Masthay Picks Up VanMeter Award

From the release...

Former Kentucky football player Tim Masthay has received the 2008-09 Darrell A. VanMeter Service Award from the university for his remarkable commitment to community service.

The award, which is in its 18th year at the University of Kentucky, honors the outstanding volunteer service achievements of Darrell A. VanMeter. The award was named in his honor to recognize the far-reaching and lasting impact of his “Good Samaritan” approach to life.

From the moment Masthay set foot on UK’s campus, he has epitomized what it means to be a Good Samaritan. Despite the strenuous and often long hours of fulfilling his role as a student-athlete, Masthay, a former punter and kicker on the UK football team, has found time to give back countless hours to the community.

For the past two summers, Masthay has provided transportation for the American Cancer of Society Hope Lodge residents to the hospital for treatments. He has volunteered hundreds of hours for various activities at the Hope Lodge, including bingo night, cookouts and participating in a night out at a Lexington Legends baseball game.

“Tim is always willing to help in any event or activity we coordinate,” said Sheldon Kozee, director of the Hope Lodge. “I admire him so much for being so giving of his time to help others. It is not often you find such an outstanding young individual who is aware of the importance of helping others in their time of need. He has been a blessing to not only us, but to dozens of cancer patients who are fighting the hardest battle of their lives. It is because of people like Tim that so many patients continue to fight and are among the millions of cancer survivors today.”

Masthay’s dedication at the Hope Lodge is just one example of his outstanding community service. Among his many other contributions, Masthay has participated in Habitat for Humanity, worked with the football team’s outreach projects that include speaking engagements at locals schools and churches, and he’s served abroad by participating in a service project at a school and orphanage in Ghana.

In addition to those countless hours of generosity, he has participated in numerous food drives, served with the Salvation Army and put in several service visits at local hospitals. For his dedication to service and leadership in the community, Masthay was named to the Frank Ham Society of Character by UK Athletics and the was one of just 11 football players in the nation to be chosen to the 2008 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team.

Masthay has achieved all that while excelling on the football field and in the classroom. While leading the Wildcats a third straight bowl victory for the first time in school history, the Murray, Ky., native was awarded All-America honorable mention honors by CollegeFootballNews.com. He led the Southeastern Conference in punting and was named All-SEC by multiple selectors. He was also tabbed a first-team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors Association and ESPN The Magazine.

So how does one find time to excel in the classroom, on the field and in the community?

“For me it all came down to having a great support staff around me,” Masthay said. “My teammates are great, the administration is great, the coaches are great, and then on an individual level it just came down to prioritizing.”

And nobody’s priorities are more in place in Masthay. He recently signed a free-agent contract with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, but that won’t stop him from his ultimate goal of joining the Peace Corps in Africa in the next five years.

“I know it sounds cheesy, but I want to serve my country and make a difference in the world,” he said.

Masthay graduated this past weekend with a degree in economics. He is the son of Mark and Jean Masthay, who now live in Lebanon, Ohio.

Kudos and congrats to a great athlete and greater human being.

OTP's Heisman Ballot

We were asked today to compile our Heisman Ballot for the SportsBlog Hesiman Trophy, hosted over at BlueWorkhorse. I asked for Edge and RV to chime in, and they did, and I promptly ignored their advice. They can make their case in the comments, as can you. But my mind is made up.

For me, the Heisman comes down to a simple equation. Value to the team plus winning on the field plus competition. With that formula, you can knock out the one-trick ponies who play on losing teams and compile mad statistics. It knocks out players on teams that play a weak schedule and boost stats and scores. It is a total award. An award that means you are not only the best player in all of college football, you are also the most valuable to your team, and have put them in positions to win ballgames... the ultimate goal of any competitive athlete.

When you look at the award as I do, the choice for the Heisman becomes extremely clear.

My ballot:
#1: Tim Tebow, QB, Florida: Statistics aside, and his are silly good, Tebow is easily the most valuable player to his team. He changes defensive strategies, rallies his team emotionally, and lest we forget, promised no more losses after the Ole Miss game, which he delivered on. Like him or hate him, Tebow plays in the meat grinder of SEC defenses week in and week out, and he's a consistent winner, leader, and most importantly, the most valuable player on the field at any given time.

The knock on Tebow is that ESPN loves him. I admit, it does grow a little bit tiresome to listen to the weekly ballwashing they lay on him, but I for one find it a bit refreshing to have someone in the national forefront that is responsible and mature enough to be there. Tebow is well-spoken, never in trouble, does all the right things, says all the right things, and just works his ass off. That's award worthy if anything ever was.



#2: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma: Bradford puts up unbelievable stats, but I'm of the opinion that those are a bit skewed because this new fangled "defense" that teams in the SEC speak of hasn't really made its way to the Big 12. The only decent defense in the Big 12 (Texas) beat Oklahoma. Sorry, Sam, competition matters. I'll be honest, it was nearly a dead hear between Bradford and Tebow. The difference, in my eyes, was the quality of defense they each played against. Knock out Texas and Oklahoma and the best-ranked defense in the Big 12 is #66 in the country. The entire SEC ranks above #73, with 4 in the top 11 and 10 in the top 37. That's defensive football, and Tebow navigated it well.

Is Bradford an amazing college qb? Of course. But the fact remains that the statistics cannot be used in a vacuum to measure prowess. The teams Oklahoma and Florida played were not equal. They each have a loss, they each are playing in a national championship game. The difference, quite simply, comes down to who each player played through the year, and Tebow has a clear cut advantage.


#3: Colt McCoy, QB, Texas: McCoy exemplifies the V in MVP. He is as valuable to Texas as Tebow is to Florida. Unfortunately, however unjust it seems, leading your team to a national title game breaks the McCoy/Bradford tie. Had McCoy made it to the title game, he would be flipped with Bradford. McCoy is a fantastic player, and the frontrunner for next year's Heisman should Bradford and Tebow not stick around.

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Honorable Mention: MiQuale Lewis, RB, Ball State: In the year of the QB, and overshadowed by his own team's pass happy approach, Lewis was the straw that stirred the undefeated drink for the Cardinals. A small, but tough back (think Noel Devine and Jerome Bettis' offspring) Lewis got most of his yards between the tackles. He leads the NCAA in rushing TDs with 22, and coupled with 1701 yards, he's a special player. And only a junior.