What was widely speculated for weeks became official Saturday night in New York City as Texas A&M Quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first Freshman ever to win the coveted Heisman Trophy. Manziel beat out Notre Dame Linebacker Manti Te’o and K-State Quarterback Collin Klein.
Manziel captured 2,029 votes to finish first, Te’o received 1,706 votes while Klein garnered 894 votes. Manziel burst onto the national scene during his Freshman campaign breaking all the Southeastern Conference Freshman passing records including the one set by Auburn’s Cam Newton in 2010 when he won the trophy. Manziel’s signature moment came when he led A&M to an upset win at defending National Champion Alabama on November 10.
Te’o who was trying to become the first Defense only player to win the award led Notre Dame to an undefeated regular season and a spot in the National Championship Game against Alabama on January 7 in Miami.
Klein appeared to be the favorite to win the award for a good part of the season’s second half, but an average game at TCU and a rough outing in a blowout loss to Baylor hurt his chances. Still Klein as he has done throughout his career at K-State took the team on his back and helped the Wildcats bounce back from the Baylor loss with a 42-24 trouncing of Texas on December 1 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium to help K-State win the school’s third conference title in the 117-year history of the Football program and the second Big 12 Championship in 10 seasons.
Klein was the second Wildcat to be a finalist for the award. Michael Bishop finished second in 1998 to Texas Running Back Ricky Williams.
Klein will lead the Wildcats against Oregon in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on January 3 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
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