Woodson Win Turns a Corner

Peyton Manning kept telling people he didn’t come back for his senior season to win the Heisman Trophy.

Good thing, because he didn’t win it.

Bucking a tradition that needed to be bucked, Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson won the 63rd Heisman Trophy in Saturday night ceremonies at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York.

Woodson, a junior, became the the first predominantly defensive player to win the Heisman, given annually to the nation’s most outstanding player--a misnomer until now because it had been an offensive award.

“Sitting there in that chair, I kept thinking to myself, ‘Do I really have a shot?’ ” Woodson said after receiving the award on a live ESPN telecast.

He had more than a shot. Woodson finished with 1,815 points, well ahead of Manning, the Tennessee quarterback, who was second with 1,543 points. Washington State junior quarterback Ryan Leaf was third with 861 points, and sophomore Marshall receiver Randy Moss finished fourth with 253.

Woodson won five of the six voting regions, losing only the South to Manning. Woodson’s win was a shock only because it was unprecedented.

On merit alone, this was no upset. Woodson is the top player on the No. 1 defense on the No. 1 team in the country. Not only was he the nation’s premier cornerback, with seven interceptions, but Woodson emerged as an impact player on offense and special teams.

Woodson tipped his Heisman hand earlier this month when he won the Walter Camp award as the nation’s top player. Only five times in 31 years has the award gone to a player who didn’t also win the Heisman.

Woodson played 765 total plays--613 defense, 71 offense, 81 special teams. He had two touchdown receptions, rushed for a touchdown and returned a punt for a score. He also completed his only pass attempt--for 28 yards.

The sad part was that he had to beat out Manning for the award. The Tennessee quarterback certainly was deserving and was a poster boy for perseverance and model behavior.

Manning spurned millions from the NFL to return to Knoxville this season and the Heisman would have been a fitting conclusion to a spectacular career.

For comfort, Peyton can turn to his father, Archie, the former Mississippi All-American quarterback, who finished third in the 1970 Heisman voting behind Stanford’s Jim Plunkett and Notre Dame’s Joe Theismann.

Peyton Manning said all the right things and had all the numbers--3,819 passing yards, 36 touchdowns--and it was thought the Heisman would be bestowed as a lifetime achievement award.

Manning was the clear front-runner through October, but two games in November changed the course of the Heisman race:

* On Nov. 8, Woodson played his usual stellar game on defense and had a 37-yard touchdown reception in a 34-8 victory at Penn State.

* On Nov. 22, in Ann Arbor, Woodson played one of the great games in recent times with two interceptions, a 37-yard catch and a punt return for touchdown against Ohio State.

Does exposure help in a Heisman race? You better believe it.

Woodson’s performance on ABC drew a 7.8 rating, which translated to 7.64 million homes. Manning was equally brilliant the same day against Vanderbilt, throwing for 523 yards and five touchdowns, but the ESPN2 regional broadcast reached only 212,000 homes.

Asked when he thought he thought he was in the Heisman race, Woodson said, “Really, not until the Ohio State game, when people said I was closing the margin on Peyton Manning.”

Woodson became the third Michigan player to win the award, joining Tom Harmon in 1940 and Desmond Howard in 1991.

For Manning, the night had to be bittersweet. Despite his insistence otherwise, you could see the Heisman disappointment on his face.

All is not lost. Manning already has won the Maxwell, Davey O’Brien and Johnny Unitas awards and at last captured the Southeastern Conference title he had so long coveted. Manning and Tennessee can also still win the national title if Woodson’s Michigan team loses in the Rose Bowl and Manning’s Volunteers defeat Nebraska in the Orange.