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College football: Ranking the NFL careers of Heisman Trophy winners 1975-2005

By Nick Villano

Sep 1, 2018; South Bend, IN, USA; Tim Brown the 1987 Heisman Trophy winner poses with the Heisman Trophy at the Heisman House located outside Notre Dame Stadium before the Michigan Wolverines play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2018; South Bend, IN, USA; Tim Brown the 1987 Heisman Trophy winner poses with the Heisman Trophy at the Heisman House located outside Notre Dame Stadium before the Michigan Wolverines play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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George Rogers
George Rogers (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

Ranking NFL careers of Heisman winners: 15. George Rogers, RB, South Carolina

Now that we are in the top 15, we are starting to get to some of the really good NFL careers. While not everyone will hit expectations, they all provided a lot to their respective franchises. George Rogers is no different. He was a monster for the New Orleans Saints, making three Pro Bowls, two All-Pro teams, and sitting in the Saints Hall of Fame.

Before that, Rogers was a monster for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He ran for north of 1,000 yards in just eight games his sophomore season. During his junior season, he became a first-team All-American when he rushed for close to 1,700 yards. His senior season somehow kept getting better. He ran for 1,781 yards and scored 14 times.

Rogers was selected first overall in the 1981 NFL Draft. The Saints would have loved this pick if Lawrence Taylor wasn’t the second-overall pick to the New York Giants.

Rogers was only able to play seven seasons in the NFL. His career was plagued with issues of cocaine use, which was a problem throughout sports at the time. His rookie season might be one of the best of all time, however. He rushed for 1,674 yards and 13 touchdowns in his first year in the league. It looked like he was going to be an all-time great, but his inconsistency took a toll. He had four seasons with more than 1,000 yards rushing. The other three he averaged just under 700 yards. Rogers was great when he was great. His star just burned a little too bright.

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