Ask most college football fans and experts who the top candidates are for the Heisman Trophy, and you're bound to hear names like quarterbacks Ken Dorsey of Miami and Oregon's Joey Harrington. There will be running backs like Oregon State's Ken Simonton and Northwestern's Damien Anderson on the list and even a few wide receivers like Florida's Jabar Gaffney and Pittsburgh's Antonio Bryant.
But what about the defensive standouts across the country, players like Tennessee defensive tackle John Henderson, North Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers and Oklahoma linebacker Rocky Calmus? Why don't they garner the preseason hype of the skill-position players?
|  | | Florida DE Alex Brown is one of the nation's best players, but a Heisman longshot. |
Simply put, they don't touch the ball enough. Defenders rarely get to prance and pose after scoring a touchdown. Their significant contributions often result in little more than a pat on the back from the coaches.
Heisman voters, and college football fans in general, are more impressed by long, tight spirals and slashing, 50-yard touchdown runs than they are by a guy fighting off a double-team or scraping over the top to plug a running lane. The evidence of that is borne out in the voting, as just 20 of the 327 players to finish in the top five in the Heisman voting have been primarily defensive players.
This is not to say that defenders are out of the Heisman race before it starts, but there are some determining factors that can affect a defensive player's buzz factor.
Be a two- or three-way player
In 1997, Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson became the only defensive player to win the Heisman, but it's doubtful he would have beaten out Tennessee's Peyton Manning if he hadn't also been punt returner and seen spot-duty as a wide receiver.
In the early years of the Heisman voting defenders who earned top-five finishes, such as LB-C combinations Alex Wojciechowicz of Fordham and Chuck Bednarik of Penn, were also rewarded for their play on both sides of the ball. These factors should help Florida's Lito Sheppard, a lock-down corner who also returns punts, garner at least some attention this season.
Play for a good team
Woodson and Washington DT Steve Emtman in 1991 finished in the top five and were invited to the Downtown Athletic Club while starring for teams that went on to national championships, and Oklahoma LB Brian Bosworth got an invite in 1986 while leading a defense that was defending a national title. Florida State LB Marvin Jones finished fourth in 1992, playing for a team that won the national title the following year. So look out in 2001 for darkhorse candidates like Rocky Calmus, John Henderson and Florida DE Alex Brown.
Be too good to ignore
If neither of the the first two conditions are met, a player has simply got to dominate his area of the field.
Former Heisman top-fivers like DT Alex Karras of Iowa, LB Dick Butkus of Illinois and DE Hugh Green of Pittsburgh, who finished second to George Rogers in 1980, were not 60-minute men from storied programs, but they were imposing figures who played well against the run and the pass, disrupted blocking schemes, intimidated opponents and generally caused havoc wherever they went on the field.
Fringe candidates in that mold this year include North Carolina DE Julius Peppers, who led the nation with 15 sacks in 2000, South Carolina LB Kalimba Edwards, Syracuse DE Dwight Freeney and Pittsburgh DE Bryan Knight.
Throw in outstanding defenders like Ohio State S Mike Doss, Wisconsin DT Wendell Bryant, LSU LB Trev Faulk, Oklahoma S Roy Williams and Alabama LB Saleem Rasheed, and the question of which defenders could be on the DAC's short list this season becomes a tough one.
With so many good offensive players in such a wide-open national championship race, it's unlikely that any of the aforementioned defenders will be joining Woodson as a Heisman winner, but just getting to New York on a Saturday in December would be a victory.
Rico Longoria is a researcher for ESPN.com.
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