2012-2013
College Football Season
Awards

Johnny Manziel First Freshman To Win Heisman

Linebacker Manti Te'o finishes 2nd, cleans up on other awards

CFP Staff
December 8, 2012 (Updated 12/19/12)

(CFP) -- Quarterback Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. Manziel was announced as the winner during a live televised presentation on Saturday night in New York.

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o finished second in the voting which wasn't nearly as close as many expected it to be. Manziel garnered 474 first-place votes to 321 for Te'o, and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein was a distant 3rd.

Manziel is the second Texas A&M player in history to do so, 55 years after halfback John David Crow won in 1957.

Neither Te'o nor Klein went home empty-handed during the awards season. Te'o claimed no fewer than 6 piece of prestigious hardware, including the Butkus Award for top linebacker, Bednarik Award for top defender, and Maxwell Award for outstanding player.

Klein won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for top senior QB.

Other notable 2012 performers include Ray Allen, senior punter for Louisiana Tech, who distinguished himself as the first two-time winner of the Ray Guy Award.

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly picked up the Home Depot Coach of the Year Award. He picked up the same prize three years ago as the head coach at Cincinnati on the eve of jumping ship to Notre Dame.

Barrett Jones of Alabama took home the Rimington Trophy that honors the top center, a year after claiming the Outland Trophy as best interior lineman.

Here's a look at each of this year's Heisman finalists, in their order of finish, with information provided by heisman.com.:

1) Johnny Manziel, r-freshman, QB, Texas A&M - "Johnny Football" would be the first-ever freshman Heisman Trophy winner. Hailing from Texas A&M, the young quarterback passed for 3,419 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,181 yards and 19 touchdowns. Manziel is the first quarterback in SEC history, and only the fifth player ever in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, to have 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. Upon surpassing 4,600 yards, he set a new SEC record for total yards in a season. Manziel holds a Texas A&M record of logging eight straight games with 300 or more total yards.

2) Manti Te'o, senior, LB, Notre Dame - Nicknamed ""Baby Seau" after the late, great Junior Seau of NFL fame. Played in the team's victory over Michigan State despite the deaths of both his grandmother and his girlfriend earlier that week. Te'o would be the first true defensive player to ever win the award, joining seven previous Notre Dame players as a Heisman Trophy winner. This season, Te’o helped lead the Fighting Irish to an undefeated season with 101 tackles, of which 46 were solo tackles to bring down his opponent; he ranks third in Notre Dame history for career tackles at 427. Te’o amassed a school-record seven interceptions in his third-straight 100+ tackle season.

3) Collin Klein, senior, QB, Kansas State - "Optimus Klein", coined from the Transformers entertainment franchise, would be the first Kansas State Wildcat to win the Heisman Trophy. Klein passed for 2,490 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for 890 yards and 22 touchdowns. The senior holds the Football Bowl Subdivision record of the most rushing touchdowns in two seasons, totaling at 49 between 2011 and 2012. Klein ranks second in Kansas State history for scoring with 336 points and third in career yards with 7,028.also won the Davey O'Brien Award for top college quarterback over fellow Heisman finalist Andrew Luck. He ranked second in the nation in total offense with 387 yards per game. This season he threw 36 touchdowns and passed for 3,998 yards. Griffin and former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow are two of four players in major college history with at least 9,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards rushing in a career.

Here's how the 2012 Heisman voting shaped up:

The Heisman Memorial Trophy is named after John W. Heisman, noted collegiate player and coach, and recognized as the inventor of the forward pass. The award annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. An electorate comprised of 928 sports journalists and every living former Heisman winner determines the finalists and winner. Each voter ranks their top three players and points are tallied by awarding 3 points for each first-place vote, two points for second, and one point for third. Included in the electorate is one overall fan vote, an opportunity supported by Nissan North America, Heisman’s Premier Partner.

CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a:
- member of the Football Writers Association of America
- voting member of the Vince Lombardi Award
- voting member for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award
- nominating member for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy
- nominating member for the Outland Trophy
- nominating member for the 25-player FWAA All-America Team

See: All-Time Heisman List

OTHER 2012 AWARD WINNERS:

AP Coach Of the Year: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

Home Depot Coach Of the Year: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

AP Player Of the Year: Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

Eddie Robinson Coach Of the Year: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
See: All-Time Eddie Robinson Award Winners
NOTE: CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove voted for Bill O'Brien, Penn State.

Frank Broyles Award (Assistant Coach): Bob Diaco, Notre Dame, Defensive Coordinator
See: All-Time Frank Broyles Award Winners

Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): Manti Te'o, Notre Dame, LB, Senior
See: All-Time Chuck Bednarik Award Winners

Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Marqise Lee, USC, WR, Sophomore
See: All-Time Fred Biletnikoff Award Winners

Dick Butkus Award (linebacker): Manti Te'o, Notre Dame, LB, Senior
See: All-Time Butkus Award Winners

Walter Camp Award (top player): Manti Te'o, Notre Dame, LB, Senior
See: All-Time Walter Camp POY Winners

Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Cairo Santos, Tulane, Junior
See: All-Time Lou Groza Award Winners

Ray Guy Award (punter): Ryan Allen, Louisiana Tech, Senior
See: All-Time Ray Guy Award Winners

Paul Hornung Award (Versatile Player): Tavon Austin, WR, RB, KR, PR, West Virginia
See: All-Time Paul Hornung Award Winners

Vince Lombardi Award (lineman or linebacker): Manti Te’o, Notre Dame, ILB, Senior
See: All-Time Vince Lombardi Award Winners

John Mackey Award (tight end): Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame, Senior
See: All-Time John Mackey Award Winners

Robert W. (Tiny) Maxwell Award (top player): Manti Te'o, Notre Dame, LB, Senior
See: All-Time Robert W. (Tiny) Maxwell Award Winners

Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player): Manti Te'o, Notre Dame, LB, Senior
See: All-Time Bronko Nagurski Trophy Winners

Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M, r-Freshman
See: All-Time Davey O'Brien Award Winners

Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M, OT, Junior
See: All-Time Outland Trophy Winners

Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Barrett Jones, Alabama, Senior
See: All-Time Dave Rimington Award Winners

Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State, Senior
See: All-Time Jim Thorpe Award Winners

Johnny Unitas Award (senior quarterback): Collin Klein, Kansas State
See: All-Time Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Winners

Doak Walker Award (running back): Montee Ball, Wisconsin, Senior
See: All-Time Doak Walker Award Winners