NEW FEATURE: Watch list database

You’ll notice a new feature on the right side of the blog homepage if you look close enough.

Keep up with all the watch list news from your favorite national award, and goodness knows there are plenty to keep track of.

Click here to take a look at the new database that will be updated every time a new list is released or updated.

And, to see The Bama Blog video of the day that is a belated July 4th celebration, follow this link.

One final note, I want to thank the viewers who helped push Bama Blog videos past another milestone. I believe it was December when I said blog videos had been viewed almost 60,000 times. Well, see the image below to see what we’re up to now. Thanks for watching and expect more videos with higher quality to come.

McElroy on Davey O’Brien watch list

It’s never too early to release a national award watch list. Here is the herd Davey O’Brien Award contenders.

Matt Barkley, USC
Zach Collaros, Cincinnati
Andy Dalton, TCU
Dwight Dasher, Middle Tennessee
Ricky Dobbs, Navy
Nathan Enderle, Idaho
Nick Foles, Arizona
Blaine Gabbert, Missouri
Robert Griffin, Baylor
Jacory Harris, Miami
Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M
Landry Jones, Oklahoma
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada
Case Keenum, Houston
G.J. Kinne, Tulsa
Jake Locker, Washington
Andrew Luck, Stanford
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas
Greg McElroy, Alabama
Kellen Moore, Boise State
Josh Nesbitt, Georgia Tech 
Kyle Padron, SMU
Christian Ponder, Florida State
Taylor Potts, Texas Tech
Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State
Tom Savage, Rutgers
Ricky Stanzi, Iowa 
Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech
Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin
Russell Wilson, NC State

Six Alabama All-Americans a record

The Associated Press came out with its list of the nation’s elite that included six members of the Crimson Tide. The group is led by Decatur’s Rolando McClain and Heisman winner Mark Ingram who were unanimous first-team All-Americans after today’s announcement.

Here’s the complete list of AP All-Americans.

Quarterback — Colt McCoy, senior, 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Texas.

Running backs — Toby Gerhart, senior, 6-1, 235, Stanford; Mark Ingram, sophomore, 5-10, 212, Alabama.

Tackles — Russell Okung, senior, 6-5, 301, Oklahoma State; Trent Williams, senior, 6-5, 318, Oklahoma.

Guards — Michael Johnson, senior, 6-6, 305, Alabama; Mike Iupati, senior, 6-6, 330, Idaho.

Center — J.D. Walton, senior, 6-3, 305, Baylor.

Tight end — Aaron Hernandez, junior, 6-2, 250, Florida.

Wide receivers — Golden Tate, junior, 5-11, 195, Notre Dame; Jordan Shipley, senior, 6-0, 190, Texas.

All-purpose player — C.J. Spiller, senior, 5-11, 195, Clemson.

Kicker — Leigh Tiffin, senior, 6-2, 212, Alabama.

Defense

Ends — Jerry Hughes, senior, 6-3, 257, TCU; Derrick Morgan, junior, 6-4, 272, Georgia Tech.

Tackles — Ndamukong Suh, senior, 6-4, 300, Nebraska; Terrence Cody, senior, 6-5, 365, Alabama.

Linebackers — Rolando McClain, junior, 6-4, 258, Alabama; Greg Jones, junior, 6-1, 228, Michigan State; Eric Norwood, senior, 6-1, 252, South Carolina.

Cornerbacks — Joe Haden, junior, 5-11, 190, Florida; Javier Arenas, senior, 5-9, 198, Alabama.

Safeties — Eric Berry, junior, 5-11, 203, Tennessee; Earl Thomas, sophomore, 5-10, 197, Texas.

Punter — Drew Butler, sophomore, 6-2, 201, Georgia.

___

Second team

Quarterback — Tim Tebow, senior, Florida.

Running backs — Ryan Mathews, junior, Fresno State; Dion Lewis, freshman, Pittsburgh.

Tackles — Bryan Bulaga, junior, Iowa; Chris Marinelli, senior, Stanford.

Guards — Rodney Hudson, junior, Florida State; Mike Pouncey, junior, Florida.

Center — Maurkice Pouncey, junior, Florida.

Tight end — Dennis Pitta, senior, BYU.

Wide receivers — Mardy Gilyard, senior, Cincinnati; Danario Alexander, senior, Missouri.

All-purpose player — James Rodgers, junior, Oregon State.

Kicker — Kai Forbath, junior, UCLA.

Defense

Ends — Von Miller, junior, Texas A&M; Brandon Graham, senior, Michigan.

Tackles — Gerald McCoy, junior, Oklahoma; Jared Odrick, senior, Penn State.

Linebackers — Pat Angerer, senior, Iowa; Brandon Spikes, senior, Florida; Sean Weatherspoon, senior, Missouri.

Cornerbacks — Perrish Cox, senior, Oklahoma State; Kyle Wilson, senior, Boise State.

Safeties — Taylor Mays, senior, Southern California; Rahim Moore, sophomore, UCLA.

Punter — Zoltan Mesko, senior, Michigan.

___

Third team
Offense

Quarterback — Kellen Moore, sophomore, Boise State

Running backs — LaMichael James, redshirt freshman, Oregon; Jacquizz Rodgers, sophomore, Oregon State.

Tackles — Dennis Landolt, senior, Penn State; Ciron Black, senior, LSU.

Guards — Brandon Carter, senior, Texas Tech; Jeff Byers, senior, Southern California.

Center — Chris Hall, senior, Texas.

Tight end — Dorin Dickerson, senior, Pittsburgh.

Wide receivers — Freddie Barnes, senior, Bowling Green; Demaryius Thomas, junior, Georgia Tech.

All-purpose player — Dexter McCluster, senior, Mississippi.

Kicker — Hunter Lawrence, senior, Texas.

Defense

Ends — Jeremy Beal, junior, Oklahoma; Brandon Sharpe, senior, Texas Tech.

Tackles — Brian Price, junior, UCLA; Dan Williams, senior, Tennessee.

Linebackers — Sergio Kindle, senior, Texas; Cody Grimm, senior, Virginia Tech; Navorro Bowman, junior, Penn State.

Cornerbacks — Brandon Harris, sophomore, Miami; Alterraun Verner, senior, UCLA.

Safeties — Tyler Sash, sophomore, Iowa; Mark Barron, sophomore, Alabama.

Punter — Matt Reagan, senior, Memphis.

Video: More Heisman coverage

Here are a few videos captured after Mark Ingram won the 2009 Heisman Trophy. First, Tim Tebow takes questions and talks a little about Ingram.

Next, Ingram is introduced to the reporters.

The Heisman: The day after …

It’s been a full 24 hours and I still had that initial posting about Mark Ingram’s Heisman at the top of the page.

Weak, I know.

I’ve been away from the reaches of wireless internet for most of the time. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Now that the hoopla has died down, I have to say, Saturday night in Times Square was not lacking excitement. It had a different kind of energy than a run of the mill winning football game.

And I’ll be honest, although an impartial and unbiased reporter, I have to say I was happy for Ingram. He’s legitimately a nice kid who doesn’t seem to have to ego that a Heisman Trophy winner would presumably carry.

Read more about his mother Shonda Ingram’s reaction in Monday’s paper. Then, later in the day look for some more of the pictures and a little video I captured from the Saturday night madness that was the Heisman Trophy aftermath.

With that, I sign out for the night from Gate B3 in the Charlotte International Airport.

It’s Ingram

This just in: Mark Ingram wins Alabama’s first Heisman Trophy in school history.

Read more later.

Heisman countdown nears an end

We’re less than 40 minutes from announcement time for one of the closest Heisman Trophy votes in memory. For the record, the slimmest margin of victory is 45 points when Auburn’s Bo Jackson won in 1985.

There is a considerable buzz in the media set up here on the eighth floor of the Marriott Marquis overlooking Times Square. See photos below.

We’re waiting for the finalists to make the walk across the street from the Nokia Theater for the news conference immediately following the announcement. The tension is exciting. We’ll find out soon if Mark Ingram can become the first Alabama player to strike that famous pose.

Live from New York … it’s Saturday evening!

Welcome to the Marriott Marquis where the Heisman Trophy press conference is set to begin immediately following the award ceremony.

The Bama Blog is here to bring you all the latest from the ceremony to top all ceremonies. This is easily the closest Heisman Trophy presentation in a long time.

If you want the latest projections, check out StiffArmTrophy.com. If you don’t want to be spoiled, I won’t give away the newest numbers.

On a side note, it’s a cold night in Times Square, but there is a buzz in the air. This really is a special city and recommend everyone visits at least once in life. The photo below is the Nokia Theater where the award will actually be presented. We’re across the street in the Marriott.

Alabama shut out at awards show

Here’s the list of winners that does not include any Crimson Tide players.

Chuck Bednarik Trophy

(Best defensive player)

Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
Outland Trophy

(Best interior lineman)

Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, DE
Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award

(Best Quarterback)

Colt McCoy, Texas
Doak Walker Award

(Best running back)

Toby Gerhart, Stanford
Fred Biletnikoff Award

(Best wide receiver)

Golden Tate, Notre Dame
Jim Thorpe Award

(Best defensive back)

Eric Berry, Tennessee
Lou Groza Collegiate

(Place-kicker award)

Kai Forbath, UCLA
Ray Guy Award

(Best punter)

Drew Butler, Georgia

___
The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award

Brian Kelly, Cincinnati
Disney’s Wide World of Sports Spirit Award

Mark Herzlich, Boston College
NCFAA Contribution to College Football Award

LaVell Edwards, Brigham Young, coach

Ingram leads Heisman projection

It’s still early, but with 27.2 percent of the ballots accounted for, Mark Ingram is the early leader in the Heisman Trophy balloting according to a Web site the polls voters.

In the latest count, StiffArmTrophy.com projects Ingram will pull in 43.8 percent of the final vote. Check out the site and you’ll also see Rolando McClain is picking up a few stray votes.

Don’t worry, I’ll keep you updated on the developments as they come available.

On a side note, a street peddler was shot and killed by New York City cops outside the Heisman hotel headquarters. Read more here.

Awards week continues…

Anyone else worn out by all these awards? It’s hard to keep track of them all, to be honest. At least today’s are made easy for us since ESPN airs an awards show live tonight. Here’s the rundown:

• Muscle Shoals product Leigh Tiffin is up for the Lou Groza Award for the nation’s best place kicker. Read this story about him in the Palm Beach Post
• Mark Ingram is up for two awards: The Maxwell Award and the Doak Walker Award. Of course he’s got the Heisman Trophy on the radar too on Saturday.
• Terrence Cody has been shut out so far this week, but he could still win the Bednarik Award tonight.

The show starts at 6:30 p.m. CST on ESPN.

McClain officially wins Butkus Award

Decatur product Rolando McClain was officially awarded the Butkus Award by the man himself Tuesday morning in Tuscaloosa.

The Chicago Bear legend made a surprise appearance in the media room of the football complex Tuesday morning to present the award to an unsuspecting McClain, according to reports. He is the first Alabama player to win the award since Derrick Thomas did so in 1988.

Check out the pictures sent by Alabama media relations.

Reports: McClain wins Butkus Award

There is nothing official yet, but reports out of Tuscaloosa place linebacker legend Dick Butkus in town and only one conclusion can be drawn: He’s there to honor Decatur’s Rolando McClain.

The Butkus Award is scheduled to be awarded today, so connecting the dots is not difficult.

Stay tuned for more on this.

Ingram a finalist for Walter Camp Award

One of the major awards just released its list of finalists and Mark Ingram is on it. The Walter Camp Award goes to the nation’s best player, sort of a Heisman Lite.

The other finalists are Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, Case Keenum and Ndamukong Suh.

The winner will be named Dec. 10 on the 5 p.m. CST SportsCenter.

Alabama releases Ingram Heisman video

Check out the video UA posted on YouTube to hype Mark Ingram’s campaign for the Heisman Trophy. There were several fan-produced videos, but the quality on this one is pretty solid.