Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/847744
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> "Getting ready for training camp and working over the summer, we were really just focused on being the best we could be," Collins said. "One thing about that team and pretty much every good team I've been on is the team al- ways came first. It was always about getting better as a team. No one ever put accolades be- fore the team. We were just focused on getting better as a team, and as a result we got the individual recognition as time went on." As Carter remembers it, he was getting more preseason mention for Big Ten honors but little for the Heisman. "From the season I had before, when I had 1,000 yards but missed the last two reg- ular-season games when I got hurt, I was a little under the radar [nationally]," he said. "I was more focused on the team. The hype really didn't happen to me until after two or three games." Seven games into the season, Penn State, with its high-scoring quick-strike offense, was No. 1 in the polls and Carter and Collins were prime contenders for the Heisman. We now know the team went unde- feated but was denied a share of the na- tional championship by the poll voters who favored Nebraska in the last two months of the year. The Lions also came up short in the Heisman balloting, as vot- ers awarded the trophy to Colorado run- ning back Rashaan Salaam based primarily on him becoming only the fourth player in college football history to run for more than 2,000 yards in a season. Carter was second, with Collins fourth behind Alcorn State quarterback Steve McNair. Carter (901 points) and Collins (639) may have affected each other's chances by splitting the ballots of voters who wanted to salute Penn State's offensive success, but even their combined total of 1,540 points fell short of Salaam's win- ning total of 1,743. "Winning the Heisman takes a lot of luck," Carter said. "You look at the num- bers now, and if one of us wasn't there, one of us would have had an opportunity to win it. But at the same time, if we weren't both there, would our team have been as successful as we were? We both had the same success as a player, but it's a credit to our team that year and a credit to me and Kerry because we were both able to be in a place every college player dreams of being." "I'm sure I took a lot of votes away from Ki-Jana, who in my opinion deserved the Heisman," Collins said. "I felt there were other guys more deserving than me. I thought Ki-Jana deserved it because of his body of work, but I was not surprised that Rashaan won, because 2,000 yards was an enormous benchmark. And Steve, he set the world on fire at a very small school." Collins earned a consolation prize as winner of the Maxwell Award, which goes to the outstanding player in college foot- ball, as well as the Davey O'Brien Award for being the nation's outstanding quar- terback. Carter had the honor of being the first overall selection in the NFL Draft (by Cincinnati), becoming the first running back since Auburn's Bo Jackson in 1986 to be selected No. 1 overall. Unfortunately, Carter never fully recovered from a torn ACL that he suffered in a preseason game before the start of his rookie year. That setback helped turn his NFL career into an injury-filled eight-year maelstrom. Meanwhile, Collins became Penn State's most successful all-time NFL quarterback with a 17-year tenure that ties kicker Matt Bahr as the longest for any Nittany Lion. Collins believes his team-oriented atti- tude concerning the Heisman race in '94 had a major effect on the length of his NFL career. "Absolutely," he said. "I think it's a mindset that you're able to stay humble. I know you've never heard that from any- one before (laughs). But it's true. That will allow you to focus on what you need to focus on. Put the team first, and that's what the guys respect." Barkley and McSorley should be aware that simply making the top 10 in the Heis- man voting is a rarity for any Penn State player. Only 17 players have had that honor and, as we know, only one has won the trophy, tailback John Cappelletti in 1973, with two others besides Carter fin- ishing as runners-up: quarterbacks Richie Lucas (1959) and Chuck Fusina (1978). It also should be noted that only one of those Penn State top-10 finishers has a vote in this year's competition. Blackledge's BOUND FOR GLORY Carter breaks free for an early touch- down in the 1995 Rose Bowl. The junior tailback fin- ished second in the Heisman voting in what would turn out to be his final season at PSU. BWI file photo