Ranking the 10 biggest snubs in the history of the Heisman Trophy.
We’re just a few days away from learning who the next Heisman Trophy winner will be, and this year, and there are three qualified candidates, any which with a strong chance to win.
Related: Ranking the last 15 Heisman Trophy Winners
With that said, there might not be a lot of controversy with the next Heisman winner, but plenty of arguments will be made for the candidates. Those candidates being Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson, Alabama Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry and Stanford Cardinal all-purpose back Christian McCaffrey.
Now, we take a look back in history to see some of the greatest players to ever play the game of college football, but are among the biggest snubs when it comes to the Heisman Trophy.
There are players with record-breaking careers and quarterbacks who led their team to national championships. With so many Heisman winners, there are bound to be snubs, and some controversy, but these 10 players represent the 10 players who have the best case for having the Heisman in their trophy case.
With so many decades and eras of college football being represented on this list, there’s a combination of factors that can and cannot be used in deciding how to rank these players. Team record, accolades and stats are all taken into consideration, but because of certain conferences, schedules and injuries, some rankings are harder than others.
Without further delay, here are the 10 biggest Heisman snubs of all-time.
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Three years at San Diego State, three years with at least 1,400 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. As a freshman, he averaged more than seven yards a carry, carrying the rock 201 times for 1,429 yards and 21 touchdowns.
He followed that up with another great year in his sophomore campaign, this time 265 carries for 1,630 yards, but only crossing the goal line 15 times. As a junior, he became the workhorse for the offense, getting 300 carries for 1,530 yards and 22 touchdowns.
His three years at SDSU led him to become a Heisman finalist all three years, finishing ninth in 1991, second in 1992 and fourth in 1993. In 1992, it was Gino Torretta, senior quarterback out of Miami, who won the Heisman. Torretta led his Hurricanes to a 11-0 record before losing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
While San Diego State was never a great team at the time of his career, he was a national phenomenon. The only problem was San Diego State’s performance as a team. Faulk ended his career at SDSU with a 19-15-2 record, which isn’t exactly the type of regular season record you would see from a typical Heisman winner, which could have been what held Faulk away from the Heisman. In 1992, Faulk’s best chance at the Heisman, his Aztecs went 5-5-1.
Next: Randy Moss
Randy Moss had his troubled past heading into his college career. First, Notre Dame was where he signed his letter of intent, but after getting in a fight in high school, Notre Dame denied him admission. Because he was signed already, he had to use a year of eligibility to transfer, where he landed at Florida State.
Moss got into more trouble at Florida State, testing positive for marijuana and was dismissed from the team. That led him to Marshall, where he made his mark as one of the greatest receivers of all-time.
In his 1997 Heisman campaign, he averaged 19 yards a reception, with 96 catches for 1820 yards, to go along with his 26 touchdowns. He went on to win the Biletnikoff Award, was a consensus All-American and won MAC Offensive Player of the Year. He finished 4th in the voting, behind Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning, and Charles Woodson.
It makes you wonder how much better Moss could have been had he been able to enroll at Notre Dame or stay at Florida State. Moss had a first rounder and longtime NFL quarterback in Chad Pennington at Marshall get him the ball, and that was likely his best quarterback he would have played with anyway. So maybe everything worked out for a reason after Moss was taken with the No. 21 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Next: Larry Fitzgerald
Larry Fitzgerald was a little more than 100 votes away from winning the 2003 Heisman Trophy over Oklahoma’s Jason White. In that year, he had 92 receptions for 1,672 yards and 22 touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore. Even in his freshman year, he caught for 1,005 yards and 12 touchdowns.
He only played two seasons at Pittsburgh, but he was proving to be a great receiver since he set foot on campus and his production showed over the course of his two seasons. He went on to earn consensus All-American honors, won the Biletnikoff Award, Big East Offensive Player of the Year and the Walker Camp Player of the Year. To this day, he still holds many Big East receiving records, including receiving touchdowns, and touchdowns.
He was every bit as dynamic and dependable then just as he is now in the NFL where he’s a future Hall of Famer. And back then, he even made his way on the cover of NCAA Football 2005, a feat that only the best student athletes can do after completing their NCAA journey.
Next: Deion Sanders
Before he was Primetime, Deion Sanders was making a name for himself at Florida State. He didn’t get a lot of love in the 1988 Heisman voting, but he went on to win the Thorpe Award, and was a Consensus All-American in back-to-back seasons.
Sanders is considered one of the greatest Florida State Seminoles of all-time. He was blazing fast and could shift to any direction at the drop of a dime. He had 14 career interceptions and averaged 20.5 yards per interception return. The punt return game is also where he was able to flash his abilities, weaving in and out of blocks and juking defenders out of their cleats.
While only one defensive player has ever won the Heisman, you can make the argument that Sanders should have been the first, and not Charles Woodson who would win in 1997.
Next: Adrian Peterson
Adrian Peterson burst onto the season as a freshman when he finished second in the 2004 Heisman voting to USC Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart. He rushed for 1,925 yards that season and scored 15 times, as part of the 12-1 Sooners team that ended up losing to Leinart’s Trojans in the Orange Bowl.
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Peterson hit a bit of a sophomore slump, getting to 1,104 yards, but still reaching the end zone 14 times. Then his junior year was where he started to pick up some more momentum, through his first seven games, he had already reached 1,000 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. But in the middle of the season vs. Iowa State, Peterson was going in for a touchdown on the final drive of the game and broke his collarbone, which sidelined him until the team’s bowl game.
He’s just a rare breed of talent. He can use the speed to get to the outside, and then cut it back in to make a defense miss, or decide to run the defender over. Good for a long 60-yard run or from just outside the five-yard line, Peterson had the ability to score from anywhere.
Next: LaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tomlinson would have had more recognition had he been at a bigger and more dominant program. Although his production made TCU relevant. His first two years he was merely testing the waters, and getting his feet wet, combing for just 1,255 yards in his first two seasons.
Prior to Tomlinson’s arrival, TCU had only been to one bowl game in the past 12 years. With LaDainian Tomlinson in the backfield, TCU reached three straight bowl games. In his freshman year, TCU went on to win one game. But from there, the Horned Frogs went 25-11, including two bowl victories.
He broke out his junior and senior years, just hitting 1,974 rushing yards his junior year, and eclipsing the mark in his senior season, combining for 42 touchdowns in those two seasons.
In 2004, he finished fourth in the Heisman voting, behind Chris Weinke, Josh Heupel and Drew Brees. He was a consensus All-American and Doak Walker Award winner. He also set the single-game rushing record that year with 404 yards.
Next: Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning was a Heisman contender three times, finishing sixth in 1995, eighth in 1996 and second in 1997. Arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, at both levels, yet lost out to Michigan Wolverines defensive back Charles Woodson in 1997 for the Heisman.
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A four-year starter for the Volunteers, Manning went 40-9, including three 10-plus win seasons, and two Citrus Bowl wins. In his senior season, he threw for 3,819 yards to go with his 36 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, reaching 11 wins, and losing in the Orange Bowl to Nebraska.
1997 was his year, winning the Davey O’Brien Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Maxwell Award, SEC Player of the Year and was named a consensus All-American. His time with the Volunteers made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 1998 draft.
Next: Jim Brown
Jim Brown is arguably the best running back to ever play the game and the most dominant, but he never won the Heisman.
He finished fifth in Heisman voting in 1956 with Notre Dame running back Paul Hornung winning despite playing on a losing team. Racism played a part in the vote with “The Golden Boy” Hornung winning, but there was no doubt that Brown was a better player and deserving of the trophy that year.
Brown also handled some kicking for Syracuse and played some defense, finishing the year with three interceptions, the second-highest total on the Orange.
It’s hard to bring up his stats and compare them to the stats of today, simply because that’s over 50 years of evolution for college football. In a tough, ground and pound style of game back in the day, Brown was one of the most punishing backs to ever play the game.
Next: Tommie Frazier
Tommie Frazier was edged in the Heisman by Ohio State running back Eddie George in 1995. George was a worthy winner, but Frazier was a special talent at Nebraska where he only lost four games in four seasons, and led his team a 12-0 record in his senior season and winning the national championship.
He controlled games with a strong mix of the pass and the run as he orchestrated the Nebraska option attack, throwing the ball 162 times, and rushing the ball 97 times. He had a combined 31 (17 passing, 14 rushing) touchdowns to four interceptions that season, which led him to be named a consensus All-American.
Frazier had some health issues with blood clots his junior year, which limited his season, otherwise Frazier would have had another likely top-five finish in the Heisman vote.
Next: Vince Young
Vince Young lost the Heisman to Reggie Bush 2005, but Young got the last laugh, winning the BCS National Championship Game with his touchdown run in the closing seconds serving as the game-winning score. It later turns out Bush would vacate his Heisman due to NCAA penalties during his time at USC, which should give the Heisman to Young.
The voting that year wasn’t entirely close, but Young was just such an incredible athlete, and could beat a defense through the air or on the ground, and led the Longhorns to a championship in 2005.
Young, like Manning, was so good in college that if you surveyed 100 random college football fans, they’d probably tell you they actually won the Heisman, but the history books don’t remember it that way.
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His name is all over the Big 12 record books, he is a champion and was the face of the Texas program for three years, but despite all that, he doesn’t have the Heisman to show for his work.