Green Wave running back Ray Boudreaux, who has been released from prison on bond and had the attempted murder charges against him reduced to aggravated assault, has been the one making the headlines, but it’s former teammate Matt Forte, who should be garnering all the coverage.

But he isn’t.

Through seven games, Forte leads the NCAA in rushing (1,261 yards) and in rushing yards per game (180.1) and is No. 2 in total yards per game (207.7), but he is getting very little coverage in the media about his outstanding season.

It’s so surprising because the Slidell native has had four games with over 200 yards rushing, including a Conference USA-record 342 yards in a 41-34 overtime win over

Southern Methodist University Oct. 20. That rushing total broke the C-USA mark Forte himself set earlier this season when he rushed for 303 yards against Southeastern Louisiana.

So why isn’t the man who owns the top two rushing performances of the NCAA season

(and four of the Top 29 if you include his other two games over 200 yards) not in the

discussions for the Heisman Trophy?

It’s simple. He plays for the Tulane Green Wave, which is 2-5.

If Forte played up at LSU, Southern California, any other school that is ranked in the Top 25, or even another school with a winning record for that matter, he would be considered as a Heisman candidate.

But instead, Forte plays on a struggling team that has yet to find much more offense than the yards he is producing. The team only averages 14.9 yards per game in rushing yards that aren’t produced by Forte. Their passing offense is ranked No. 102 in the nation. Forte IS this offense.

But he wouldn’t have it any other way. Forte takes pride in his role as a captain. He understands that he has to carry this team on his back. And that is exactly what he did last week against SMU.

With his team desperately needing a victory to stay alive for a bowl berth (teams need six wins to become bowl-eligible), Forte rushed for four touchdowns including the game-winner in overtime.

This season becomes even more remarkable when you realize Forte is coming off of knee surgery stemming from an injury that caused him to miss time last season and didn’t allow him to go full contact until fall practice began in August.

The Heisman is usually given to the best player on one of the best teams, but if the Heisman Trophy is (and should be) awarded to the best player in college football, Forte deserves to at least be in the conversation for the award.

And even if the Heisman Trophy is given to the player who puts up the best statistics, Forte should be in that conversation too.