Blade
and here is the other one I posted
here is article one from the blade sun am.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll...0340/-1/SPORTS
Article published Sunday, August 27, 2006
Ginn, Smith give OSU 2 strong candidates
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS - With two legitimate candidates for this year's Heisman Trophy - indicative of its wealth of offensive talent - Ohio State has a special predicament.
How do you promote quarterback Troy Smith and wide receiver/return man Ted Ginn Jr. without favoring one over the other, or diluting the chances of both?
"It's a tough call, because they're both great athletes, they're both guys who can change the outcome of a game in an instant, and they are both outstanding individuals," said OSU wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who plays alongside the duo. "They both deserve serious consideration for the
Heisman."
Associate athletic director Steve Snapp, who has been involved in the previous Heisman campaigns of former Buckeyes backfield greats Archie Griffin, the only player to win the coveted statuette twice, Eddie George (1995 Heisman winner), and the unsuccessful efforts to land the award for running back Keith Byars, and offensive tackles John Hicks and Orlando Pace, is hoping that Heisman history is made in 2006.
Snapp wants the Wisdom of Solomon to prevail - with one significant amendment - instead of splitting the most prized trophy in college football, he wishes that the Ohio State dynamic duel ends with a pair of Heisman's coming back to Columbus - with Smith and Ginn owning a Heisman.
"The best-case scenario is that Troy and Ted finish in the first ever tie, and they both end up with a Heisman Trophy. Let's make two of them this year," Snapp said. "But we'd be happy with a one-two finish, as well."
Snapp said Ohio State's current approach to touting its Heisman hopefuls is relatively straightforward and void of the gimmickry that sometimes accompanies Heisman campaigns. He won't call on a political wonk like James Carville or Karl Rove for advice.
"Their profile nationally is already pretty high, so that part is easy," Snapp said. "Their school is well known in football circles, and their team is ranked No. 1, so their names are definitely out there."
In promoting Smith and Ginn for this year's Heisman, Ohio State will follow a model used by Southern California for the past two seasons when the Trojans had a pair of candidates in running back Reggie Bush and quarterback Matt Leinart. Bush won last year's Heisman, and Leinart won in 2004.
"We'll treat them equal, we have a Web page for each of them, and we'll try to keep them in the forefront as much as we can," Snapp said. "Southern Cal proved that you can have two guys up for the award, treat them the same, and not end up hurting the chances of either one of them."
Last year, Memphis promoted the Heisman candidacy of running back DeAngelo Williams by sending the eligible voters around the country a die-cast NASCAR-style stock car with his number and image on it. Snapp said he prefers a more direct approach.
"Things have changed over the years, and although some of those things have been used in the past, I think the gimmick stage is gone," he said. "It has to be more subtle. Whenever people ask to come here and shoot photos, we try and get those two guys out there. You make people aware of them, but your approach has always been that you want your players to win any of these awards out on the field."
USC sports information
director Tim Tessalone said the low-key tack worked for the Trojans.
"We had two marquee players, and two very viable candidates, so our philosophy here was to promote them both, based on their own merits, and then let the season play itself out," Tessalone said.
"When you engage in elaborate Heisman campaigns like we've seen in the past, you risk wasting a lot of manpower, money, and worst of all, credibility. These days, every Heisman voter knows who is out there, so it's not so much to how you set the table, as to how you react to what happens during the season."
Snapp said the Buckeyes drastically have altered their approach in his more than 30 years associated with the football program. In 1973, Ohio State had three Heisman candidates playing for coach Woody Hayes in Griffin, Hicks, and linebacker Randy Gradishar.
"Every time Woody spoke, he always promoted John Hicks that year, and John ended up finishing second. The next two years, it was all Archie, and he won two in a row," Snapp said. "Back then, most of the promoting of certain players was done by the head coach."
In that 1973 balloting, Hicks was second, Griffin fifth, and Gradishar sixth, behind Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti of Penn State.
When George won the Heisman, Snapp sent the voters a postcard each week, with a different photo, updated stats, and a catchy phrase.
A refrigerator magnet introduced the voters to Pace, who finished fourth in the 1996
Heisman voting.
"Today, you want to keep the information flowing and hope that your players step up and make their case out on the field," Snapp said. "You don't have to be as creative as we did in the days before the use of the Internet was so widespread. Now, if a player is a Heisman-caliber individual, everybody knows it long before the season starts."
At schools with a profile that is not as significant as Ohio State's, getting the player introduced to the voters was always the key. Marshall, fresh out of the Division I-AA ranks, managed to get three of its players considered in the last decade as serious candidates for the nation's highest college football award: wide receiver Randy Moss, and quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich.
"We used postcards and Web sites, and RandyMoss.com was actually the first Heisman promo site in 1997," Marshall assistant athletic director for media relations Randy Burnside said. "We also used gadgets such as the Byron Leftwich bobblehead to get the names out there. The exposure was huge, and even though we did not have a Heisman winner, we did manage to have two finalists make it to New York City."
Snapp and the Buckeyes are hoping Smith and Ginn make that trip to the Heisman award show this year.
"This is one time we'd love to see it end in a tie," he said.
:osu:
and here is the other one I posted
here is article one from the blade sun am.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll...0340/-1/SPORTS
Article published Sunday, August 27, 2006
Ginn, Smith give OSU 2 strong candidates
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS - With two legitimate candidates for this year's Heisman Trophy - indicative of its wealth of offensive talent - Ohio State has a special predicament.
How do you promote quarterback Troy Smith and wide receiver/return man Ted Ginn Jr. without favoring one over the other, or diluting the chances of both?
"It's a tough call, because they're both great athletes, they're both guys who can change the outcome of a game in an instant, and they are both outstanding individuals," said OSU wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who plays alongside the duo. "They both deserve serious consideration for the
Heisman."
Associate athletic director Steve Snapp, who has been involved in the previous Heisman campaigns of former Buckeyes backfield greats Archie Griffin, the only player to win the coveted statuette twice, Eddie George (1995 Heisman winner), and the unsuccessful efforts to land the award for running back Keith Byars, and offensive tackles John Hicks and Orlando Pace, is hoping that Heisman history is made in 2006.
Snapp wants the Wisdom of Solomon to prevail - with one significant amendment - instead of splitting the most prized trophy in college football, he wishes that the Ohio State dynamic duel ends with a pair of Heisman's coming back to Columbus - with Smith and Ginn owning a Heisman.
"The best-case scenario is that Troy and Ted finish in the first ever tie, and they both end up with a Heisman Trophy. Let's make two of them this year," Snapp said. "But we'd be happy with a one-two finish, as well."
Snapp said Ohio State's current approach to touting its Heisman hopefuls is relatively straightforward and void of the gimmickry that sometimes accompanies Heisman campaigns. He won't call on a political wonk like James Carville or Karl Rove for advice.
"Their profile nationally is already pretty high, so that part is easy," Snapp said. "Their school is well known in football circles, and their team is ranked No. 1, so their names are definitely out there."
In promoting Smith and Ginn for this year's Heisman, Ohio State will follow a model used by Southern California for the past two seasons when the Trojans had a pair of candidates in running back Reggie Bush and quarterback Matt Leinart. Bush won last year's Heisman, and Leinart won in 2004.
"We'll treat them equal, we have a Web page for each of them, and we'll try to keep them in the forefront as much as we can," Snapp said. "Southern Cal proved that you can have two guys up for the award, treat them the same, and not end up hurting the chances of either one of them."
Last year, Memphis promoted the Heisman candidacy of running back DeAngelo Williams by sending the eligible voters around the country a die-cast NASCAR-style stock car with his number and image on it. Snapp said he prefers a more direct approach.
"Things have changed over the years, and although some of those things have been used in the past, I think the gimmick stage is gone," he said. "It has to be more subtle. Whenever people ask to come here and shoot photos, we try and get those two guys out there. You make people aware of them, but your approach has always been that you want your players to win any of these awards out on the field."
USC sports information
director Tim Tessalone said the low-key tack worked for the Trojans.
"We had two marquee players, and two very viable candidates, so our philosophy here was to promote them both, based on their own merits, and then let the season play itself out," Tessalone said.
"When you engage in elaborate Heisman campaigns like we've seen in the past, you risk wasting a lot of manpower, money, and worst of all, credibility. These days, every Heisman voter knows who is out there, so it's not so much to how you set the table, as to how you react to what happens during the season."
Snapp said the Buckeyes drastically have altered their approach in his more than 30 years associated with the football program. In 1973, Ohio State had three Heisman candidates playing for coach Woody Hayes in Griffin, Hicks, and linebacker Randy Gradishar.
"Every time Woody spoke, he always promoted John Hicks that year, and John ended up finishing second. The next two years, it was all Archie, and he won two in a row," Snapp said. "Back then, most of the promoting of certain players was done by the head coach."
In that 1973 balloting, Hicks was second, Griffin fifth, and Gradishar sixth, behind Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti of Penn State.
When George won the Heisman, Snapp sent the voters a postcard each week, with a different photo, updated stats, and a catchy phrase.
A refrigerator magnet introduced the voters to Pace, who finished fourth in the 1996
Heisman voting.
"Today, you want to keep the information flowing and hope that your players step up and make their case out on the field," Snapp said. "You don't have to be as creative as we did in the days before the use of the Internet was so widespread. Now, if a player is a Heisman-caliber individual, everybody knows it long before the season starts."
At schools with a profile that is not as significant as Ohio State's, getting the player introduced to the voters was always the key. Marshall, fresh out of the Division I-AA ranks, managed to get three of its players considered in the last decade as serious candidates for the nation's highest college football award: wide receiver Randy Moss, and quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich.
"We used postcards and Web sites, and RandyMoss.com was actually the first Heisman promo site in 1997," Marshall assistant athletic director for media relations Randy Burnside said. "We also used gadgets such as the Byron Leftwich bobblehead to get the names out there. The exposure was huge, and even though we did not have a Heisman winner, we did manage to have two finalists make it to New York City."
Snapp and the Buckeyes are hoping Smith and Ginn make that trip to the Heisman award show this year.
"This is one time we'd love to see it end in a tie," he said.
:osu:
Upvote
0
