NCAA Football: 25 Heisman Trophy finalists who should have won in hindsight
By John Scimeca
It was a different era of college football when defensive linemen and linebackers could be considered frontrunners to win the Heisman Trophy.
Dick Butkus might be best known for the Butkus Award, which is handed out to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels of football each season.
After finishing third in the 1964 Heisman voting, the University of Illinois standout would go on to star for the Chicago Bears, arguably redefining the middle linebacker position on his way to playing in eight Pro Bowls in nine seasons from 1965 to 1973. Today, Butkus is routinely mentioned as one of the best football players of all time and had his number retired by the Chicago Bears.
Butkus finished his college career with 374 tackles and was the team’s leader and captain during a 1963 Rose Bowl title and an 8-1-1 finish; he would finish the season having received the sixth-most Heisman votes.
In 1964, as a senior, the Fighting Illini finished with a 6-3 mark, something that must have affected Butkus’ candidacy, although he rose to receive the third-most votes for the Heisman Trophy.
Two quarterbacks, John Huarte of Notre Dame and Jerry Rhome of Tulsa, finished ahead of Butkus in the 1964 Heisman Trophy ballots. While it may have been just as difficult then to accurately compare a quarterback’s and a middle linebacker’s impact on the football field, it is not even close to who had a greater impact on the sport of football.
Butkus’ time with Illinois established him as one of football’s hardest and turnover-forcing hitters. It’s a shame that more Heisman Trophy voters couldn’t see that 55 years ago.