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JJ McCarthy won't get my Heisman Trophy vote during Michigan cheating scandal
INDIANAPOLIS – The first rule of Heisman Trophy voting is you don’t talk about Heisman Trophy voting. This is a serious and volatile undertaking, like "Fight Club" only with more anger, and a Heisman voter who betrays the wishes of the Heisman Trophy Trust runs the risk of losing his or her vote. Or my vote, in this instance, because I’m going to talk about Heisman Trophy voting.
Not to identify the three players who will be named on my vote, but to name one player who will not:
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Am I grandstanding for attention? Some people will think that – as if it’s fun to be on this island, to arrive here by choice just so Michigan fans can come after me with all the meanness they can muster.
No, the reason for this story – and this feels harsh, even as I type these words, though I’ll explain more as we go – is to show other Heisman voters the way. Or at least, show them one way, a way that upholds the first sentence of the Heisman Trophy Trust’s mission statement:
"The Heisman Trophy Trust’s mission is to grow the legacy and preserve the integrity of the Heisman Memorial Trophy, which is…" And so forth and so on.
Note the seven most important words in that sentence:
… and preserve the integrity of the Heisman…
This story is not an indictment of Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, who has done nothing wrong. To the best of my knowledge, anyway, though let’s be honest: People involved with this story have been lying since it broke. The benefit of the doubt is extended only to those who have earned it. The Michigan football program, led by one Michigan Man in particular, has sacrificed any claim to that benefit. Since this story broke Oct. 19, and as it has escalated, Michigan has earned only doubt.
This is not J.J. McCarthy’s fault.
But thanks to the Michigan coaching staff, he will pay the price. At least on my ballot. Because unlike Jim Harbaugh, I plan to sleep tonight with a clear conscience.
Preponderance of evidence: Jim Harbaugh is guilty
Michigan has been cheating. Start there.
Everyone knows it, to the point that coaches and athletic directors around the Big Ten want Michigan punished now, during the season, knowing damn well that Michigan is the conference’s best shot at a spot in the College Football Playoff and the $6 million that comes with it, to be spread among league athletic departments.
Coaches and AD’s around the Big Ten aren’t waiting for due process, because this isn’t a criminal trial. Michigan has committed no crime – to the best of my knowledge – but the Wolverines stand accused of cheating not just the game, but every team on their schedule. Michigan stands accused of betraying civility, in other words, so let’s apply the standard at a civil trial:
A preponderance of evidence.
Under that standard, Michigan, you’re guilty as hell. So are you, Harbaugh.
If you’ve followed this story at all, you know. They even know at Michigan, where this appears to be UM fans’ main defense in the sign-stealing scandal:
Everyone does it!
Connor Stalions, the former UM "analyst" accused of orchestrating the sign-stealing campaign, is no patsy – his integrity could fit in a thimble – but there’s just no way he was acting alone, as he insists. When Stalions resigned last week, his attorney issued a statement that read in part:
"Connor also wants to make it clear that, to his knowledge, neither Coach Harbaugh, nor any other coach or staff member, told anyone to break any rules or were aware of improper conduct regarding the recent allegations of advanced scouting."
That’ll clear it up for some people, because if there’s one thing we can count on, it’s Connor Stalions’ commitment to integrity and honesty.
Meanwhile, here on planet Earth, we’ve seen video of Stalions standing on the Michigan sideline, next to Harbaugh, letting him know what play the other team was calling.
You think Harbaugh ever wondered how Stalions knew?
Stalions wasn’t always at Harbaugh’s side, though. He was spotted earlier this season on the sideline at Central Michigan, wearing CMU gear and a hat and sunglasses (it was a night game) and looking down whenever the action – and the TV cameras – came near him. Stalions was there for CMU’s opener on Sept. 1. The CMU opponent?
Michigan State.
You’re guilty as hell, Michigan. And you, Harbaugh.
I’m almost starting to feel bad for J.J. McCarthy.
Not fair to Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels
The most important thing about playing quarterback happens before the snap, when he tries to decipher what the opposing defense will do. Why do so many high school quarterbacks with huge physical ability and statistics fail in college? Same reason that some of the best college QB’s fail in the NFL: Because the more confusing it gets, standing there at the line of scrimmage studying the defense, the harder it is to play the position.
McCarthy’s coaches knew what the defense was doing, which allowed them to call the perfect play. J.J. McCarthy had to execute it, yes, but the heaviest lifting had already been done by Connor Stalions.
Maybe Stalions should get my Heisman vote.
This is not Tom Brady playing with deflated footballs for a better grip. That’s an advantage, to be clear, and it’s cheating and awful and don’t even get me started on the 2015 AFC title game against the Colts – but that’s nothing compared to the advantage at Michigan.
Put it like this: If Brady knew what the defense was doing before the snap, he could’ve thrown a roast beef hoagie for 500 yards and 10 TD’s every game.
J.J. McCarthy, who has completed 75.7% of his passes for 2,134 yards, 18 TD’s, three INT’s and a passer rating of 188.7 – second in the country – probably didn’t know he was playing with a stacked deck. A cheating scandal like that? Harbaugh and Co. would’ve kept the circle small. Better for McCarthy to think he’s just that good. Self-confidence is powerful.
Almost as powerful as cheating.
USA Today Heisman tracker: Penix Jr. still on top followed by Nix, Daniels, McCarthy
McCarthy seems like a nice young man – love the way he "crowns" teammates after they score – and you don’t have to be a Michigan fan to wonder if it’s unfair to him to be left off the Heisman ballot. But ask yourself this:
Is it fair to Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. or Oregon’s Bo Nix or Florida State’s Jordan Travis or LSU’s Jayden Daniels – is it fair to any Heisman contender – to be left off the ballot to make room for the quarterback at Michigan? Where his coaches knew what the opposing defense was doing before the play?
Of course that’s not fair.
If J.J. McCarthy is an innocent victim of Michigan’s cheating scheme, well, don’t complain to me about leaving him off my ballot. Take it to the Michigan Man who betrayed the Michigan quarterback.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Michigan's sign-stealing scandal should end JJ McCarthy's Heisman shot
