Tearing up the football pitch and running all over his opponents for the past five weeks, it appears as though our boy, Garrett Wolfe, is finally getting some of the national attention he deserves!
Thanks to a monumental performance last night, I’ve seen Wolfe’s highlight reels popping up on ESPN and ABC and I’m sure he’s seen some airtime on other channels, as well.
Let’s see… how did Wolfe fare last night during our Northern Illinois Huskies 40-28 victory against the Ball State Cardinals?
- 31 carries for 353 yards!
- 11.4 yards-per-carry!
- 3 touchdowns!
So… what does that put Wolfe at for the season?
- 1181 rushing yards in 5 games!
- 9.3 yards-per-carry!
- 11 touchdowns!
How about some other stats?
- 10 game streak rushing for more than 100 yards!
- 8 game streak rushing for more than 170 yards!
- 8th career game rushing for more than 200 yards!
What is even more impressive, however, is Wolfe’s modesty. He is always attributing his success to his teammates. As quoted in the Trib after yesterday’s match, Wolfe states:
“I had a good game, but most of it was due to the offensive line and great blocking downfield from our wide receivers and tight ends,” Wolfe said. “I feel like we could put any of our backs in and they would be successful.”
All the talk last week was directed to the lack of Heisman campaigning that NIU is doing for Wolfe. As noted in the Trib, Wolfe humbly replied:
“I don’t want to be taken out of context and I really don’t want to be misunderstood: I firmly believe our sports information department has done an unbelievable job in handling things for myself,” Wolfe said Tuesday. “I’m not mad a bit about not having a Heisman Trophy campaign. I’m a long shot to win that award. That’s not the focus of my teammates. . . . The main focus we share is to win football games. A Heisman campaign is not important.”
Truly a class act! How can you not consider Wolfe for the Heisman? He started out as the underdog, he’s a team player, and he’s a dynamically huge superstar in an atypically small package.
“Garrett Wolfe’s unlikely star trek” is an excellent article in the Chicago Sun-Times that delves into Wolfe’s upbringing and what he has gone through to get to where he is today. It is a must-read.
On Sunday, October 8th, at 8:00p (EST), the country will have the chance to see what we’ve been talking about as Garrett Wolfe and the Northern Illinois Huskies will take on the Miami of Ohio Redhawks in a nationally televised game on ESPN.
In the meantime, you may enjoy this little montage of Wolfe’s play against the Buffalo Bulls two weeks ago:
[youtube]Ztci_oN-GYg[/youtube]
Yayuh!
—cK
Though Wolfe would have my vote for the Heisman, I feel that the only way he can possibly win it is if he can average 200+ yards on the ground per game….I know that is a lot to ask for BUT because he is not on a National Championship contending team (like Smith and Ginn Jr.), Garrett MUST do even more than the average Heisman contender in order to win it. If Wolfe was on say Notre Dame, Ohio State, or even Michigan, the Heisman would be a certainty. But, because he is not, Garrett must do even more to gain the respect and vote of the Heisman pollsters.
Though Wolfe would have my vote for the Heisman, I feel that the only way he can possibly win it is if he can average 200+ yards on the ground per game….I know that is a lot to ask for BUT because he is not on a National Championship contending team (like Smith and Ginn Jr.), Garrett MUST do even more than the average Heisman contender in order to win it. If Wolfe was on say Notre Dame, Ohio State, or even Michigan, the Heisman would be a certainty. But, because he is not, Garrett must do even more to gain the respect and vote of the Heisman pollsters.
More, more, more. Opening story on the late edition of College Gameday on Saturday night was Wolfe’s insane game, including the normally biased big-school announcers saying that they would have to vote for Wolfe at this point of the season.
More, more, more. Opening story on the late edition of College Gameday on Saturday night was Wolfe’s insane game, including the normally biased big-school announcers saying that they would have to vote for Wolfe at this point of the season.