It’s the most prestigious individual award in all of sports, and this year, there’s no shortage of candidates. Kentucky quarterback Andre' Woodson is next up in Athlon's 2007 Heisman Watch, which will be released in no particular order.

When last we saw Andre’ Woodson in action, he was completing 20 of 28 passes for 299 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in the Wildcats’ 28–20 victory over Clemson in the 2006 Music City Bowl. Woodson was named the game’s Most Valuable Player for his performance. He had already been selected second-team All-SEC by both the media and coaches behind the 2007 NFL Draft’s No. 1 overall pick, LSU’s JaMarcus Russell.

For the season, Woodson completed 63 percent of his passes (264-of-419) for 3,515 yards, 31 touchdowns and seven interceptions. This represents a quantum leap over his sophomore numbers. He threw for 25 more touchdowns, nearly 2,000 more yards and increased his completion average by more than five percentage points over 2005, his first year as a starter after backing up Shane Boyd as a redshirt freshman in 2004.

Athlon's 2007 Heisman Watch

A 6’5” dropback passer in the NFL mold, Woodson isn’t much of a threat to run, but he possesses the deadliest arm in the league. Last fall, he led the conference in passing yards, touchdown passes, and total offense despite a minus-137 net yards rushing.

Woodson’s career interception ratio of one per 54.3 passes is the lowest in SEC history for passers with a minimum of 400 attempts, and he enters 2007 with a streak of 162 passes without a pick. Not bad for a quarterback who almost lost his starting job in 2006 spring practice. He threw three touchdown passes in each of the first three games of the ’06 season, and later in the year threw for 450 yards and four TDs against Vanderbilt.

Kentucky Team Preview

All of Woodson’s favorite targets — Keenan Burton, Dicky Lyons and tight end Jacob Tamme — are back along with tailback Rafael Little to aid their quarterback in his bid for the 2007 Heisman.

Why he’ll be holding the hardware: He’s the best quarterback in the nation’s best conference and Kentucky’s pass-happy offense will help him produce numbers.

Why he’ll be left out: The Wildcats’ third-place finish in the SEC East last fall was more than respectable, but they’ve got to do better than that to get their quarterback a Heisman. And until their defense proves it can stop somebody, they won’t.

Final analysis: It’s a matter of getting him enough help. Woodson’s not Paul Hornung, so his team will have to win a certain minimum number of games to put him in the spotlight and keep him there. A bid for first-team All-SEC might be as good as it gets for Woodson at Kentucky.
 
2006 Stat Line