Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell shrugged over not being invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony as a finalist. His coach fumed.
Harrell had more passing yards than Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy of Texas and defending Heisman winner Tim Tebow of Florida, and led his team to the same 11-1 record those three quarterbacks engineered. But he won't be sitting next to them for the awards show Saturday night in New York.
"If Graham is not invited to the Heisman, they ought to quit giving out the award," Texas Tech coach Mike Leach said in a statement Wednesday night after the finalists were announced. "It is a shameless example of politics ruling over performance. The other guys are deserving, but he has earned a place alongside them."
The Heisman committee has chosen as many as six finalists in the past, but there's no definitive method to determine how many are invited to New York. Harrell said perennially strong programs hold the edge.
"Those things are going to get the benefit of the doubt when all things are equal," Harrell said from Orlando, Fla., where he was attending The Home Depot/ESPNU College Football Awards on Thursday night. "Sometimes you're going to get recognition, sometimes you're not."
Harrell this week picked up the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and is one of three finalists for the Davey O'Brien Award (McCoy and Bradford are the others). He passed for 4,747 yards and needs two more touchdown passes to break the national career record of 131 set by Hawaii's Colt Brennan last year.
"I feel like he deserves to be there, but on the other side that's just not my Super Bowl. I don't think it's his Super Bowl," said Sam Harrell, Graham's dad and coach at Ennis, where they won a Texas high school championship together.
Harrell said he is focused on leading his eighth-ranked Red Raiders past No. 20 Mississippi -- the only team to beat Florida and Tebow this year. Then he will turn his attention to the NFL. He said his parents are helping him pick an agent.
"I look forward to getting a chance in the NFL," Harrell said. "I look forward to the challenge."
