16. BMOC man crush
I'm secure enough to admit it: I've got a football thing for Kansas State junior quarterback Collin Klein.
Scott Sewell/US PresswireCollin Klein continues to bail Kansas State out of sticky situations.
Or as Jerry Maguire might say, "You had me at 'Hut!' "
Hardly anybody outside of Manhattan, Kan., had heard of the guy before the season started. He entered fall practice as the solid favorite to win the starting QB job, but nobody figured him for the next Eric Crouch or -- am I allowed to utter his sacred name? -- Tim Tebow.
But he reminds me of Tebow a little bit -- a right-handed version of TT who plays like he's worried K-State coach LHC Bill Snyder is going to revoke his scholarship if he doesn't gain the last possible inch on a run or leave a body part or two on the field.
One of the main reasons, if not the reason, why the Wildcats are 8-2 is Klein. His passing game is a work in progress (88th in NCAA passing rankings: 1,504 yards, 10 TDs), but he makes his bones running the rock.
He has more rushing yards (1,009) than Oklahoma State running back Joseph Randle, Clemson running back Andre Ellington or Georgia running back Isaiah Crowell. He has more rushing touchdowns than Wisconsin running back Montee Ball, Auburn running back Michael Dyer or Alabama running back Trent Richardson. In fact, he has more rushing TDs than Oregon's LaMichael James and Virginia Tech's David Wilson combined.
All this from a former wide receiver/special teams member who enjoys playing the piano, the violin and the mandolin.
Combine those numbers and you can make a case for Klein to be included in any Heisman Trophy chatter. Tebow had much better passing numbers when he won the statuette in 2007. But Nebraska's Crouch won a Heisman in 2001 with numbers comparable or less than what Klein has with two regular season games remaining.
