I have never seen a Heisman Trophy winner take as much criticism as Jason White. Nor have I ever seen a defending Heisman winner so overlooked the next year. How many players coming off a Heisman Trophy aren't even considered first team All-America the following campaign? None, I would suspect. Yet, that's the position the Oklahoma quarterback finds himself in.
There is no denying White played horribly in the Sooners last two games, but his lackluster performances versus Kansas State and LSU have stirred an almost irrational response from the media. They almost seem vindictive. Somehow I get the impression they feel liked they got duped into voting for White, so now they are mad.
What these guys don't understand is why they voted for White in the first place. He was the best college football player in the country in the regular season. He threw for 40 touchdowns and 4,708 yards while playing for the number one team in the nation most of the season.
White is also a great comeback story. The kind of story people used to embrace. He battled back from consecutive lost seasons due to knee injuries. He walked right into the starting QB job on the team picked number one in the pre-season at a university steeped in football tradition. All White did was have the best statistical season any OU quarterback ever had.
Jason White was not Heisman-like in his last two games. Nor was he healthy. However, that doesn't seem to matter to some. They seem so bent out of shape over his two game post-season decline that they can barely put him on their Heisman radar in '04. I'm hoping White forces them to vote for him one more time.
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