College football: Ranking every Heisman Trophy winner
By Brad Weiss
29. Ranking every Heisman Trophy Winner: Mike Rozier, Nebraska Cornhuskers football
During the early 1980s, the Nebraska football team had a two-headed monster at the running back position in Roger Craig, and backup, Mike Rozier. After Craig finished up in 1981, a year that saw Rozier rush for nearly 1,000 yards himself, Rozier took over as the feature back and became arguably the best running back in the history of the program.
As a junior, Rozier set the Nebraska single-season rushing record, racking up nearly 1,700 yards for the Cornhuskers, leading them to a 12-1 record and finishing tenth in the Heisman voting. The following season, his senior year, he would re-write the record books of this illustrious program, rushing for an astounding 2,148 yards while scoring 29 touchdowns. Throughout the season, Rozier averaged nearly eight yards per carry.
Leading one of the more prolific offenses of all-time, Rozier became the second Nebraska football player to win the Heisman Trophy, beating out a future Hall of Famer in Steve Young from BYU. To go along with his Heisman, Rozier was also a first-team All-American, and won the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards, as he was the key to an offense that averaged over 50 points per game that season at Nebraska.
28. Ranking every Heisman Trophy Winner: Jameis Winston, Florida State Seminoles football
The Florida State Seminoles found a star in Jameis Winston, who redshirted his first season on campus and then went on to dominate college football the next two years. During his redshirt freshman campaign, Winston not only led the Seminoles to an undefeated season, beating Auburn in the BCS national title game, but he also became the second straight freshman to take home the coveted Heisman Trophy.
From the outset, Winston was electric, going 25-of-27 in his college debut with four touchdown passes against Pitt. After running through the regular season with a perfect record, Winston led Florida State to a drubbing of Duke in the ACC title game, setting the stage for them to beat the Tigers 34-31 for the national championship.
At the time, Winston became the youngest player to ever win the Heisman Trophy, as he was not even 20 years old yet. He edged out Alabama star running back Derrick Henry for the award. Winston was the third Florida State quarterback to win a Heisman, as he also was named a unanimous All-American, won the Davey O’Brien Award, and the Walter Camp. He followed that up with a great sophomore season as well, before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.