College football: Ranking every Heisman Trophy winner

71. Ranking every Heisman Trophy Winner: Mike Garrett, USC Trojans football

When thinking of the USC Trojans as “Tailback U,” people often jump to O.J. Simpson, or Marcus Allen, however, they sometimes pass over the man who started it all. Mike Garrett was the epitome of a do-everything running back during his time with the Trojans, getting the job done on the ground, or through the air, and he certainly was not afraid to tote the rock.

In fact, Garrett became the first Heisman winner to average better than 25 carries per game, a feat that seemed unheard of back then. He would run around, or through players, and after a strong showing in both his sophomore and junior seasons, he was ready to take the world by storm in 1965, the year he took home the Heisman Trophy.

During that season, Garrett proved to be incredibly durable for the No. 9-ranked Trojans, rushing for over 1,400 yards, the most by any Heisman Trophy winner up to that point. Garrett was able to rack up 17 touchdowns that season, two coming off punt returns, and he finished his career with plenty of NCAA, Pac 8, and USC records. The first Heisman Trophy winner in the history of this illustrious program, Garrett may not be the first name that jumps to mind when thinking USC backs, but he was the pioneer.

70. Ranking every Heisman Trophy Winner: Vic Janowicz, Ohio State football

The Ohio State Buckeyes have a long history of producing elite talent across multiple sports, and in Vic Janowicz, they had an athlete that literally was a professional in two of them. Janowicz was one of the old-school football players of the late 1940s and early 1950s, guys who would lace them up and play nearly the entire game.

And by that, I do not mean just every play on offense, or every play on defense, no, Janowicz was an iron man, playing nearly 50 minutes per game on both sides of the ball, and even special teams. The tailback on offense in the single-wing formation, as well as an elite safety, Janowicz also handled the punting and kicking duties, making him a triple-threat guy for the Buckeyes.

The third junior to ever win the Heisman Trophy, Janowicz was all over the field during that 1950 season, a season that saw him score 46 points by himself against Iowa and run away with the Heisman Trophy over Kyle Rote of Southern Methodist. Janowicz is one of two Heisman winners to go on to play Major League Baseball, has his No. 31 retired by Ohio State, and has the distinction of being the second member of the Buckeyes to take home a Heisman.

69. Ranking every Heisman Trophy Winner: John Huarte, Notre Dame football

Heading into the 1964 college football season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were in big trouble, as they were a program that was certainly heading in the wrong direction. They had won only seven games combined in the two years prior and were turning to a quarterback that had barely played throughout the previous two seasons in senior signal-caller John Huarte.

Well, once Huarte was handed the helm of the offense, the Irish were in good hands, as he led the team to a huge turnaround, going 9-1, losing to only USC in the final minute. That loss likely kept the Irish from winning a national title, which would have been an incredible feat for the program, and for Huarte, who basically rewrote the program’s passing record book with his dominant senior season.

Huarte set the school’s single-season records for completions and passing yards actually demolished those records and became the sixth member of the program to win the Heisman Trophy. An All-American, Huarte averaged over 10 yards per attempt, throwing for over 2,000 yards on only 205 passes, leaning heavily on the talented Jack Snow. One has to wonder why the program did not turn to him earlier, as he showed he could certainly get it done in South Bend.