By: Bryan Dumas
What began as a weekly entry on my personal blog Bdumasonline.com is now being introduced to the masses here at The Campus Socialite. Every week I will be awarding what I call the “Swag Award of the Week.” The award will be given out weekly to the individual who displays the most “swagger” throughout the previous week. Swag is a loosely used term, and everyone has their own interpretation. Old Spice says swagger is ‘the scent that makes the difference.’
I think we can all agree that overall not giving a f!@k; disregard for what people think about what you’re doing, gusto, cajones, balls, and confidence are all prerequisites of “swag.” With that said, I am proud to announce that the “Swag Award of the Week” goes to Mark Ingram, RB from Alabama who was awarded the Heisman Trophy this past Saturday.
Ingram was the offensive catalyst for the Crimson Tide team that went 13-0 this season and will face Texas for the national championship in a few weeks. In true Heisman form, Ingram brought his A-game to the biggest stages this season; 150 yds at Virginia Tech, 140 yds at Kentucky, 172 yds at Ole Miss, 99 yds vs. Tennessee, 144 vs. LSU & 149 at Mississippi St.
Those performances, while important in preserving Alabama’s national championship hopes paled in comparison to the show he put on against Florida in the SEC Championship game. At the time, Florida and ‘Bama were ranked #1 & #2 respectively and many fans and sports writers alike billed the matchup as the real national championship. Whether it was national championship or not, Ingram treated it as such and carried ‘Bama literally and figuratively 28 times for 113 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 32-13 drubbing of the heralded Gators.
For the majority of the college football season, Ingram remained a dark horse in the Heisman ballots, trailing Colt McCoy of Texas, Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska and 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow of Florida. The aforementioned players all had a great deal of hype surrounding them and NFL scouts water at the mouth when considering their draft prospects. Throughout the season Ingram remained on everyone’s radar, but was never considered the front-runner even as he led his team to week after week wins in the toughest conference in the country.
See Mark’s emotional acceptance speech here:
Alabama, one of the nation’s most storied football programs had never had a Heisman winner until Mark Ingram changed all of that. I think over 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns for an undefeated team in the SEC makes for a very strong case. A case that sports writers ultimately could not overlook this year. Mark Ingram proves that despite the circumstances, the obstacles, the hype, if you are confident in yourself and your abilities then the sky is the limit. Now that’s what I call swagger. Congratulations Mark.
Check out some of Ingram’s highlights from this season:
