Saturday Blitz
Fansided

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 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 31
Next
Gino Torretta
Gino Torretta (Photo by “nTom Ewart/Allsport/Getty Images) /

Ranking NFL careers of Heisman winners: 25. Gino Torretta, QB, Miami

Gino Torretta was a massive star at the University of Miami. He won two National Championships including one as a starter where he beat rival and then-number 1 Florida State in the title game. His final two seasons with Miami showed a great quarterback building a solid career. That was, until it became clear that the QB wasn’t what the NFL was looking for. He didn’t get taken until the seventh round of the draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

Torretta threw for 41 yards in the NFL. He made 16 passes despite spending five seasons in the league. He just never got an opportunity, and he eventually retired in 1997 after spending yet another season where he didn’t play.

There are many who think others deserved the Heisman Trophy more than Torretta and that the fact he was on a stacked Miami team was the only reason he won the award. Many wanted Marshall Faulk to win the award, and he would have been much higher on this list. However, Torretta was still a very good QB for his time. The real reason most teams probably got scared away by Torretta is how he played on the biggest stage. Alabama ate him for lunch in the 1992 National Championship Game. The 11-man front threw him off some terribly that he was never the same.

Torretta works in finance and also helps with college football analysis for Sirius XM radio. He’s spending a nice life after football, and it’s likely he has no regrets. However, it is safe to say he’s one of the worst Heisman winners when it comes to an NFL career.

Home/College Football News