Website: www.heismanpundit.com

Interview With: Chris Huston

When did you start Heisman Pundit?

I started it in August of 2004.

What made you start it?

I was heavily involved in Heisman campaigns at USC and I was bubbling over with a lot of ideas about why and how the award process worked. It originally started as a way to blow off some steam for my friends to read.

What is your background?

My background is mostly in PR. I was an assistant sports information director at USC for six years, where I handled media and PR for football, basketball and a bunch of other sports. After that I had a stint as PR director for the Ultimate Fighting Championships and at Rivals.com. I have maintained my career in PR and web development while continuing to expand Heismanpundit.com.

Do you blog for fun or are you trying to make it a career? What is your goal with this blog?

Both. But increasingly, I would like to branch out and reach a wider audience and the best way to do that is through the mainstream media. My goal is to become the Mel Kiper of the Heisman and to be seen as the authority on that and a respected college football commentator. To that end, I have done a lot of mainstream stuff and hopefully, I can be snatched up full time at some point.

What was your tipping point? What put you on the map?

Getting early links from my friend Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com helped. The explosion of blogs during the summer of 2005 and subsequent wars between them and I that followed helped. The war was over me saying that the spread and other offenses of that ilk were set to conquer college football. I had special vitriol for the SEC and its style and that, of course, that stance brought those fans out of the woodwork. I think two years later, it’s pretty clear that I was the one who had it right, as the spread is now being implemented almost everywhere. But I’d say having Sports Illustrated call me the award’s foremost authority was when the tipping point occurred.

What type of blogging software do you use?

I use Bblog, a free software. It has some bugs but is really easy to use and customize. That said, I’m looking to redesign and overhaul this offseason.

What ad network(s) do you use?

Google Ads, Yardbarker…that’s about it.

How much money do you make off your site monthly?

Oh, not much. Maybe a few hundred bucks.

Who are your top 3 to win the Heisman in 2008?

Chris Wells, Jamaal Charles, Tim Tebow

Any bold predictions for the future of sports on the internet?

I think that more and more, the big boys will have to compete on our playing field. When that happens, it’s all about having talent and being smarter than everyone else. My goal has always been to produce ‘original knowledge’, not just to be a waystation to link to other places and make fun of what someone else produces. I think that more and more talented writers will go online and display their unfettered abilities there instead of for more structured organizations. In response, the organizations are going to loosen up. I have some ideas of my own that I think will be big, but those are top secret for now.

STN’S

Chris knows the Heisman. The experience Chris got while conceiving and working on the Heisman campaigns of Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer is second to none. Chris has already probably swayed opinions of sports writers across America and I am sure as he gets more popular, people will listen to him more. I like Chris’ predictions for next year. He didn’t go with the easy choice of Tim Tebow and chose Chris Wells instead.