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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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Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Ranking NFL careers of Heisman winners: 9. Vinny Testaverde, QB, Miami

Where do we start with the Vinny Testaverde NFL tenure? It definitely didn’t look like things would work out for him when he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It all starts with those creamsicle jerseys and ends with a litany of interceptions.

Testaverde’s college career showed some other interesting developments. He played for the historic Miami Hurricanes team that was looking to dominate in the 80s. The Hurricanes were trying to have a smooth transition from Bernie Kosar, and it looked like Testaverde was that star. He ended up going off his senior season right up until the National Championship.

Then, it was one of the worst performances in the biggest games ever. After running away with the Heisman Trophy, Testaverde threw five interceptions in the Championship against Penn State. He was injured in a scooter accident before the last regular-season game. So, it ended up putting a sour taste to end his college career.

In the pros, it looked like more of the same disappointment. With the Bucs, Testaverde was not great. He threw 77 touchdowns and 112 interceptions in six seasons in Tampa. He led the league in interceptions twice and had the second-most interceptions in one season with 35 in 1988.

After leaving the Bucs, things started to get better. He was decent with the Cleveland Browns, but it is when the team became the Baltimore Ravens that he really started to shine. Testaverde threw for 33 touchdowns in the first season in Baltimore. He made the Pro Bowl for the first of two times. He ended up playing the game for more than two decades.

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