When Texas won the Big 12 championship game with a last-second field goal to beat Nebraska, it ended any realistic shot Huskers defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh had of winning the Heisman Trophy. Suh's spectacular play that night and his overwhelming 2009 season were almost enough to make him the first defense-only player to win the award (cornerback Charles Woodson, the 1997 winner, also was a return specialist), but he finished fourth in the voting.
The top defensive Heisman candidates for 2010:
DT Jared Crick, Jr., Nebraska
Why: He put up similar numbers to Suh's last season but benefited from the fact Suh was doubled-teamed.
Suh says: "He's a beast. He didn't get near the credit he should have gotten last year. Maybe too much was given to me. He helped me develop as much as I helped him. If people think there's going to be a letdown, they're crazy."
CB Patrick Peterson, Jr., LSU
Why: He takes receivers out of games with blanket coverage. Case in point: He got dinged up against Alabama and left the game, and the Tide immediately threw to Julio Jones for a momentum-turning 73-yard touchdown. Jones didn't catch a pass on Peterson the entire game.
LSU coach Les Miles says: "We're biased, but we don't think there's
a better cornerback in the country. A terrific football player, a guy that can force you, as an offense, to do things you don't want to do. That's the true measure of the great ones."
DE Adrian Clayborn, Sr., Iowa
Why: It took awhile, but Clayborn has bought into coach Kirk Ferentz's philosophy and developed into the Big Ten's best defensive player. He can make a big play on any snap.
Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker says: "He's right there with all the great ones we've had here. The improvement he made from (2008) to (2009) was significant. If he works hard to do that again, there's no telling how good he could be."
LINK