Dec. 11--Melvin Gordon and his teammates simply cannot agree: Who deserves more credit for his wildly successful season?
"The attention should be on Melvin," right tackle Rob Havenstein insisted. "All we do is get seven yards. He gets the other 40."
Gordon disagrees, thanking the Badgers' offensive line at every turn: "Hats off to those guys."
Hats off to everyone involved with Gordon, the winner of the 2014 Tribune Silver Football, awarded annually to the Big Ten's best player in a vote of conference coaches.
After rushing for an FBS-high 2,336 yards and 26 touchdowns, Gordon received 10 of a possible 13 first-place votes (coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players) and one second-place vote, garnering 21 points. Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett (8 points) and defensive end Joey Bosa (5) took second and third.
Coaches also cited Indiana tailback Tevin Coleman (4 points), Iowa left tackle Brandon Scherff (3) and Nebraska I-back Ameer Abdullah (1).
Gordon, a fourth-year junior who will turn pro after the Jan. 1 Outback Bowl, could have departed after rushing for 1,609 yards last season. But he returned and rewarded Badgers fans with a historic season, shredding Nebraska for 408 yards -- in just three quarters -- and topping Ron Dayne's single-season Big Ten-record 2,109 yards.
"He is still such a humble guy," Havenstein said.
During an interview with the Tribune on Wednesday, Gordon put the focus on whether Wisconsin can rebound from its humiliating 59-0 loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten title game.
"I still have not recovered, to be honest," he said. "It's eating at me. As one of the leaders on the team, it hit me real hard because guys look for me to make something happen. That game, I will never forget it."
And no one who watched Gordon this season will forget him.
Coming tonight: Feature story from Teddy Greenstein on Melvin Gordon and his family.
