In a year where anyone could still win the award in November, let’s look at what it takes to win the Heisman by evaluating the 30 greatest winners.
In the words of the Heisman Trophy Trust’s mission statement, the award “annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity.” There are no hard and fast criteria beyond that, and voters are each tasked with setting their own criteria for determining who fits the bill in a given year.
This season it seems as though Lamar Jackson is beginning to separate himself from the slew of challengers for the Heisman, though the award is never really won until the dust has settled on key games in November. So while the Louisville quarterback looks like the frontrunner at this point, an injury or another loss could just as easily knock him back in the pack of contenders.
With this in mind, we’ve set out to take on the task of trying to figure out a way to rank the Heisman winners. What we have devised is a system that aims to normalize the accomplishments of players across eras in the sport’s evolution, drawing upon several metrics in order to determine a player’s real value in terms of scoring prowess, helping his team win games, and how voters perceived the winner in relation to the competition that year.
So click through as we rate our 30 greatest Heisman winners in college football history. (All statistics are from the Heisman website unless otherwise noted, and take into account only those games before the award was presented.)
30. Tony Dorsett (RB/Pittsburgh)
Received 75.0% of the vote in 1976
- RUSHING: 338 carries, 1948 yards, 21 TDs
- RECEIVING: 7 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD
- 5.86 yards/play
- 15.7 plays/TD
Over his first three years at Pittsburgh, Tony Dorsett began to build up one of the greatest resumes ever assembled by a college running back. He ran for nearly 1700 yards as a freshman in 1973, and rushed for over 1000 yards in each of the next two years as well. As a junior in 1975, he finished fourth in Heisman voting behind repeat winner Archie Griffin, setting himself up as one of the favorites to win the award as a senior.
The bicentennial year of 1976 proved especially momentous for Pittsburgh, as the Panthers finished with a perfect 12-0 record and were awarded the national championship. Dorsett saved his finest college season for his last, finishing the regular season with more than 2000 total yards from scrimmage and 22 touchdowns. He scored a touchdown every sixteenth time he touched the football, helping power a championship-winning offense and earning his school’s first (and as yet only) Heisman Trophy.
29. Howard Cassady (RB/Ohio State)
Received 55.9% of the vote in 1955
- PASSING: 2/10 (20.0%), 39 yards, 0 TDs
- RUSHING: 161 carries, 958 yards, 15 TDs
- RECEIVING: 1 reception, 6 yards, 0 TDs
- 5.83 yards/play
- 11.5 plays/TD
Howard “Hopalong” Cassady played in an era that is increasingly remembered only through grainy black-and-white video. The Ohio State running back gained nearly 1000 yards on the season in 1955, needing less than a dozen plays on average to score a touchdown. That year the Buckeyes repeated as Big Ten champions, but were unable to attend the Rose Bowl due to a league policy that prevented the same team from appearing two years in a row.
Cassady was still dominant, winning the Heisman vote in four out of the five reagions. (TCU’s junior running back Jim Swink finished first ahead of second-place Cassady in the southwestern Heisman voting.) In addition to his 161 carries, the versatile back also attempted 10 passes and caught one pass for six yards. It was actually a regression from previous campaigns where Cassady had been a pivotal part of Ohio State’s run game. The versatile back finished with 1003 all-purpose yards, scored 15 touchdowns, and finished on two-thirds of voters’ ballots.
28. Ty Detmer (QB/Brigham Young)
Received 53.9% of the vote in 1990
- PASSING: 361/562 (62.4%), 5188 yards, 41 TDs
- RUSHING: 73 carries, -166 yards, 4 TDs
- 7.91 yards/play
- 14.1 plays/TD
Ty Detmer became BYU’s full-time starter as a sophomore in 1989, and immediately began to light up opposing defenses to begin building a Heisman campaign. In 1990, Detmer set a record for passing yards in a single season that continued to stand for 13 seasons. In throwing for over 5000 yards and 41 touchdowns, the BYU quarterback led the Cougars to their second of five straight WAC championships to earn his trip to Manhattan.
Through a combination of gaudy statistics, a huge game at home against high-powered Miami early in the season, and an ingenious marketing campaign, Detmer won the majority of the points available in all six regions of the country. Detmer returned the following season hoping to become the first player since Archie Griffin to win the Heisman two years in a row, but diminished statistics led him to finish third behind Desmond Howard in 1991.
27. Tom Harmon (RB/Michigan)
Received 54.3% of the vote in 1940
- PASSING: 43/94 (45.7%), 506 yards, 6 TDs
- RUSHING: 191 carries, 852 yards, 15 TDs
- KICK RETURNS: 50 returns, 1896 yards, 0 TDs
- PUNT RETURNS: 25 returns, 348 yards, 0 TDs
- KICKING: 21 total points (18 XP, 1 FG)
- 10.01 yards/play
- 17.1 plays/TD
Tom Harmon won Michigan’s first Heisman Trophy thanks to a versatile and dominant effort on both offense and special teams. The single-wing tailback handled passing and rushing responsibilities in the Wolverine offense, finishing the season with 21 touchdowns as Fritz Crisler’s team finished third in the final AP poll and won what was then known as the Western Conference. Harmon also served as the team’s placekicker and return man, fielding 75 combined punts and kickoffs and finishing the year with 21 points from his foot.
Harmon finished the year as the top Heisman candidate in four out of the five regions voting around the country. Only the southwest region dissented, putting Harmon second in the voting behind Texas A&M running back John Kimbrough. Harmon ranks fourth all-time among Heisman winners in terms of yards per play, and remains one of the most versatile winners of the award in its long history.
26. Dick Kazmaier (RB/Princeton)
Received 60.0% of the vote in 1951
- PASSING: 77/123 (62.6%), 966 yards, 13 TDs
- RUSHING: 149 carries, 861 yards, 9 TDs
- 6.72 yards/play
- 12.4s plays/TD
Dick Kazmaier became Princeton’s only Heisman winner when he took the award in 1951. The running back blew out the competition that year, receiving more than four times the number of total points from the ballots than runner-up Hank Lauricella from Tennessee. While Lauricella played for the AP national champion and finished with better rushing stats, Kazmaier also contributed to the Tigers’ undefeated season with his passing prowess as well.
Kazmaier’s Heisman proved to be the end of an era. He proved to be the last player in a single-wing offense to win the award, and he was also the last of just three Ivy League players to ever take home the honors. In an era where completing even 50 percent of passing attempts was considered a solid effort, Kazmaier completed nearly 63 percent of his throws for almost 1000 yards. Combined with his rushing prowess, it was enough to overcome his competition.
25. Ricky Williams (RB/Texas)
Received 85.2% of the vote in 1998
- RUSHING: 361 carries, 2124 yards, 27 TDs
- RECEIVING: 24 receptions, 62 yards, 1 TD
- 5.68 yards/play
- 13.8 plays/TD
After a junior season in 1997 in which he finished the year with over 2000 yards from scrimmage and 25 touchdowns, Ricky Williams finished fifth in the Heisman voting. A year later, he racked up 2124 rushing yards in 11 games and added another 262 receiving yards in the regular season to run away with the Heisman. (Those figures are before he romped for 248 total yards against Mississippi State in the Cotton Bowl.)
As a result of his wire-to-wire dominance, Williams swept the Heisman voting across all six regions. The Longhorn running back earned 714 of the 921 first-place votes, and beat out a cluttered field of quarterbacks who all failed to distinguish themselves as more significant to their teams’ successes than Williams was in 1998. In Mack Brown’s first season as head coach, the running back made his job a whole lot easier as the Longhorns built the foundation for early 21st century success.
24. Joe Bellino (RB/Navy)
Received 52.9% of the vote in 1960
- PASSING: 5/14 (35.7%), 112 yards, 2 TDs
- RUSHING: 168 carries, 834 yards, 15 TDs
- RECEIVING: 17 receptions, 280 yards, 3 TDs
- KICK RETURNS: 13 returns, 286 yards, 0 TDs
- PUNT RETURNS: 5 returns, 97 yards, 0 TDs
- DEFENSE: 2 interceptions
- KICKING: 2 extra points, 11 quick kicks (47.1 avg)
- 7.56 yards/play
- 11.0 plays/TD
Joe Bellino was one of the last wave of one-platoon players, starring on both sides of the ball en route to his 1960 Heisman victory. The man known as the “Winchester Rifle” in honor of his Massachusetts hometown became the first Navy man to win the award by doing a bit of everything for the Midshipmen. He finished with more than twice as many points in the final voting than Minnesota guard Tom Brown and finished atop voting in every region of the country.
Bellino was most well-known as a runner in the Navy backfield, finishing with 834 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in the 1960 season. He also threw 14 passes, connecting on only five but gaining 112 yards and two more scores through the air. Further, he caught 17 passes out of the backfield for another 280 yards and three scores. He was a designated return man for the Midshipmen, adding nearly 300 yards on 18 combined kicks and punts. In the defensive backfield he caught two interceptions, and also served as a kicker for a Navy team that finished fourth in the AP poll.
23. Chris Weinke (QB/Florida State)
Received 58.9% of the vote in 2000
- PASSING: 266/431 (61.7%), 4167 yards, 33 TDs
- RUSHING: 30 carries, -97 yards, 1 TD
- 8.83 yards/play
- 13.6 plays/TD
Chris Weinke followed in Charlie Ward’s footsteps as Florida State’s second Heisman winner. A year earlier he had quarterbacked the Seminoles to the national title, setting himself up for a run at the Heisman in 2000. He would lead FSU back to the BCS championship game as Bobby Bowden’s team played for a national title for the third straight year, as the BCS system vaulted the Seminoles over rival Miami despite the Hurricanes dealing FSU its only loss of the regular season.
Though the Seminoles lost to Oklahoma in the title game, the senior quarterback surpassed his previous season statistics to finish ahead of Sooners quarterback Josh Heupel in a tight Heisman vote. Weinke threw for over 4000 yards to finish the year first nationally in yards per play and in total passing yards. His 33 touchdowns were the second-most in the country, and far ahead of all other national contenders that year.
22. Jason White (QB/Oklahoma)
Received 53.5% of the vote in 2003
- PASSING: 265/414 (64.0%), 3744 yards, 40 TDs
- RUSHING: 35 carries, -104 yards, 1 TD
- RECEIVING: 7 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD
- 8.11 yards/play
- 11.0 plays/TD
Jason White’s story is one of perseverance, as he recovered from two different ACL surgeries earlier in his collegiate career to win the 2003 Heisman. The Oklahoma quarterback ranked second nationally in passing touchdowns and first in passing efficiency, leading a Sooner offense that finished third in the AP poll after losing in the BCS title game to Nick Saban and LSU at the Sugar Bowl.
When it came time for Heisman voting to take place, White finished just 128 points ahead of Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The two leaders evenly split the six voting regions, though White was the only one to finish either first or second in every region across the country. After winning the Heisman, White returned to the Sooners in 2004 as the only Heisman winner ever to be granted a sixth year of eligibility due to medical hardships. He ultimately finished third behind USC’s Matt Leinart and teammate Adrian Peterson in his bid to match Archie Griffin’s back-to-back awards.
21. Doug Flutie (QB/Boston College)
Received 71.1% of the vote in 1984
- PASSING: 233/386 (60.4%), 3454 yards, 27 TDs
- RUSHING: 66 carries, 379 yards, 3 TDs
- 8.48 yards/play
- 15.1 plays/TD
Doug Flutie is one of those names that resonates in college football history largely because of his Hail Mary to Gerald Phelan to beat Miami in 1984. This single play remains one of the most-watched highlights in college football history, replayed year after year. But Flutie was more than just a one-hit wonder, as he was the catalyst for Boston College’s position as the top-rated scoring offense in the country that season.
Flutie helped lead BC to a 10-win season and a fifth-place finish in the AP poll on the strength of over 3800 total yards and 30 touchdowns from scrimmage. When it came time to vote for the Heisman in 1984, Flutie ended up receiving two-thirds of the first-place votes and finished nearly 1000 points ahead of the runner-up, Ohio State running back Keith Byars. That voting held across all regions, as the senior won Boston College’s first and as yet only Heisman Trophy.
20. Rashaan Salaam (RB/Colorado)
Received 63.2% of the vote in 1994
- RUSHING: 297 carries, 2138 yards, 27 TDs
- RECEIVING: 25 receptions, 300 yards, 0 TDs
- 7.57 yards/play
- 11.9 plays/TD
After coming close in recent years with Darian Hagan (5th in 1989) and Eric Bieniemy (3rd in 1990), Rashaan Salaam’s overpowering 1994 season finally won Colorado its first Heisman Trophy. Salaam rushed for over seven yards a carry and offered a dangerous pass-catching option out of the backfield. He led the country in yards from scrimmage, rushing yards, and total touchdowns.
Salaam finished the season with nearly twice as many total points in the Heisman balloting as runner-up Ki-Jana Carter of Penn State. The closest he came to losing any of the six regions was in the midwest, where Carter still finished 63 points behind the Buffaloes star. That year Colorado swept to the Big 8 title and trounced Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl to cap an 11-1 season and third-place finish in the AP poll, and Salaam was the catalyst for that success.
19. Johnny Manziel (QB/Texas A&M)
Received 72.9% of the vote in 2012
- PASSING: 273/400 (68.3%), 3419 yards, 24 TDs
- RUSHING: 184 carries, 1181 yards, 19 TDs
- 7.88 yards/play
- 13.6 plays/TD
Johnny Manziel took the SEC by storm in Texas A&M’s first year in the league. Manziel put up 4600 total yards from scrimmage against the 20th toughest schedule in football that season, throwing for 3400 yards and adding nearly 1200 on the ground. He ranked third nationally in passing efficiency and finished first in the country in total touchdowns. His signature moment came on the road in an Aggies upset of eventual national champion Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the only loss suffered by the Crimson Tide that year.
In the 2012 Heisman voting, Manziel outshone every offensive candidate in the running. Only Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o came within 300 points of Manziel in the voting, as he became the first redshirt freshman to win the Heisman honors. The electric freshman finished first in the voting in five of the six regions in becoming the first Texas A&M player to win the Heisman since John David Crow took home the award 55 years earlier.
18. Charlie Ward (QB/Florida State)
Received 83.8% of the vote in 1993
- PASSING: 264/380 (69.5%), 3032 yards, 27 TDs
- RUSHING: 65 carries, 339 yards, 4 TDs
- RECEIVING: 1 receptions, 10 yards, 0 TDs
- 7.58 yards/play
- 14.4 plays/TD
Charlie Ward was the quarterback who finally broke the streak of bad luck in Tallahassee and earned Bobby Bowden his first national title as the Florida State head coach as well as the first Heisman Trophy in school history. The two-sport star who went on to play in the NBA guided the Seminoles to an 11-1 record that culminated in a #1-versus-#2 victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. His 31 total touchdowns ranked seventh nationally, and he proved to be a threat with both his arm and his legs.
By playing for such a high-profile team that was ranked first for all but one week of the 1993 season, Ward was consistently in the spotlight in big games. The result was a landslide in Heisman voting, as Ward swept every region of the country by at least 200 points, won 80 percent of all first-place votes, and finished with more than five out of every six possible points from the ballots.
17. Robert Griffin III (QB/Baylor)
Received 60.7% of the vote in 2011
- PASSING: 267/369 (72.4%), 3998 yards, 36 TDs
- RUSHING: 161 carries, 644 yards, 9 TDs
- RECEIVING: 7 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD
- 8.76 yards/play
- 11.8 plays/TD
The only Heisman winner to have a better completion percentage in his winning season was Syracuse’s Ernie Davis, who threw and completed exactly one pass in 1961 for a perfect mark. Among actual quarterbacks, nobody has been more accurate throwing the ball than Robert Griffin III when he brought Baylor its first Heisman Trophy victory in 2011. Griffin scored three different ways — throwing for 3998 yards and 36 touchdowns, adding 644 yards and nine scores on the ground, and also catching seven passes on trick plays for 73 yards and another TD.
Though the voting was close between Griffin and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, the Baylor star finished in first place in five of six regions of the country. (Luck won the far west.) Griffin led an offense that scored 45 points per game and which finished with the first 10-win season in Waco for the first time in three decades. Griffin’s Heisman helped lauch Baylor into the upper echelons of the Big 12 and the FBS and the Okinawa-born quarterback became just the third player born outside the US to win the award.
16. John Lujack (QB/Notre Dame)
Received 74.2% of the vote in 1947
- PASSING: 61/109 (56.0%), 777 yards, 9 TDs
- RUSHING: 12 carries, 139 yards, 1 TD
- 7.57 yards/play
- 12.1 plays/TD
Johnny Lujack was one of the most explosive T-formation quarterbacks in college history, leading Notre Dame to the 1947 national championship. During the season the Fighting Irish finished a perfect 9-0, dominating their competition with the third-highest scoring offense in the country. Lujack was the catalyst for that offense, scoring 10 touchdowns in just 111 plays as Notre Dame beat their opponents by an average of 26.5 points per game.
In the Heisman voting, Lujack won in three of the five regions. Doak Walker of SMU finished ahead of Lujack in the southwest as a sophomore, and a year later the Mustang running back became just the second junior to win the award. In the midwest, where Lujack was based, he was beaten out by Michigan’s Bob Chappuis. In the end, though, Lujack received nearly 75 percent of the available points in the voting and was in the top two all across the country.
15. Frank Sinkwich (QB/Georgia)
Received 99.7% of the vote in 1942
- PASSING: 89/176 (50.6%), 1456 yards, 10 TDs
- RUSHING: 186 carries, 828 yards, 17 TDs
- RECEIVING: 2 receptions, 33 yards, 0 TDs
- 6.37 yards/play
- 13.5 plays/TD
During the course of the United States’ first year of involvement in World War II, it was a Georgia senior who dominated the voting for the Heisman. Frank Sinkwich led the Bulldogs to an SEC title and a 9-0 Rose Bowl victory over UCLA to finish second nationally in the AP poll behind Ohio State. Sinkwich, an immigrant from Zagreb, Croatia, threw for over 1400 yards and finished the regular season with more than 2300 total yards from scrimmage.
The runner-up in the Heisman voting, Columbia quarterback Paul Governali, finished with nearly five times fewer total points from the ballots than Sinkwich. The Georgia star ended up winning the vote in every region, ultimately earning all but a few first-place votes. Only three other players in Heisman history have finished with even 90 percent of the possible points, and nobody has come nearly as close as Sinkwich to winning the award unanimously.
14. Mike Rozier (RB/Nebraska)
Received 57.2% of the vote in 1983
- RUSHING: 275 carries, 2148 yards, 29 TDs
- RECEIVING: 9 receptions, 108 yards, 0 TDs
- KICK RETURNS: 11 returns, 232 yards, 0 TDs
- 8.43 yards/play
- 10.2 plays/TD
Mike Rozier remains one of the greatest running backs in Nebraska’s long and storied history. As a junior in 1982, he set the Cornhuskers season rushing record with over 1600 yards and 15 touchdowns. Then, as a senior, he obliterated his own marks to win the Heisman Trophy. Rozier rushed for over 2100 yards and scored 29 rushing touchdowns to lead college football in both marks, and finished with nearly 2500 all-purpose hards with an additional 20 receptions and kick returns.
Rozier was part of a Nebraska team that went undefeated in the regular season to win the Big 8, but then lost 31-30 in the Orange Bowl to Miami when Tom Osborne elected to go for two despite Rozier being sidelined by an ankle injury. In Heisman voting before the bowl game, Rozier won in every region. In the end he earned more than three times as many first-place votes as runner-up Steve Young of BYU to capture Nebraska’s second of three Heisman Trophy wins.
13. Charles Woodson (CB/Michigan)
Received 65.7% of the vote in 1997
- RUSHING: 3 carries, 15 yards, 1 TD
- RECEIVING: 11 receptions, 231 yards, 2 TDs
- PUNT RETURNS: 33 returns, 283 yards, 1 TD
- DEFENSE: 7 interceptions, 43 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 sack, 5 pass break-ups
- 9.93 yards/play
- 13.5 plays/TD
Before his storied career as a defensive back in the NFL, Charles Woodson was a two-way star in an era of specialization. In addition to his role as a shutdown corner for the Wolverines, Woodson also moonlighted on offense and special teams to make an impact in all three phases of the game. He intercepted seven passes, scored three touchdowns on offense as well as a famous punt return against Ohio State, and finished ninth all-time among Heisman winners in yards per play.
The Michigan man was a key part of the school’s most recent national championship, which they split with Nebraska in 1997 after knocking off Washington State 21-16 in the Rose Bowl. In Heisman voting he earned 150 more first-place votes than Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, winning in every region but the south. In the process, Woodson became the first true two-way player since Ernie Davis in 1961 to win the award.
12. Vinny Testaverde (QB/Miami)
Received 70.3% of the vote in 1986
- PASSING: 175/276 (63.4%), 2557 yards, 26 TDs
- RUSHING: 46 carries, -103 yards, 4 TDs
- RECEIVING: 7 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD
- 7.62 yards/play
- 10.7 plays/TD
Three years after the school won its first national title, Vinny Testaverde brought the Miami Hurricanes their first Heisman Trophy victory. Testaverde finished first in the country in both passing touchdowns and total touchdowns and second in passing yards per attempt as he led a Miami offense that was third nationally in scoring. The Hurricanes went undefeated and spent 10 weeks atop the AP poll before losing the Fiesta Bowl 14-10 to Penn State.
The quarterback was the beneficiary of Miami’s growth into a powerhouse, though he certainly did plenty to earn the Heisman. Testaverde ranks seventh among Heisman-winning quarterbacks in plays per touchdown, and he dominated voting in the year of his victory. The Canes QB swept the regional votes, finishing with two-thirds of the first-place votes available and more than three times as many total points as runner-up Paul Palmer of Temple.
11. Glenn Davis (RB/Army)
Received 79.2% of the vote in 1946
- PASSING: 19/47 (40.4%), 396 yards, 4 TDs
- RUSHING: 123 carries, 712 yards, 7 TDs
- RECEIVING: 20 receptions, 356 yards, 6 TD
- KICK RETURNS: 2 returns, 77 yards, 0 TDs
- PUNT RETURNS: 24 returns, 272 yards, 0 TDs
- 8.39 yards/play
- 12.7 plays/TD
The “Mr. Outside” to 1945 Heisman winner Doc Blanchard’s “Mr. Inside” at Army, Glenn Davis was part of one of only two backfields to feature two Heisman winners (the other being USC’s Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush) at the same time. The back finished with over 1400 yards of offense and 17 touchdowns earned three different ways, while adding nearly 350 return yards on 26 combined punts and kicks.
Despite also competing against his teammate in the Heisman voting, Davis won in four of the five regions of the country. He finished second in the south behind Georgia’s Charlie Trippi, but finished with nearly twice as many overall points as the Bulldogs running back in the final tally for the award. Davis did a bit of everything his senior year as Army went an unbeaten 9-0-1 but lost out to Notre Dame in the national championship race.
10. Tim Tebow (QB/Florida)
Received 70.5% of the vote in 2007
- PASSING: 217/317 (68.5%), 3132 yards, 29 TDs
- RUSHING: 194 carries, 838 yards, 22 TDs
- 7.77 yards/play
- 10.0 plays/TD
Given his NFL struggles and his foray into minor-league baseball, it is easy to forget just how dominant Tim Tebow was during his time with the Florida Gators. Tebow dominated opponents with both his arm and his legs, throwing for 29 touchdowns and rushing for another 22 to become the first player to score 20 or more both through the air and on the ground. The Gator quarterback scored a touchdown on every tenth play and won the Heisman despite a down season for Urban Meyer’s Florida.
Tebow won despite a serious challenge from fellow SEC star Darren McFadden of Arkansas, as the two finished 254 points apart in the final tally. But Tebow finished first on the ballots in every region but the southwest, and he earned 171 more first-place votes than McFadden in the end. In the process he became the first sophomore to win the award, and while the Gators won the national title the following year Tebow never managed to join Archie Griffin as a two-time winner.
9. Barry Sanders (RB/Oklahoma State)
Received 68.3% of the vote in 1988
- PASSING: 1/2 (50.0%), 17 yards, 0 TDs
- RUSHING: 344 carries, 2628 yards, 37 TDs
- RECEIVING: 19 receptions, 106 yards, 0 TDs
- KICK RETURNS: 21 returns, 421 yards, 1 TD
- PUNT RETURNS: 9 returns, 95 yards, 1 TD
- DEFENSE: 1 tackle
- 8.27 yards/play
- 10.1 plays/TD
There was really no reason to suspect that Barry Sanders would become a force of nature in 1988, as he had fewer than 1000 total yards of offense in his first two yaers with the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Then he scored 39 total touchdowns and finished the year with over 3200 all-purpose yards. And this was before Oklahoma State played Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl, a game in which Sanders racked up 276 more yards and five touchdowns on the overmatched Wyoming defense.
No modern running back has finished with more regular-season hards, a big part of the reason why Sanders ran away with the Heisman that year. Sanders more than doubled the Heisman point total of the runner-up, USC quarterback Rodney Peete, and he won handily in every region of the country. Though Oklahoma State finished third in the Big 8 that year, Sanders’ production made him a consensus winner of the award.
8. Troy Smith (QB/Ohio State)
Received 91.6% of the vote in 2006
- PASSING: 199/297 (67.0%), 2507 yards, 30 TDs
- RUSHING: 62 carries, 233 yards, 1 TD
- RECEIVING: 7 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD
- 7.63 yards/play
- 11.6 plays/TD
Though it is forgotten in the aftermath of Ohio State’s 2007 BCS defeat to Florida, Troy Smith was one of the surest things as a Heisman winner in the sport’s history. As one of only four Heisman winners to finish with over 90 percent of the available points, Smith won every region in the country and finished with nearly three times as many points in the final tally as runner-up Darren McFadden of Arkansas.
Smith was efficient and poised in leading Ohio State to the only undefeated regular season of 2006, completing 67 percent of his passes and leading the Big Ten in passing efficiency, passing yards per attempt, and passing touchdowns. He outdueled Michigan in a showdown of the top two ranked teams in the country to get the Buckeyes into the BCS national championship, securing the Heisman in the process.
7. Reggie Bush (RB/Southern California)
Received 91.8% of the vote in 2005
- PASSING: 0/2 (0.0%), 0 yards, 0 TDs
- RUSHING: 200 carries, 1740 yards, 16 TDs
- RECEIVING: 37 receptions, 478 yards, 2 TDs
- KICK RETURNS: 28 returns, 493 yards, 0 TD
- PUNT RETURNS: 18 returns, 179 yards, 1 TD
- 10.14 yards/play
- 15.0 plays/TD
Though his award has since been vacated by the Heisman Trust, those games from 2005 cannot be unplayed. We all saw what Reggie Bush could do as the USC Trojans marched toward a third straight national championship before falling to Vince Young and Texas in one of the greatest games in college history. His sheer dominance deserves recognition, as the scandal of receiving benefits in no way diminishes his greatness on the field.
Bush ranks second among Heisman-winning running backs in terms of all-purpose yards on offense and returns behind only Barry Sanders, and he did it against tougher competition for a team that was in the midst of one of the greatest runs in college football history. Bush scored 19 touchdowns and just under 2900 all-purpose yards for the Trojans, and he finished with the highest yards per play average of any Heisman winner with at least 200 touches.
6. Sam Bradford (QB/Oklahoma)
Received 62.1% of the vote in 2008
- PASSING: 302/442 (68.3%), 4464 yards, 48 TDs
- RUSHING: 40 carries, 65 yards, 5 TDs
- 9.40 yards/play
- 9.1 plays/TD
Sam Bradford set the record for touchdowns in a season when he won the Heisman Trophy in 2008 with Oklahoma. The Sooners quarterback threw for nearly 4500 yards with 48 passing touchdowns, and added five more touchdowns in goal-line situations on the ground. While Oklahoma went on to lose in the BCS championship game to Florida 24-14, Bradford steered the Sooners to a 12-1 regular season and the Big 12 title.
He is one of just nine Heisman winners to average a touchdown in under 10 plays, displaying a dynamic scoring prowess when he remained healthy. In the voting for the award, Bradford defeated Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow in one of the tightest three-way Heisman races in history. He stayed in Norman for his senior season in 2009, but was unable to challenge for a second straight Heisman after getting injured after just three games of his junior year.
5. Cam Newton (QB/Auburn)
Received 81.6% of the vote in 2010
- PASSING: 165/246 (67.1%), 2589 yards, 28 TDs
- RUSHING: 242 carries, 1409 yards, 20 TDs
- RECEIVING: 1 receptions, 20 yards, 1 TD
- 8.22 yards/play
- 10.0 plays/TD
Cam Newton had a circuitous route to the Heisman, transferring from Florida to Blinn Junior College before arriving in Auburn for one season in 2010. The dual-threat quarterback joined Tim Tebow as the only Heisman-winning quarterbacks to pass for 20 or more touchdowns and rush for 20 or more as well. In racking up 49 total touchdowns and over 4000 yards from scrimmage, Newton led the Tigers to a perfect 14-0 record, the SEC title, and a win over Oregon in the BCS national championship.
In the Heisman voting, Newton earned 729 of a possible 926 first-place votes, and finished with more than twice as many points in the final vote as runner-up Andrew Luck of Stanford. The redshirt junior quarterback finished atop the voting in all six regions across the country, including the far west where Luck played his college ball. In the process he earned Auburn’s third Heisman Trophy and the school’s first in 25 years.
4. Jameis Winston (QB/Florida State)
Received 79.1% of the vote in 2013
- PASSING: 237/349 (67.9%), 3820 yards, 38 TDs
- RUSHING: 77 carries, 193 yards, 4 TDs
- 9.42 yards/play
- 10.1 plays/TD
Jameis Winston kept a trend going in 2013, becoming the second straight redshirt freshman to win the Heisman Trophy after Johnny Manziel broke that barrier in 2012. Winston scored 42 total touchdowns and finished with over 4000 yards on the season as he followed in the footsteps of Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke as Florida State quarterbacks who can claim both a national title and a Heisman victory.
In his first season as a starter, Winston went 14-0 with the Seminoles and knocked off Auburn 34-31 in the final BCS championship game before the switch to the College Football Playoff. In the Heisman voting, the FSU quarterback finished with more than three times as many votes as runner-up A.J. McCarron of Alabama. Further, Winston won by at least 200 points in every region across the country, underscoring just how dominant he was for Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles in 2013.
3. Marcus Mariota (QB/Oregon)
Received 90.9% of the vote in 2014
- PASSING: 254/372 (68.3%), 3803 yards, 38 TDs
- RUSHING: 117 carries, 669 yards, 14 TDs
- RECEIVING: 1 reception, 26 yards, 1 TD
- 9.18 yards/play
- 9.2 plays/TD
Marcus Mariota finished his redshirt junior season as Oregon’s first Heisman winner as well as the first Polynesian and the first player from Hawaii to win the award. Mariota tied Sam Bradford’s record for most total touchdowns by a Heisman winner, adding 14 rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown to the 38 he threw over the course of the regular season. The Ducks quarterback ranks eighth all-time among his fellow winners in terms of plays per touchdown.
In the process he became just the fourth winner in Heisman history to earn 90 percent or more of the possible points total. Mariota finished with more than twice the point total of runner-up Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin, and was named on over 95 percent of the ballots — a record matched only by Frank Sinkwich in the early era of the award. Mariota fell short of leading Oregon to a national championship, losing to Ohio State in the national championship game after beating Winston and Florida State in the 2015 Rose Bowl, but he joined Terry Baker as the only Heisman winners to play for an Oregon school.
2. Angelo Bertelli (QB/Notre Dame)
Received 64.8% of the vote in 1943
- PASSING: 25/36 (69.4%), 512 yards, 10 TDs
- RUSHING: 14 carries, 22 yards, 0 TDs
- 10.68 yards/play
- 5.0 plays/TD
The mythic rise of Angelo Bertelli to Heisman winner is the stuff from which legends are formed. He became the first T-formation quarterback to win the award despite playing just six games with the Fighting Irish, his season cut short by being called up to active duty by the Marines during World War II. In his half-dozen chances to play, Bertelli completed almost 70 percent of his passes for 512 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a result he ranks second among Heisman winners in plays per touchdown.
Though he was forced to leave South Bend before the end of the season, Bertelli ran away with the Heisman after leading the Irish to a 6-0 start to the season. Under Bertelli the Notre Dame offense averaged 43.5 points per game; though they won the national title with a young Johnny Lujack filling in, Notre Dame averaged only 19.8 points after Bertelli’s departure. Bertelli finished with more than three times as many points in the Heisman voting than Penn quarterback Bob Odell.
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.
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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.