Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is this year’s Heisman winner, 5th in Sooner history. A good representation of the Big 12, but this was one of the closest races in the award’s history. Florida’s Tim Tebow actually picked up more first place votes, 309 to Bradford’s 300, but Bradford picked up enough second and third place votes to push him over the top.
In fact, despite the most first place votes, Tebow finished in third behind Bradford and Colt McCoy of Texas the other third Big 12 QB. Bradford had 1,726 points, McCoy 1604 and Tebow 1575, whose third place pick was the highest ever.
There is only one other Heisman race that has been this close between first and third and that happened in 2001 when just 132 points separated winner Eric Crouch from third place finalist Ken Dorsey of Miami.
Alright onto the Huskers, 55 freshmen and walk-ons wore redshirts this past season. The high number shows the patience of head coach Bo Pelini for wanting to develop these players. Now as the season comes to a close, defensive coordinator Carl Pelini says they made the right call.