Three years ago, Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich was an unknown player on the sidelines watching his teammate, Chad Pennington, turn heads and break records on his way to national attention and Heisman Trophy consideration.

Now, it's Leftwich's turn.

ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper has Leftwich rated as the top college player entering this season. The 2001 Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year finished with 4,131 yards, 38 touchdowns and completed nearly 67 percent of his passes last season in leading the Thundering Herd to an 11-2 record. He capped the season in a thrilling 64-61 double-overtime comeback win over East Carolina in the GMAC Bowl, where he threw for 576 yards and four touchdowns to help erase a 30-point deficit.

	Byron Leftwich threw for 4,132 yards and 38 TDs last year.

Many thought Leftwich was good enough to forego his final year at Marshall and enter the NFL Draft. Some implored him to do so.

Leftwich had other plans.

"I just wasn't ready to leave," he said. "I never even thought about it. I told my team I wasn't going anywhere. It seemed like everyone else wanted me to go, but I couldn't leave my family. I came in with these guys and I wanted to leave with them."

After a breakout junior season propelled him into the spotlight, Leftwich is now receiving his fair share of attention. Talks of a Heisman campaign have once again come up around Huntington, W.Va., making him the school's third player in the last five years to be considered for college football's highest individual honor. Pennington, now with the New York Jets, was a finalist for the award in 1999, and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss was a finalist in 1997.

Leftwich said he learned from watching Pennington, and still talks to his former teammate regularly. But, Leftwich says, the two leave the Heisman talk for the media.

"We talk about it sometimes," Leftwich said, "but he knows me. He knows I'm not going to let it get to me. I got to see him go through everything. I learned a lot from him, how to act in this situation. Hopefully, I don't let this stuff get to my head. But we don't talk about it much. We really just talk about life in general."

While Florida's Rex Grossman and Miami's Ken Dorsey have garnered most of the preseason Heisman talk, Marshall is prepared to give the Washington, D.C. native a run at the award. The media relations department has ordered a life-size poster of the 6-foot-6, 240-pounder and 1,000 replica bobblehead dolls to help bring additional recognition to the once unheralded quarterback. And at least three games on national television should help Leftwich too.

But with all the newfound hype surrounding him, Leftwich remains cool.

"There's pressure, but pressure comes with the quarterback position," he said. "But it's good pressure. It is great for the program and great for the school to have someone up for the Heisman. Right now, (all the hype) doesn't mean much. It will mean something if they're still saying all this in late November or early December. "I'm just going to try to lead my team to victory. If I win, I win. If I don't, I don't."

Brandon M. Bickerstaff is an intern at ESPN.com. He can be reached at brandon.m.bickerstaff@espnpub.com.