There's plenty of buzz about the Heisman Trophy around Clemson this summer, even if no one's sure which Tiger it's focused on.
Maybe it's senior quarterback Cullen Harper, who threw a record 27 touchdowns to just six interceptions last season and returns as the Atlantic Coast Conference favorite for player of the year. Or perhaps it's power runner James Davis, back for a senior season where he's poised to become Clemson's first rusher with three seasons of 1,000 yards or more. Then there's Davis' running mate, the electrifying C.J. Spiller whose playmaking skills remind many of former Heisman winner Reggie Bush.
And don't forget record-setting receiver Aaron Kelly, who caught 88 passes and 11 touchdowns as a junior.
Clemson coach Tommy Bowden wishes he could use more than one football this season with these talented Tigers.
"This is the best returning group that I've had,"
said Bowden, starting his 10th season.
Bowden and his staff have spent the past few seasons luring some of the country's best to the rural campus in the state's northwest corner. Now, the Tigers have a deep and experienced group which already has its names in Clemson's record book. Davis wears down defenses with his relentless style while Spiller can slip through the smallest hole and outrace defenders to the end zone any time he touches the ball. Kelly can catch passes over the middle or take a bubble screen behind the line of scrimmage for big yards. The poised Harper is there to make the whole thing go.
Sounds like a good recipe for strong season. But maybe not the best formula to come away with college football's top individual award next December.
"It'd probably be hard for one of us to win it because we won't put up a lot of the stats that a lot of guys put up,"
said Davis, the "Thunder"
of Clemson's "Thunder and Lightning"
backfield.
Of course, Clemson had the orginial Heisman winner - John Heisman coached the Tigers to a 19-3-2 mark from 1900 to 1903. No Clemson player has won the trophy named for the college football innovator and ex-Tiger coach.
Woody Dantzler was the last Tiger to get a serious push as a Heisman contender when the school used a "No Knocks On Woody"
campaign during the 2000 season as Clemson opened 8-0 and rose to No. 5 in the country. However, the Tigers lost three of their final four games and Dantzler fell from the running.
Dantzler got in the mix a year later as the Tigers started 4-1 and he was in the midst of a groundbreaking season where he became the NCAA's first to throw for more than 2,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 in the same season. Clemson, though, finished 7-5 and Dantzler was not a factor in the race.
Harper laughs off talk of a Heisman-type season. It was only a summer ago that some Clemson fans didn't want the first-time starter under center, instead backing true freshman Willy Korn for quarterback. All Harper did was set nearly two dozen school records and help the Tigers to their first nine-win season in four years.
He briefly considered leaving early for the NFL draft, but wanted one final try at an ACC crown Clemson last won in 1991.
"When people say stuff like that, when they talk about the Heisman, it's a great honor,"
Harper said. "But I definitely don't let it go to my head."
The national preseason Heisman talk starts with Florida junior Tim Tebow, who won the award last year. Others considered strong contenders include Missouri quarterback Chase Daniels, West Virginia quarterback Pat White, Ohio State running back Chris Wells and Georgia tailback Knowshon Moreno.
"To me it's a shame that Cullen's not in the top five preseason going into the Heisman,"
said Spiller, a junior at Clemson. "He had one of the best years a quarterback can have."
Harper threw for 2,991 yards, completing better than 65 percent of his passes. He led the ACC in passing efficiency and brought Clemson within a dropped pass of the ACC title game.
If Clemson achieves on the field, Harper says all the Tigers will attract attention.
"You can't really let that affect you,"
Harper said. "You've just got take it with a grain of salt. It's a great honor, but it definitely isn't the end all of awards."
