Saturday Blitz
Fansided

The 30 Greatest Heisman Trophy Winners in College Football History

By Zach Bigalke

Dec 13, 2014; New York, NY, USA; The Heisman Trophy sits on a pedestal before the pre-announcement press conference at the New York Marriott Marquis. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 13, 2014; New York, NY, USA; The Heisman Trophy sits on a pedestal before the pre-announcement press conference at the New York Marriott Marquis. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
31 of 31
Next

1. Desmond Howard (WR/Michigan)

Received 75.5% of the vote in 1991

  • RUSHING: 12 carries, 165 yards, 2 TDs
  • RECEIVING: 61 receptions, 950 yards, 19 TDs
  • KICK RETURNS: 12 returns, 373 yards, 1 TD
  • PUNT RETURNS: 17 returns, 261 yards, 1 TD
  • 17.15 yards/play
  • 4.4 plays/TD

The greatest Heisman winner by our calculation is one of the few wide receivers to ever win the sport’s greatest honor. In 1991 Desmond Howard dominated college football as few players ever have before. The receiver/returner finished with the second-highest yards per play average among Heisman winners, gaining more than 1700 all-purpose yards. More importantly for the Wolverines, Howard finished with 23 total touchdowns on just 102 touches, averaging a touchdown every fifth play in which he was involved.

Next: 2017 NFL Mock Draft: First-Round Projections after Week 11

That was enough for Heisman voters to definitively give the Wolverines receiver the award ahead of Florida State’s Casey Weldon and 1990 Heisman winner Ty Detmer of BYU. Howard finished with over four times as many points than runner-up Weldon in the final balloting, and the Michigan man won big in every region of the country. Though the Big Ten champions ended up losing to Washington in the Rose Bowl that season and missing out on a shot at a split national title, they could take some solace from having the greatest Heisman winner in the award’s history.

Home/College Football News