College football: Ranking every Heisman Trophy winner
By Brad Weiss
13. Ranking every Heisman Trophy Winner: Bo Jackson, Auburn Tigers football
In the history of sports, there are some athletes that come around every once in a long while and take the world by storm. When it comes to the past forty years, there have been a handful of athletes who have done it in their specific sport, but there has been no athlete quite like Bo Jackson, who was able to be a professional player in two sports and be one of the elites in each.
Staying with our college theme here, we will look at just what Bo did as a member of the Auburn football team, and not discuss the fact he was a high Major League Baseball draft pick and would go on to be an All-Star.
On the gridiron, playing for the Tigers, Jackson dominated SEC defenses, as he was three-times named first-team All-SEC, and was twice named an All-American.
Stepping onto the scene as a true freshman, Jackson dominated from the jump, rushing for almost 900 yards that season, before racking up eight yards per carry as a sophomore and leading the Tigers to an 11-1 record. An injury robbed him in 1984, and he battled injuries as a senior as well, but he was still able to come away with the Heisman Trophy.
During his senior campaign, Jackson rushed for an astounding 1,786 yards, scoring 17 times, and leading Auburn to an 8-3 record. He would go on to be the second Auburn player to win the Heisman, only to Pat Sullivan who did it back in 1971, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would make him the No. 1 overall pick in 1986. However, he declined to play for them, played baseball, and would eventually play in the NFL as a star for the Las Vegas Raiders before a hip injury ended his career.