January 16, '83, Stanford University Football Stadium.

"Second place, our first quarterback, John Wirt, was the second place in the Heizmann Award poll."

"It's a pity that John is going to participate in the draft this year, otherwise he would have won the Heizman Award next year."

"I think it's the East Coast group of Bichi reporters who don't watch our West Coast games, they have always only voted for their own people on the East Coast."

In front of the main conference room, more than a dozen coaches and assistant coaches gathered around to talk about the game information before the winter vacation, and the most discussed thing was that the captain of the red and white team lost the Heizmann Award by more than 100 votes.

Because of broadcast contracts, game times, and cultural differences, college football players in eastern America have a natural advantage in winning a Heizmann Award.

"I don't care about the little things, coaches." Captain John Werther arrived at the door of the conference room with the attacking team, "I won the Walter Camp Award, and that's enough. ”

Walter Kemp was a leading founder of the rules of modern American football, and the award that bears his name is one of the three highest awards a college football player can receive.

The other two are the Hezman Award and the Maxwell Award, all three of which are judged in a similar way, with sports journalists making up the largest proportion, and Maxwell Club members or former Hezman Award winners and NCAAF coaches can also vote.

Generally speaking, the Heizman Award is the most influential, one a year, which can be roughly understood as the college version of the NFL MVP of the year. However, the slight difference is that this award is only given to college football players who serve on a varsity team that must be at the D-1 level, which has increased gold content in NCAAF circles, but has less impact in the league.

The coaches were proud of their own players winning the award, so they gathered around John Wirt, who was already the star of the offensive team, to congratulate and fight, but squeezed the rest of the players away.

"Hey, Bill." Coach Hawk pointed to the number eighty-eight, "Parker's Top 10 Athlete Team!" ”

He was referring to Parker Ten League's own Team of the Year '82, which saw three members of the Red and White team featured: captain John Wirt, close end Bill Ferrari, and a defensive tackle.

Bill approached him and gave the coach a high-five, "I heard there's going to be a big awards party, I don't know when it's going to be held!" ”

This lineup is voted for by the coaches of the serious school league, some of the invited players, and some fans, which is more valuable than the list selected by most media outlets, but in terms of influence, the first or best team selected by major mainstream sports media is slightly larger.

Yevgeny, who was dressed in sportswear, also came over and winked Bill's right eye first, "NBC's selection of the nation's freshman first team." ”

This is one of the masterpieces of the CAA brokerage company, where they show their sincerity by giving such a gift to their half-signed clients.

NBC is a national broadcaster, and CBS and ABC are the top three broadcast television networks, and the influence of this new first team is similar to that of Parker's top 10 team, which can be taken out and written into a personal introduction.

After congratulating John Wirther, the coaches around the captain ran to Bill Ferrari, who had been selected to the Parker Ten Team of the Year, and Mr. Eighty-Eight had to shake hands or give high-fives to them, of course, not a word to say.

After the group of coaches went through the process, they ran to the defensive team players who arrived behind to congratulate the selected defensive tackle.

John Werther was able to greet Hawk and other coaches, during which the Walter Camp Award was mentioned again.

The captain was bothered and pointed to the close end on the side, "I think Beal can also win this award, he did a great job in the '82 season, we all recognize him inside the Parker ten, let alone the media and sports reporters outside." I've heard the name Bill Ferrari on at least eight media outlets that have voted the All-American First Team and the All-California College Football Team, and they have a national reach. ”

Yevgeny patted Bill on the shoulder, "John is right, if you play well this year, the Walter Camp Award is quite promising, and even the Heizmann Award is not impossible." ”

"I'll vote for you, at the Camp Prize." John Werther made a promise to his teammates.

When he is re-selected next year, he will be a former Walter Camp Prize winner and will have the right to vote.

Hawk shook his head, disagreeing with the offensive coach, "Beal does have the possibility of winning the Camp Award, but the probability of the Heizman Award is too small, and the three selected for this award are generally running backs and quarterbacks, and there are very few close ends. ”

"Coach is wrong."

A large burst of footsteps made the background sound, and a loud voice came into the ears of several people.

"The success of the 49ers proves that wide receivers are replacing running backs in terms of advancement and touchdowns, and Beal, although he is a close end, also has the ability to receive the ball, and if he puts in 10 quality in '83 and takes every game seriously, he can also make the three-man list for the Hezman Award."

This is the head coach Paul Viking talking, and he is followed by a large crowd.

"And the key to winning the Heizman Award is the sports journalists, who have hundreds of tickets to make a good impression on them, and with good results, the close end can also win the Heizmann Award. You know, the second winner of the Heizman Award is a close end, and his name seems to be Larry Kelly. ”

According to head coach Paul, in previous years, running backs had the second highest level of vote-absorbing power after quarterbacks because they produced the majority of offensive yards and touchdowns, which were the deciding factors in scoring and winning a game.

The changes in playing style brought about by the 78 restructuring have allowed wide receivers to replace the position of running back, and Bill Ferrari's receiving close end can be regarded as a replacement for wide receivers. If the Eighty-Eight had played well in '83 and racked up more yards and touchdowns for the team, he would have a good chance of being named to the three-man list for the Heizman Awards.

"Make a good impression on a sports reporter?" Before the head coach entered the conference room, Beal asked in detail: "How can I do that?" ”

Coach Evgeny and Paolo both said he could join the three-man squad, and Mr. Ferrari's heart was immediately warm.

The hard power of the red and white team is not bad, captain John Wirt is the second of the three Heizmann Award in 82, and if he plays another season, No. 88 is really likely to play the hard power to win the award, and the rest depends on popularity and image in the eyes of sports journalists.

"Let others see your sportsmanship, like how hard you work in a normal game and in a big game." Coach Paul appears to be criticizing Beal's style of play. Because No. 88 sometimes plays too slippery, he works hard to brush up on the data when he plays against the weak team, and the popular competition is desperately in the limelight, and the rest of the games begin to release water.

"Everyone is here, let's go in for a meeting!"

Bill wanted to ask again, but a loud teaching assistant gave a reminder to start the meeting.

More than 30 coaches, assistant coaches, 70 or 80 players, members of the accounting team, logistics team, and nutrition team entered the main conference room one after another to start the spring training arrangement.

The meeting lasted more than three hours, and after everyone began to doze off, team manager Jerry Pence announced the end of the meeting.

Mr. Ferrari, who was obsessed with the Heizmann Prize, took a few of his friends Adam and Martin to Yevgeny's office to get more specific guidance.

"As I understand it, the manager seems to be suggesting that you are not sportsmanlike. But this is not important, the stadium data is in front of the reporters. ”

Adam questioned, "But we naturally suffer in the Parker Ten League, our normal game time and prime time in the East collided, and that group of reporters probably won't watch the Parker Ten game in detail, and they won't remember Bill's on-court performance." ”

"I have a solution." Martin, the best quarterback, walked up to Yevgeny's desk and raised his right index finger, "If a superstar player says that Beal is better, many reporters and media who follow the trend will also say the same, can this make up for the disadvantage of West Coast players in this regard." ”

Praise from top NFL players and well-known coaches can quickly put a high-level college football player in the spotlight of a sports reporter and subconsciously influence their own judgment.

After all, humans are conformists.

"Where can I find superstar players? There are very few who can be called superstars in the league. Adam Smith asked.

Bill and Evgeny looked at each other, "Joe Montana is definitely enough." ”

PS: Ask for a recommendation ticket and ask for a monthly pass.

(End of chapter)