Suh For Heisman

On Monday, Ndamukong Suh was officially invited to New York for the Heisman Presentation. Although his run for Heisman has been extraordinary, the outlook and general consensus is he deserves to win, but probably won't. According to this source, he has the most first place votes and points (as of 12/9), but still projected to finish 3rd behind Ingram and Gerhart. Since Ingram and Gerhart have both put up great numbers, I am not going to focus on why they shouldn't win the trophy. Instead, I will focus on why Ndamukong Suh does deserve the Heisman.

We'll start with my first graphic



Here is just simply the tackle breakdown for each game for the Huskers this season. I only included Ndamukong Suh along with the other 3 members of the front 4 (Jared Crick, Pierre Allen, and Barry Turner), and the leading linebacker Phillip Dillard. I will explain later why I only choose these other four players.

As you can see, there are 6 games where Ndamukong Suh was "below average" on tackles. (Note: 2 of the games he had 6 tackles, which I deemed as "equal" to his 6.3 tackles per game.) Of those 6 games, 1 was a non conference game against a Sun Belt opponent, so I threw it out of consideration. Therefore, Suh had 5 "below average" games vs. Big 12 teams, those games were Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. Remember, we're just talking tackles here.

Now we'll look at our second graphic:



Here is a representation of tackles above and below the average by the other players. As you can see, there is a significant amount of "above average" performances by Crick, Allen, Turner, and Dillard during these 5 games.

Why does this happen? As a defensive linemen, you have two primary jobs. During running plays, you want to clog the offensive line. There shouldn't be any holes for the backs to run through. What does this allow? It allows for linebackers to make the plays. In high school, our linebackers coach called it "scraping" to the ball. As you can tell by both graphics, Phillip Dillard (Nebraska's leading linebacker) had increases in tackles (on average) in games where Suh was often being double or triple teamed. The second job of defensive lineman is to get pass pressure (which we will go over later).

Now let's break it down, game by game:
Texas Tech: Suh's Stats: 4 tackles (2.3 tackles below average), 2 TFL, 4 QB Hurries
Comments: Sure Suh was below average on tackles, but half of his tackles were for a loss. Suh had 4 QB Hurries on the day and injured Taylor Potts late in the game. Potts would miss time after this game.

Baylor: Suh's Stats: 5 tackles (1.3 tackles below average), 2.5 TFL, 1 QB Hurry
Comments: Suh was just over a tackle below average but produced half of his tackles for a loss (again). Also, he had a QB hurry. More importantly, Jared Crick, the other defensive tackle, had a career best 5 sacks, and 13 total tackles in this game. Crick's ability to produce sacks had a lot to do with Suh's constant double/triple teams and the amount of time he was chop blocked.

Oklahoma: Suh's Stats: 4 tackles (2.3 tackles below average), 3 QB Hurries
Comments: Suh was below average on tackles (even though all four tackles were solo tackles), in a game where Landry Jones threw the ball 58 times. Jones contributed his interceptions to mental errors and pressure. He threw 5 INTs.

Kansas: Suh's Stats: 3 tackles (3.3 tackles below average) 2 QB Hurries
Comments: Suh was below average in tackles. Again, however, you must look at his supporting cast. Allen, Turner, and Dillard all had more tackles than average. Also, Todd Reesing threw the ball 41 times against the Huskers.

Colorado: Suh's Stats: 5 tackles (1.3 tackles below average), 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 2 QB Hurries
Comments: Suh was hardly below average, producing just 1.3 less tackles, but forcing a 17 yard sack that single handily put the Buffaloes out of field goal position. He added two more QB hurries on a night where the Buffs threw 3 INTs.

Lastly, it is important to remember Suh's dominant performances in the other games of the year. Specifically in 4 Big 12 games, Ndamukong Suh was able to change the course of the game. Let's take a look at those four games:
Missouri: In the spotlight, Suh started getting National Recognition. He had 6 tackles, but had a 6 yard sack and forced fumble on one play. Also, on the same play, he hobbled starting QB Blaine Gabbert. Later, Gabbert threw an INT to Suh, which set up a 4th quarter victory for the Huskers. Named Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week.

Iowa State: In an embarrassing game for the Nebraska offense, Suh racked up 8 tackles, including a 6 yard sack. He had 3 more QB hurries, and he blocked an extra point and a field goal. He kept the sputtering and turnover-prone Huskers in the game.

Kansas State: In an effort to win the Big 12 North, the Huskers allowed just 3 points to KSU. Suh had 9 tackles (only one tackle behind the leader Larry Asante). However, he produced 1.5 sacks and had a QB hurry.

Texas: This is the game where Suh got truly recognized. Too little too late, probably. In a mammoth game, he produced 4.5 sacks and 2 more QB hurries. He tossed Heisman frontrunner Colt McCoy around like a rag doll. He finished with 12 total tackles and 7 TFL for a total of -22 yards.


If you are looking for the best player in college football, you've found him. His name is Ndamukong Suh. He is truly the most dominant force on the football field, whether it be this year, or in the last 30 years. He's got a truly unique (one-of-a-kind, literally) skill set. He's quick, he's strong, he's smart, and he's savvy. No player can impact a game like he can. Teams have to go out of their way to scheme against him, and it doesn't work. If it does work to shut him down, Suh's team mates get the resulting spotlight. If Suh doesn't win the Heisman, the award is a travesty.