Heisman Trophy Repeat Hopes Dashed

[cdj sports blog]

Last year, in his Heisman Trophy-winning season, University of Alabama tailback Mark Ingram rushed for 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns on 271 attempts. Ingram led the Crimson Tide to their first national championship since 1992.
Interestingly enough, there were rumblings within the SEC that Alabama's backup running back, Trent Richardson, a highly-recruited Florida-area product, was the best on the Tide's roster, better than Mark Ingram. Obviously tough to believe; yet, Richardson displayed his talent in the BCS National Championship game against Texas this January when he ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns, including a 49 yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Many believed that Mark Ingram was the starter because he was a sophomore, while Trent Richardson was only a freshman last season. Ingram's toughness and ability to run between the tackles contributed greatly to his breaking the all-time University of Alabama single season rushing record. Yet, Ingram's one weakness is his lack of open field, break away speed. There were several instances last year when Ingram was run down from behind by defensive backs. Richardson, on the other hand, when given the chance, has shown his track-star speed. Although not as tough between the tackles, it seems that Trent Richardson offers the better combination of power and speed.
Now we will all be able to see Trent Richardson in a starting role. It was reported that Mark Ingram had undergone arthroscopic knee surgery on his left knee tuesday morning, which will keep Ingram out this weekend for Alabama's opener against San Jose State, and likely longer than that.
With this news, Mark Ingram's efforts to become the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner since Archie Griffin have taken a serious hit. Not only will Ingram lose valuable game time as well as all the carries, yards, and touchdowns that go along with it; but, because of Ingram's absence, Trent Richardson will have a great amount of opportunity to prove to head coach Nick Saban that he deserves more carries at Ingram's expense. If Richardson performs well, which is very likely given his skill set and track record, he will continue to get the ball, even when Mark Ingram returns. Upon his return, Ingram will be playing on a weak knee, and possibly splitting carries with Trent Richardson.
The Ingram-Richardson tandem will likely be the best running back combo in the country. But, there is no Heisman trophy for pairs of running backs. It looks like we will have to wait another few years before we see a two-time Heisman Trophy winner.

http://cdjsportsblog.blogspot.com/