I may be wrong here, but I don't think he was given these kinds of props before the season started. They kicked A&M around, and everyone's ears perked up, and by week 5 or so, he was getting pub. And being invited to the presentation alongside 4 guys playing in the NC game is hardly "not even close to winning".bgfanwisc wrote: Also, your point about Alex Smith only helps mine. He had great numbers and was a Heisman finalist on an undefeated team, but he was not even close to winning.
If this press for Omar continues through spring ball and into the preseason workouts, he'll already be getting looks as a possible finalist before the season even kicks off. If we can post wins at Wisconsin and Boise St., the numbers he puts up the rest of the season go toward solidifying his candidacy, rather than "turning heads", which I believe was the case with Smith until he entrenched himself as a candidate the last few weeks of the season.
Of course, its going to take an undefeated team and probably some help from the other "candidates", but I believe this attention puts him a big step ahead of other non-BCS players that have been "also-rans" in the past.



