College football season starts in earnest this weekend, but the Heisman campaigns of several suitors already are off and running.
Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, whose father, Archie, has asked the Rebels not to promote his son's Heisman potential, is the exception. These days, if you have a shot, you have a site, and for the fourth consecutive year, we take a peek at how a few aspiring candidates look online ...
- http://philiprivers.com: If Rivers was as sharp as his site, you could give him the trophy now.
Rather than look to past Heisman candidates for ideas, the North Carolina State senior quarterback turned to superstars from other sports.
"Philip really liked the site for Phil Mickelson," said Annabelle Vaughan, N.C. State's director of media relations. "He thought it was very subtle, very classy. We looked at Pete Sampras' site, even at LeBron James'."
The site was created by an N.C. State graduate who registered the domain during Rivers' breakout freshman year and sent an e-mail to Vaughan letting her know he wasn't looking for money.
"It was nice - he said, "I'm not a crazy person. I'm just protecting him,"' she said.
Launched three weeks ago, it's popular enough that the "Ask Philip" page drew 500 e-mails in the first week. He has answered a few - yes, he can bench-press 400 pounds - and will try to squeeze in more during the season so as not to disappoint fans.
"We saw the responses and said, "Oh, no, we've set him up,"' Vaughan said. "Some poor kid in wherever is going to be disappointed he didn't answer his e-mail."
- http://schaub4heisman.com: Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub, last year's ACC player of the year, graces the Cavs' media guide cover in a tux, and if anything, his site might be too formal.
He has smartly done a few chats, but would do well to relax a little. A fan asks if he can help Virginia upset FSU, and gets this cut-and-paste blather: "I feel as though I can lead this team to victories against any opponent. It just takes time and preparation and discipline."
He livens up a bit on the site's "Fun Facts," which asks on which reality show he'd like to be a contestant. "The Bachelor," he writes, "because where else do you have 25 women battling for you while everything is paid for?"
- http://turnertheburner.com: Northern Illinois' Michael Turner faces long odds coming out of the MAC, where he'd be hard-pressed to fare better than Marshall star Byron Leftwich, who finished sixth in last season's voting.
The site's title is more than just a slogan: It's special effects magic. The tech wizards at NIU took a Turner touchdown run and added flames behind him that grow as he gets faster downfield. It's fun, though by the end zone, it looks more like self-immolation.
- http://wherehaveyouben.com: Best title is an easy pick, going to this site for Miami of Ohio's Ben Roethlisberger. No quarterback has battled such small-school, cumbersome-name Heisman adversity since Lehigh's Steve Semptimphelter a decade ago. Go ahead and learn Ben's name now, as he'll be one of the first quarterbacks taken in next spring's NFL draft.
TID-BYTES: The first animated short on the intro page to Buccaneers.com, which dubs the Bucs defense "The Weapons of Mass Destruction," is in poor taste, and surprising considering the team's trips to MacDill and appearances by Gen. Tommy Franks during last season. Another new feature has a Gene Deckerhoff sound bite ("Sacked by Sapp!") play every time your cursor roams over a link on the main page. It's amusing the first few times, but truly grating after a day or two. Please, please, add a "sound off" link. Soon. ... Yahoo.com football analyst Craig James speaks highly of South Florida in his weekly predictions column, writing that USF "is talented and well-coached. ... (This) would allow them to send a message that they're for real." But James sticks with Mike Shula and the Tide to win 24-17.
- If you have a question or comment about the Internet or a site to suggest, e-mail staff writer Greg Auman at auman@sptimes.com
