Heisman Trophy: Alabama's Trent Richardson, Wisconsin's Montee Ball share respect as running backs

NEW YORK -- Crammed into a conference room just off Times Square sat the Heisman Trophy finalists and the pack of reporters.

The mad pace and time limits made for a frenzied environment around all but one candidate. If only for the day, Wisconsin’s Montee Ball was the other running back in the room. Once the second-best candidate in the backfield, the hard-running Badger passed quarterback Russell Wilson late in the season to earn his trip to New York.

Now, he sat across from the packed table surrounding Alabama’s Trent Richardson with just a few writers taking turns firing off questions. With a national-best 1,759 yards and 38 touchdowns, his numbers actually overshadowed his Crimson Tide competition.

But measuring the intangibles of his game next to Richardson’s was a challenge.

“Ew, compare myself to Trent?” Ball said. “We both have good vision. Obviously, I’d say he’s a lot more powerful with great vision. We’re hungry for yards, and we never stop.”

So it’s Richardson who is considered one of the front-runners for the Heisman, not Ball. The two will join Baylor’s Robert Griffin III, Stanford’s Andrew Luck and LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu for the ceremony beginning at 8 p.m. in New York.

Richardson, who set a school record with 20 rushing touchdowns this season, still is 12 behind Ball’s 32 scored on the ground this year. Yardage wise, Richardson has 1,583 in one fewer game than who Ball, whose Badgers won the Big Ten title game over Michigan State.

“He’s hungry,” Richardson said. “He’s not going to let one guy take him down either. His stats prove everything.”

Though Richardson beat Ball for the Doak Walker Award on Thursday night in Orlando, the two became fast friends this week.

They talked about comedians, food, music and Richardson’s two daughters. Ball said he had no idea Richardson was a father until hearing all about Taliyah, 5, and Elevara, 3.

“My parents, me and him actually had a long talk on the plane,” Ball said. “He showed us photos on the plane.”

That means they sat together on Friday’s flight from Orlando to New York. So Ball got a front-row seat to Richardson’s least-favorite mode of travel.

“Well, when we were taking off, I looked over at him, and he was making some kind of face,” Ball said with a chuckle. “I think he was a little nervous, but he handled it better than I thought he would.”

On the field, Ball said he’d like to get a shot at facing Alabama’s dominant run defense. The Tide ranks first in every major statistical category, but Ball has confidence in the abilities of his offense’s ability to move the ball.

“Honestly, I think we’d be pretty alright,” Ball said, referencing Alabama’s 27-11 win over Penn State. “I think we’d be able to get the job done, honestly.”

Ball ran for 156 yards on 25 carries against the Nittany Lions two weeks ago while Richardson had 116 on 26 tries Sept. 10.

Ball, who will head to Pasadena as Wisconsin faces Oregon in the Rose Bowl, has plenty of respect for the Alabama defense in its next outing. He likes its shot at redemption in the BCS title game against LSU after losing 9-6 in overtime to the Tigers on Nov. 5.

His championship-game prediction came without hesitation.

“Oh, Alabama,” he said. “I’ll be honest. I think LSU’s defense is great, but I think their offense has to make some strides, and I believe they will. But, if not, I think Alabama will get the job done.”

This story was originally published December 10, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Heisman Trophy: Alabama's Trent Richardson, Wisconsin's Montee Ball share respect as running backs."