Troy Smith

Troy Smith’s Earns Heisman Landside
Margin of victory is 2nd highest Ever

Going into the season as the solid front runner, Troy Smith did nothing to dim his Heisman hopes
as he led the Buckeyes to an undefeated regular season.   Smith’s performance was consistently
brilliant throughout the year as he amassed 30 TD passes while throwing only five interceptions
The Buckeye QB was even more impressive in the red zone, as Smith tossed 21 Td’s and no
interceptions.

Heisman voters were quite impressed with Smith’s season as the senior signal-caller won by the
second largest victory total in the history of Heisman balloting.  Only OJ Simpson’s victory margin in
1968 was larger. A major key to the 6-1, 215-pound QB’s Heisman run was his early season
encounter against the Texas Longhorns.  It was Texas who had given the Buckeyes their lone loss
the previous season.  Facing a hostile crowd in Austin, TX, during a nationally televised prime time
game, Smith threw for 269-yards and two scores as the Buckeyes gained revenge against the
defending national champs with a 24-7 victory.

Except for some turbulence encountered in an early November win over Illinois, Smith and the
Buckeyes cruised through the 2006 season as they prepared for their season ending rivalry game
against Michigan.  Smith’s Heisman campaign received another great platform as the two
undefeated teams met in another nationally televised prime time game.  Any Heisman doubts for
Smith quickly dissipated when Smith’s performance helped to derail the Wolverines as he passed
for four TD’s and 316 yards.

The Recruitment of Troy Smith

After throwing for 971 yards and 12 Td’s his senior season, Troy Smith drew interest from
West Virginia.  However, Smith spurned the Mountaineers recruiting efforts when Buckeye
coach Jim Tressel told Smith that he’d have a chance to play quarterback.  While Troy
Smith emerged to be the the “best of the class,” the future Heisman Trophy winner
accepted the last scholarship of the Buckeye’s 2002 recruiting class.