Mullen, Beckwith and Prescott Snubbed in Awards
Nov 29, 2014; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen (L) talks to Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels won 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier today the Burlsworth Trophy was announced, and Ben Beckwith did not win. In a bigger snub, Dan Mullen was not a finalist for national coach of the year and Dak Prescott will not being heading to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation.
Beckwith: The Burlsworth Trophy is awarded to the top former walk-on player in the country. Now, the winner of the award was Justin Hardy of East Carolina who set some records and is very deserving, however, I will defend our guy. In this case, Ben Beckwith was not just the starting Right Guard all year for a 10-2 SEC team that was #1 for five weeks, but he excelled. Beckwith won SEC offensive lineman of the week three times. One of those times was playing the entire game at Center. That’s the best O-lineman among 70 starting O-lineman in the best league in college football. His performance this season was great – especially considering he wasn’t expected to be a starter by many this off-season. Perhaps an even bigger snub with regards to Ben was the Kent Hull Trophy.
Mullen: The Football Writers Association of America decided Dan Mullen wasn’t worthy of even being a finalist for National Coach of the Year. So, after winning 10 regular season games for the first time in the history of MSU football he wasn’t worthy. After being ranked #1 for the first time in school history and holding that spot for five weeks he wasn’t worthy. After beating three top 10 teams in a row – for only the fifth time in college football history – he wasn’t worthy. After taking a team with the worst recruiting rankings in the SEC West over the last five years and finishing 2nd in the best division of all time, he wasn’t worthy. Unreal.
Prescott: The Heisman finalists are Marcus Mariotta, Amari Cooper and Melvin Gordon. I have no problem with those selections. In fact, if it’s the “most outstanding player” they’re looking for, even I would say they are probably all more outstanding at their position than Dak Prescott was this year. But I have a problem with not inviting Dak to New York. It’s an honor to be invited even if you don’t stand a chance of winning. Four or five players can go, why not let Dak come? His numbers are on par with other duel thread QBs who have won the award. He took a 6-6 team and turned them into a 10-2 team. He broke school record after school record. Sure, he’s more of a MVP than the most outstanding player in college football, but he was the front-runner for the award for most of the season, and it’s really a shame he didn’t get invited.