By Michael Casagrande
sports@timesfreepress.com
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Mark Ingram was Alabama's first Heisman Trophy winner last fall while carrying a healthy load of the Crimson Tide's offense to the national championship. Now some consider him the second best weapon in the Alabama backfield.
Ingram was the third straight sophomore to leave New York in December with a 25-pound stiff-arming statue, but will he be the first to make a successful return to Times Square a year later?
"Of course, that would be great," Ingram said at SEC media days. "It's not my main focus. My main focus right now is to better myself as a player each and every day, become the best player I can be for my football team, make the best out of what I can do, put myself in the best position where I can make a lot of plays so I can help our team win games."
Ingram is considered a favorite to win the 2010 Heisman by top gambling sites such as sportsbook.com and sportsbetting.com, while bodog.com has him the second choice behind Ohio State quarterback Terrell Pryor.
Of the 14 Heisman winners who had eligibility remaining, only six returned the following season. Ingram didn't have the option of turning pro since the NFL doesn't allow entrants younger than juniors.
Sam Bradford, the 2008 Heisman honoree from Oklahoma, had a major shoulder injury in the 2009 opener and was unable to contend again, although he became the NFL's No. 1 draft pick and just signed a $78 million contract with $50 million guaranteed.
Ohio State running back Archie Griffin remains the only two-time Heisman winner, doing so as a junior and senior.
Oklahoma's Billy Sims came close to repeating but finished second to Southern California's Charles White despite adding 134 rushing yards to his previous season's total. White had 2,050, however, compared to Sims' 1,896.
BYU's Ty Detmer, Oklahoma's Jason White and Florida's Tim Tebow were quarterbacks who finished third in the Heisman voting a year after winning, and Tebow added a fifth-place finish last year.
Ingram should be helped by the return of three Alabama offensive linemen, but the loss of veteran blockers Mike Johnson and Drew Davis can't be discounted.
A bigger obstacle for Ingram might be the continued emergence of fellow Tide running back Trent Richardson, who had 751 rushing yards as a freshman last year. That was reminiscent of Ingram's 2008 rookie year that netted 728 yards as a second option to Glen Coffee.
"We compete every single day," Ingram said at media days. "(Richardson) makes me better. I make him better. It's just nothing but an advantage to our team just to have a 1-2 punch like that."