HEISMAN TROPHY

Manziel, Te’o, Klein get invites to New York

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel runs past Sam Houston State’s Robert Shaw for a touchdown Nov. 17 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. Manziel is one of three finalists for the Heisman Trophy along with Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o.
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel runs past Sam Houston State’s Robert Shaw for a touchdown Nov. 17 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. Manziel is one of three finalists for the Heisman Trophy along with Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o.

— Johnny Manziel and Manti Te’o are in position to make Heisman Trophy history.

Manziel, the redshirt freshman quarterback from Texas A&M, and Te’o, Notre Dame’s star linebacker, along with Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein, were invited Monday to attend the Heisman presentation ceremony.

Manziel is the favorite to win college football’s most coveted player of the year award on Saturday night in Manhattan. He would be the first freshman to win the Heisman and the first Texas A&M player since halfback John David Crow won the school’s only Heisman in 1957.

“I’m overwhelmed by this tremendous honor of representing Texas A&M, the 12th Man and all my teammates in New York,” Manziel said in a statement. “This is a dream come true for me, and I know it’s a credit to all my coaches and teammates. I definitely wouldn’t be a Heisman finalist without my teammates and coaches.”

Three sophomores have won the award (Tim Tebow in 2007, Sam Bradford in 2008 and Mark Ingram in 2009), but the best a first-year player has ever done is second.

Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma finished second to Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart in 2004. Peterson was a true freshman. As a redshirt freshman, Manziel attended A&M last year and practiced with the team but did not play.

Michael Vick of Virginia Tech came in third in 1999 as a redshirt freshman and Herschel Walker was a true freshman for Georgia in 1980 when he finished third in the Heisman balloting.

Nicknamed Johnny Football, Manziel quickly became a national sensation this season, putting up huge numbers in first-year Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin’s spread offense. He led the 9th-ranked Aggies to a 10-2 record in their first season in the SEC.

Manziel racked up an SEC record 4,600 yards of total offense, including 1,181 rushing to lead the conference. The 6-1, 200-pound Manziel zoomed to the front of the Heisman race Nov. 10, when he passed for 253 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 92 yards as the Aggies upset then-No. 1 Alabama 29-24 in Tuscaloosa.

Manziel and Texas A&M will play No. 11 Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.

Te’o is trying to become the first defense-only player to win the Heisman. The Fighting Irish have seven Heisman winners, tied for the most with Ohio State and Southern California, but none since Tim Brown in 1987.

Te’o became the face of the No. 1 team in the country and leader of a defense that has been the toughest to score upon in the nation. The senior intercepted seven passes, second-most in the country and tops for a linebacker. He also led the Fighting Irish with 103 tackles, and earlier Monday won the Butkus Award as country’s best linebacker.

Te’o and the Irish face No. 2 Alabama in the BCS championship game on Jan. 7 in Miami.

Klein would be the first player from Kansas State to win the Heisman.

“It has been a process, it has been a journey,” Klein said in a statement. “There have been a lot of ups and downs, as well as a lot of hard times and growing pains through it. I’m just very proud to represent the K-State family and our heart and spirit in this environment.”

He seemed to be the frontrunner for several weeks until Manziel’s late push. When Klein threw three interceptions in the Wildcats’ late season loss to Baylor, Manziel moved to the front of the race.

The 6-5, 226-pound senior scored 22 touchdowns and threw for 15 more, while leading the fifth-ranked Wildcats (11-1) to the Big 12 title.

Klein will finish his Kansas State career against No. 4 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.

Sports, Pages 21 on 12/04/2012

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