In a year that has no clear Heisman Trophy frontrunner, should Ashland quarterback Taylor Housewright be considered for the Heisman?

Realistically, there is a less than zero percent chance that Housewright will even be considered for the prestigious award—if that’s even possible—but that doesn’t mean the Heisman voters are right.

Housewright is on the verge of breaking Russell Wilson’s NCAA record of the most consecutive pass attempts without an interception. Wilson, now the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, threw 379 consecutive passes without an interception from 2008-09 at N.C. State. And now Housewright, sitting at 364, has a good chance of breaking that record at Tiffin this Saturday.

According to ESPN’s “Heisman Watch,” the frontrunners to win the Heisman are Collin Klein of Kansas State, Manti Te’o of the University of Notre Dame, Kenjon Barner of Oregon, A.J. McCarron of Alabama and Braxton Miller of Ohio State. It’s kind of tough to compare quarterbacks to running backs (Barner) and linebackers (Te’o), so let’s compare Housewright’s numbers to the quarterbacks.

Miller, Klein, McCarron and Housewright can all boast having an undefeated record thus far in the 2012 season. Now, it’s obviously much harder to win games in Division I football, especially the SEC, but as they say, numbers never lie.

Housewright is currently completing 67.9 percent of his passes and has thrown for 2,460 yards, averaging 273.3 yards per game through nine games. And oh yeah, he has 23 touchdowns to go along with zero interceptions.

Not to mention that he also does the punting for the Eagles, with an average of 40.6 yards per kick.

Let’s compare Housewright’s stats to Ohio State’s Braxton Miller to start off. Miller is only completing 56.6 percent of his passes, has only thrown for 1,527 yards and has 12 passing touchdowns to go along with six interceptions.

The thing that Miller has going for him are his legs, with 1,093 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns on the ground. But if Tim Tebow gets criticized for only being able to run, shouldn’t Miller, too? The edge goes to Housewright. Housewright is playing in a season that matters and Miller isn’t.

A.J. McCarron is at the helm for the best collegiate team in the country—Alabama—and looks as if he is the leader of the team, but is he really? According to the numbers, McCarron has less touchdown passes (18) and less passing yards (1,684) than Housewright. He too has no interceptions, however.

Alabama is an offense predicated around smashing you in the mouth, and as we all know, ‘Bama’s defense is the strength of the Crimson Tide. McCarron is more of a game manager than a game-changer like Housewright. Advantage Housewright.

Klein is Housewright’s stiffest competition when it comes to impressive statistics. Klein is completing 70.9 percent of his passes and has rushed for 634 yards and 16 touchdowns. Klein only has 12 touchdowns compared to two interceptions through the air. Because of the comparable numbers and Klein playing in Division I, advantage Klein.

The Heisman Trophy is supposed to be awarded to the “most outstanding player in collegiate football.” There is no specification that the Heisman has to be given to a Division I athlete. Yes, Division I competition is incredibly more difficult than Division II, but that doesn’t mean that Division II athletes can’t go pro.

Notable NFL players coming out of Division II include Vincent Jackson, Nate Washington, recently retired Al Harris and many more, including Ashland’s own Jeris Pendleton, who was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars this year. A slight edge should be given to Division I athletes, but not enough of an advantage that makes it impossible for a Division II athlete to win.

Housewright may be doing it against lesser competition, but his numbers are more impressive than most of the Heisman frontrunners. It would be tough to give Housewright the trophy over Klein, but if the Heisman is truly awarded to the most outstanding player in collegiate football, it would be preposterous to not have Housewright’s name in the discussion.