now we hit a category that sounds an awful lot like the first one. However, it’s called “Most Explosive Players.” Hmmm.

1. Titus Young, WR, Boise State
2. DeMarco Murray, RB, Oklahoma
3. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia
4. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh
5. Jeff Demps, RB, Florida

And “Remember Me: Beat the Bandwagon.” Just guys that I know will breakout from relative obscurity this year.

1. Cameron Newton, QB, Auburn
2. Juron Criner, WR, Arizona
3. Bryn Renner, QB, North Carolina
4. Blake Gideon, S, Texas
5. KJ Wright, LB, Mississippi State

Okay, this one’s “All Together Now: Best Position Unit.” The best groups of players from one team.

1. Alabama Backfield
2. Iowa Defensive Line
3. Boise State Offensive Skill (I’m cheating)
4. North Carolina Linebackers
5. Arkansas Pass-Catchers

I’m not exactly sure what “Dress for Success: Looks the Part” means. But I guess it’s good-looking athletes…?

1. Julio Jones, WR, Alabama
2. Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
3. Jake Locker, QB, Washington
4. DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson
5. Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina

And “All the Marbles: QBs with the Game on the Line” is pretty self-explanatory.

1. Ricky Stanzi, Iowa
2. Kellen Moore, Boise State
3. Greg McElroy, Alabama
4. Jake Locker, Washington
5. Josh Nesbitt, Georgia Tech

“Show Me Some Respect: Underrated Coaches” is always a fun category. There are only about 100 candidates.

1. Mike Riley, Oregon State
2. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
3. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
4. Paul Rhoads, Iowa State
5. David Cutcliffe, Duke

There seem to be a lot of categories aimed at quick, agile players like this one: “Tape ‘Em Up: Ankle-Breakers.”

1. Jeff Demps, RB, Florida
2. Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Oregon State
3. James Rodgers, WR, Oregon State
4. Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma
5. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia

Here’s a fun category… “Hits Keep Coming: Biggest Hitters.” Remember Taylor Mays…

1. Vontaze Burfict, MLB, Arizona State
2. Robert Sands, S, West Virginia
3. Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4. Ronnell Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma
5. Marcell Dareus, DE, Alabama

“Nose for the Ball: Most Instinctive Player” is a defensive category here. Guys that are always around the ball.

1. Greg Jones, LB, Michigan State
2. Noah Keller, LB, Ohio
3. Scott Lutrus, LB, Connecticut
4. Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
5. Alex Wujciak, LB, Maryland

Then there are the guys that missed at least most of last season… “Nice to See You Again: Comeback Player.”

1. Mark Herzlich, LB, Boston College
2. Dont’a Hightower, LB, Alabama
3. Robert Griffin, QB, Baylor
4. Darren Evans, RB, Virginia Tech
5. Kendall Hunter, RB, Oklahoma State

“The Ultimate Game-Changer,” in my mind, is a guy that can put an entire team on his back or change the outcome with insane plays.

1. Jake Locker, QB, Washington
2. Robert Griffin, QB, Baylor
3. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
4. Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State
5. Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA

Here’s another catchy title for a mundane list… “Toe the Line: Top Linebackers.”

1. Greg Jones, Michigan State
2. Akeem Ayers, UCLA
3. Von Miller, Texas A&M
4. Kelvin Sheppard, LSU
5. Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina

And “Cornering the Market” stands for the top corners…

1. Patrick Peterson, LSU
2. Prince Amukamara, Nebraska
3. Kendric Burney, North Carolina
4. Aaron Williams, Texas
5. Brandon Harris, Miami

You’ll never believe that “Off the Edge” means best defensive ends

1. Adrian Clayborn, Iowa
2. Robert Quinn, North Carolina
3. Marcell Dareus, Alabama
4. Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh
5. Cameron Heyward, Ohio State

“Stage Direction: Top Play Callers” is a great category. Really a neat way to view the guys that pilot the units. I actually agree with Herbie here, just in a different order.

1. Guz Malzahn, Auburn
2. Steve Sarkisian, Washington
3. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas
4. Chip Kelly, Oregon
5. Kevin Wilson, Oklahoma

If you don’t know what “Top Defensive Minds” is supposed to mean then I can’t help you.

1. Nick Saban, Alabama
2. Will Muschamp, Texas
3. Bo Pelini, Nebraska
4. Charlie Strong, Louisville
5. Monte Kiffin, USC

“Most Undervalued Teams” sounds like it could have just been called most underrated teams.

1. Boston College
2. Utah
3. Northwestern
4. Mississippi State
5. Michigan State

I’m skipping the “Top Student Bands” section because honestly I have no idea, and I really don’t care.

That brings us to “Stay In School: Top Student Sections.” Great category, unfortunate results from ESPN.

1. LSU
2. Wisconsin
3. Penn State
4. Oregon
5. Georgia

“Favorite Uniforms” is another superb measuring stick. There are plenty of contenders, but only five that count.

1. Florida’s White Jerseys and Orange Pants
2. Michigan’s Home Uniforms
3. Penn State’s Home Uniforms
4. TCU’s Nike Pro Combat
5. LSU’s Home Uniforms

That’s it for my take on Kirk’s awards. I’m not getting into the whole “Candid Coaches” or “Coaches Who Play It Close to the Vest” categories. Instead… I’ll substitute “Best Coaches.”

1. Nick Saban, Alabama
2. Urban Meyer, Florida
3. Chris Peterson, Boise State
4. Jim Tressel, Ohio State
5. Bo Pelini, Nebraska

And just so you don’t feel left out of an extra list… Here are the “Coaches Destined for BCS Jobs.” Notice Chris Peterson and Gary Patterson aren’t on the list. They don’t seem to want to move, so I won’t suggest it for them.

1. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
2. Ken Niumatalolo, Navy
3. Kevin Sumlin, Houston
4. Bronco Mendenhall, BYU
5. June Jones, SMU

Here’s a category I like too, the teams who will beat the football spread this season. You know, the little guys who could ruin a behemoth’s season.

1. Mississippi State
2. Purdue
3. Arizona State
4. South Florida
5. Baylor

And finally, the “Five BCS Bowl Games” this year. I’m going all out to predict the most volatile championship system in sports.

1. Rose — Ohio State (At-Large) vs. Oregon State (P10 Champ)
2. Fiesta — Nebraska (B12 Champ) vs. Boise State (At-Large)
3. Sugar — Florida (At-Large) vs. TCU (At-Large)
4. Orange — Virginia Tech (ACC Champ) vs. Pittsburgh (BE Champ)
5. BCS — Alabama (BCS 1) vs. Iowa (BCS 2)

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