Ricky Williams is just one member of the hallowed Heisman fraternity.

That makes it an easy, inviting target. Especially for people who see maybe three college football games all season, then pop out of the woodwork to criticize the Heisman "race" and its candidates each November. The Heisman criteria gets regularly pounded, too. Past winners who went bust in the NFL are always hammered. As though that greatly demeans a college award.

I defend the Heisman not because I host the presentation show and not because I'm a voter. I defend it as a fan of the sport. It has a place in college football.

The lucky few who have the connections to get a seat inside the Portrait Room on the 13th floor of Manhattan's Downtown Athletic Club understand what it means to see the family of Heisman winners gather to welcome a new member. It's something I wish a lot more people good get a chance to witness. Watching the show on TV gives you an idea, but it's not quite the same as being there.

Heisman detractors seem to have a problem with the vagueness of the criteria. "Most outstanding player" is all it says on the ballot. It means different things to different voters. Sure it's vague. Big deal. That's more than it says on the ballot for US President. Or the Oscar ballot. Academy members just vote for "best performance" by a leading man. That's vague, too. So what? The folks who run the Heisman prefer it to be vague. Some years, that seems to energize the debate. If you can't figure out what "most outstanding" means to you, you probably shouldn't be voting.. on anything.

Is the award over-hyped? Sure. There's no need to start talking about the thing in September. Ever. The Heisman is never "won" or "lost" that early in the season. Never. And the phrase, "The Heisman is (fill in the blanks) to lose" is just idiotic.

Great performances are put in the context of what it does for a guy's Heisman "campaign." Why not just appreciate it as a great performance? This year, each Purdue loss was labeled as "bad for Drew Brees' Heisman chances." Heck, each Purdue loss was real painful for Brees. Bad for Purdue's Rose Bowl hopes. You think he gave a minute's thought to what Heisman voters were thinking, as he walked off the field in the rain at Michigan?

But you need not let that cheapen the thing for you. When he gets to New York this week, though, Brees will begin to understand the impact of his season. Ditto for Ron Dayne, Joe Hamilton, and the other guys who made the Heisman voters' top five. They'll see that it's nice to be singled out for great seasons and careers. That to sit there in that room and represent their schools, teammates, coaches, and families is a great feeling. And then one of them will have his name and school read, and his life will change a lot more than he's able to fathom at that moment. He'll be a part of the club, forever.

Little suspense
If the little bronze guy doesn't go to the big back from Wisconsin, it'll be the largest shock in Heisman history. Ron Dayne got Ricky's record, carried the Badgers back to the Rose Bowl, and flattened some big name teams in the final month of the season. His detractors (you know who you are) had to eat some crow.

Dayne's fourth quarter fumble at Cincinnati and his yard-less second half against Michigan, that the knee-jerk types labeled as fatal to his chances, are now just written off as the inevitable low points in any season, no matter how brilliant. Folks forgot that Williams was throttled by Kansas State far more completely than Dayne was against UM, and that Ricky's fumble almost blew the Texas A&M game. Nobody plays eleven flawless games. Not even close.

Was Dayne the "Most Valuable" player? Probably not. For strict "value" to his team, Hamilton is probably the guy. Tech is maybe 3-8 without him. Is Dayne the best pro prospect? Definitely not. Is he even the best prospect at his position? Maybe not. Thomas Jones is a real good receiver. Is Ron the overall "Most Outstanding" guy at ANY position? That's Courtney Brown, Lavar Arrington, or Peter Warrick. But for combination of his value to (a very successful) team, his accomplishments this year and over four years, his toughness, and his overall behavior as a college athlete... Dayne is a deserving choice.

Would Warrick have won it if he hadn't gone to Dillard's that day? We'll never know. He was called the "frontrunner" at the time. That's without anything approaching evidence, or any straw polls. But it seemed to make sense. Warrick missed two games for reasons other than injuries. That would disqualify him on many ballots right there. No Heisman winner's been suspended during his Heisman season. Johnny Rodgers had been arrested a couple years prior to his. Warrick missed one of his team's key games: Miami. The confusion surrounding his plea bargain led to huge distractions the week of another key game and a near loss: Clemson. While Warrick can't necessarily be blamed for all that, if he hadn't made the dumb mistake in the first plac ...

Peter is not a bad guy at all. His crime was not awful. His judgement was. He's paid a big price and said he;s sorry and come back to play some very good football. He's going to get a chance to win a national title and atone for the one-catch Fiesta Bowl loss that helped fuel his desire to return for his senior year.

That's what's important. To use his words, he knows he "shot himself in the foot" when it comes to the Heisman. He'll never know if he would have won it. Maybe he'll regret it, maybe he'll never think about it once. College football is still lucky to have had Warrick around for this season.

Freshman factor
Before sending my ballot back, I gave some thought to putting Mike Vick's name right there with the veterans. It is the only time I've ever given consideration to a freshman. Vick's name will be on some ballots and it should be. If he were not a freshman (and, I know, the criteria says nothing about a guy's status as a rookie) he would have gotten a bunch of votes: clutch, multi-talented quarterback for an undefeated team, who will likely lead the nation is passing efficiency? If he's a junior, he's right there in the front row Saturday night in New York.

As it is, he'll be thrown in the group of front runner's for 2000 with Drew Brees. And you'll have to read someone's proclamation that it's "Brees' or Vick's Heisman to lose."