[FarmBoy]

Voldemort trophies are 1 part pre-season hype, 1 part team performance, 1 part individual stats, and 1 part highlight film and game situation heroics. On some level, a player needs to pass the smell test on all four measures. In the minds of the voters, there's a big psychological difference between 29 and 30 TDs, for example. Or breaking the 2,000 yard rushing barrier. Clearly, the team needs to do its part, and Andrew needs to have some highlight film heroics against USC/UO/ND. But if at the end of the season he's a few TD's shy of 30, or a few yards short of 3,000, that will show in all of the comparison charts ESPN will show of the top candidates and how many yards and TDs they generated. I am all for maximizing the team's chances of winning the Pac12/NCG. But I don't think that goal is exclusive of a little stat padding for Luck, at this point in the season. But Coach Shaw is clearly a smarter person than I.

But I disagree with Farm93's assertion that boosting Luck's Voldemort profile is bad for the team in the short or long term. I think a team takes a lot of pride in having a Voldemort candidate. You know the TWU would have been the 2nd happiest bunch if Gerhart had won the award. The team knows that its performance will impact the candidate's chances and they'll use that as self motivation. Second, having a 2nd, more recent, Voldemort winner will be great for long term recruiting. Every top QB and RB recruit dreams of striking the pose. To show them that it's possible to win the Voldemort at Stanford will be a great measure. Winning the Pac12/NCG will clearly do that even more, but when you list a program's accomplishments, listing the number of Voldemort winners or Super Bowl MVPs or other accomplishments is a great recruiting tool.

[FarmBoy]

Voldemort trophies are 1 part pre-season hype, 1 part team performance, 1 part individual stats, and 1 part highlight film and game situation heroics. On some level, a player needs to pass the smell test on all four measures. In the minds of the voters, there's a big psychological difference between 29 and 30 TDs, for example. Or breaking the 2,000 yard rushing barrier. Clearly, the team needs to do its part, and Andrew needs to have some highlight film heroics against USC/UO/ND. But if at the end of the season he's a few TD's shy of 30, or a few yards short of 3,000, that will show in all of the comparison charts ESPN will show of the top candidates and how many yards and TDs they generated. I am all for maximizing the team's chances of winning the Pac12/NCG. But I don't think that goal is exclusive of a little stat padding for Luck, at this point in the season. But Coach Shaw is clearly a smarter person than I.

But I disagree with Farm93's assertion that boosting Luck's Voldemort profile is bad for the team in the short or long term. I think a team takes a lot of pride in having a Voldemort candidate. You know the TWU would have been the 2nd happiest bunch if Gerhart had won the award. The team knows that its performance will impact the candidate's chances and they'll use that as self motivation. Second, having a 2nd, more recent, Voldemort winner will be great for long term recruiting. Every top QB and RB recruit dreams of striking the pose. To show them that it's possible to win the Voldemort at Stanford will be a great measure. Winning the Pac12/NCG will clearly do that even more, but when you list a program's accomplishments, listing the number of Voldemort winners or Super Bowl MVPs or other accomplishments is a great recruiting tool.