The top six players in college football for 2012 are Marquise Lee, Collin Klein, Johnny Manzeil, Manti Te’o, Kenyon Barner, and Braxton Miller. As of Monday December 3 rd , the Heisman candidates have been selected to go to New York City. Three have been selected by the Heisman Trophy Trust and will go to the award ceremony; one will leave as Heisman trophy winner. The first athlete selected is Collin Klein, senior quarterback out of Kansas State. This season he threw for 2490 yards, 15 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions. He is also accountable for 890 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns. Near the mid-season, Klein was the front runner for the Heisman, but after a brutal loss to Baylor 52-24, he dropped like a rock in the race. He threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns but was only 27 of 50 passing and threw three interceptions. The next week versus Texas he threw for 184 yards and a touchdown and an interception in a 42-24 win. Not too exciting as a game for Klein but it was enough to slide him into the top three and send him to New York. His key Heisman moment this year was versus West Virginia as he was 19 of 21 and threw for 323 yards, three touchdowns passing, and four touchdowns rushing for a total of seven on the night. Klein and Kansas State lost their chance for a BCS National Title birth by losing to Baylor. Kansas State went on to win the Big 12 and receive and automatic bid to a BCS bowl. Klein and the fifth ranked K-State Wildcats will play Kenyon Barner and the fourth ranked Oregon Ducks in theTostitos Fiesta Bowl on January 3rd at 8:30 pm in University of Phoenix Stadium. The second athlete selected is Manti Te’o, senior linebacker from Notre Dame. This season, Te’o had 101 tackles, an average of 8.4 tackles per game, and also seven interceptions which is tied for 2nd most in the country. Te’o had to overcome adversity like no other this season. On the morning of September 12th,Te’o awoke to a phone call from his parents telling him that his grandmother had passed away due to a long illness. That same day, Te’o received another phone call from his little brother. Te’o’s girlfriend, Lenay, had died after battling leukemia. Lenay made Te’o promise that whatever happened he would not miss a football game. This would lead to his Heisman moment of this season. Against Michigan State, Te’o had 12 tackles, a fumble recovery, and two pass deflections in a 20-3 win. From that moment on, Te’o played with reckless abandon. The next six games he had 57 tackles and four interceptions. Te’o didn’t have a Heisman moment, he had a Heisman streak. Te’o and the Irish capped off the season with a 22-13 victory over USC to clinch a National Title spot versus the SEC champions, the #2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. The Irish finished 12-0and #1, and now Te’o has the opportunity to become the second defensive player to win the Heisman, the first being Charles Woodson. The third athlete selected is Johnny “Football” Manzeil, freshman quarterback from Texas A&M. In his first year on the college football stage, Manzeil threw for 3429 yards and 24 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. He also had 1181 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns. Manzeil finished with more all-purpose yards than both Tim Tebow and Cam Newton in their Heisman winning seasons. Manzeil started the season off winning but could not win the big games as the Aggies lost to both #3 Florida and #8 LSU. At 7-2, Manzeil and Texas A&M had their toughest matchup of the year, at then #1 and defending National Champions Alabama. He went into Alabama’s Bryant Denny Stadium and put on a show as he was 24 of 31and threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 92 yards in his Heisman performance of the year. They defeated Alabama 29-24, handing the Crimson Tide their only loss on the year. Teaxas A&M, ranked 9thin the country will play the Big 12 co-champions 11 th ranked Oklahoma in the AT&T Cotton Bowl. Manzeil , as of now, is the front runner for the award, but is closely followed by Manti Te’o. Klein’s performance in the last two games will really hurt him this year’s race so I don’t see him coming near Te’o and Manzeil. What really hurts Manzeil, though , is he is a freshman. What hurts Te’o, is that he plays defense. I agree that Manzeil is very deserving of the award as he did better than Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, but I personally believe that Manti Te’o is the best player in the country. However I think with Manzeil’s stats, the voters will make him the first freshman and the first Texas A&M Heisman winner.