Heisman winners by year: Complete history of players to win college football's top award

The Heisman Trophy remains the most prestigious award in the now crowded space of college football accolades, and each year it generates intense interest ahead of the ceremonial presentation each December. The award honors the most outstanding player in the nation, and the unveiling of the winner is a highly anticipated event that culminates the college football season.

In the 21st century, the award has primarily been dominated by quarterbacks, with 21 of the 26 Heisman Trophy winners since the year 2000 being signal-callers. The most recent exceptions to this trend include the 2024 winner, Travis Hunter, wide receiver DeVonta Smith in 2020 and running back Derrick Henry in 2015. This history sets a significant precedent for any non-quarterback to break through and claim the award.

The historical trend of quarterback dominance in the Heisman race reasserted itself in 2025. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza of Indiana won the award, while Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt also emerged as a frontrunner, reflecting the modern game’s focus on the signal-caller's singular impact. Despite the renewed focus on quarterback play, the competition was kept intriguing by a highly compelling non-quarterback candidate in Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love.

Going back to 1935, there have been 91 Heisman Trophy awards handed out since 1935, when Jay Berwanger of Chicago became the first winner.

Here's a look at the complete history of Heisman Trophy winners and who has hoisted the most legendary award in college football.

MORE: Breaking down every Heisman winner by school

List of Heisman Trophy winners

Has anyone won two Heisman Trophies?

There has only been one player to win the Heisman twice. That would be Ohio State running back Archie Griffin.

In 1974, Griffin won the Heisman after rushing 256 times for 1,695 yards, registering 12 touchdowns. He earned 483 first-place votes, with USC running back Anthony Davis earning 120 first-place votes.

The next year, Griffin was back at it. He ran 262 times for 1,450 yards and four touchdowns. He also caught 14 passes for 170 yards. It was a slightly closer vote, but still a runaway for Griffin as he had 454 first-place votes to California running back Chuck Muncie's 145.

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Who is the most successful Heisman winner?

There have been plenty of successful Heisman Trophy winners in the NFL. Roger Staubach won four Super Bowls. Marcus Allen and O.J. Simpson each earned six Pro Bowl honors. There are several other Pro Bowl honorees and Super Bowl winners.

But if you're looking at the most successful, there's no question. It's Barry Sanders.

Sanders had a huge season for Oklahoma State in 1988, rushing 344 times for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns. Somehow, he would one-up that in the NFL.

In 10 years in the NFL, he took 3,062 carries for 15,269 rushing yards and 99 touchdowns. He has the fourth-most rushing yards and 10th-most rushing touchdowns of all time. He was a Pro Bowl running back each year of his career, and he was six times named to an All-Pro team. He had at least 1,000 rushing yards every season of his career.

In 1997, Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards on 335 carries with 11 touchdowns and caught 33 passes for 305 yards with three touchdowns en route to becoming MVP.

Sanders' decision to retire after the 1998 season was surprising by many, as he had a chance to break Walter Payton's career rushing yardage record and almost certainly would have set plenty of records had he continued past his age 30 season. But even with the early retirement, few would dispute that Sanders is at or near the top of the list of greatest running backs of all time.

Has a defensive player ever won a Heisman Trophy?

There is one player who was primarily on defense to win the Heisman: Michigan corner Charles Woodson. In 1997, Woodson picked off seven passes and returned 33 punts for 283 yards and a touchdown.

Woodson also played a bit on offense, hauling in 11 passes for 231 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but his usage was almost exclusively on defense.

Back in 1961, Syracuse running back Ernie Davis — who rushed 150 times for 823 yards and 12 touchdowns — also played some linebacker and went on to win the Heisman.

However, since Davis was primarily a running back, the distinction of defensive player to win a Heisman remains just with Woodson.

Hunter joined the list of defensive players in 2024, though like Davis, he featured prominently on offense for the Buffaloes as well. The two-way star made college football history with his Heisman win.

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Heisman Trophy winner FAQs

What is the biggest Heisman snub ever?

The title of "Biggest Heisman Snub Ever" is highly debated and subjective, but three contenders are most frequently cited. 

The most compelling argument for the greatest Heisman snub centers on Syracuse running back Jim Brown in 1956, who finished fifth in the voting while Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung took home the award. Brown's exclusion is considered egregious because of his clear, dominant performance — he amassed 986 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in only nine games, showcasing a talent level widely recognized as superior to all others. Hornung, in contrast, remains the only Heisman winner to date to have played for a team with a losing record (2-8), winning the award based largely on the national prestige of the Notre Dame program and his versatile role rather than elite statistics. The overwhelming consensus among historians is that Brown was unequivocally the best player in the nation that year, making his finish behind Hornung and several other candidates the most glaring misjudgment in the Trophy's history.

Another  controversy revolves around the 1967 race, where USC running back O.J. Simpson finished as the runner-up to UCLA quarterback Gary Beban. Simpson, then a junior, led the nation with 1,543 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, and his team ultimately defeated Beban's UCLA squad; but, Beban, whose statistics were more modest for the time (1,359 passing yards, 8 TDs), appeared to win the award largely on the strength of a strong team record and what was perceived as a four-year career narrative. Simpson, despite his overwhelming production and "Heisman moment" performance in the rivalry game, was essentially penalized for being a junior and playing a less-glamorous position, only to win the award decisively the following season in 1968.

In the modern era, the 2003 result stands out, with Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald losing to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White. This case is often cited as a clear example of the Heisman’s overwhelming bias toward the quarterback position, especially one leading a national championship contender. Fitzgerald’s season was one of the most dominant by a pass-catcher in history: he won the "receiving triple crown," leading the nation with 92 receptions, 1,672 yards, and 22 touchdowns. While White had an excellent season for the Sooners, his statistics were not nation-leading and arguably benefited from a supremely talented supporting cast. The feeling among critics is that voters defaulted to the quarterback of the top-ranked team, overlooking Fitzgerald's generational statistical dominance that season.

Who was the youngest Heisman winner?

The youngest winner of the Heisman Trophy is Lamar Jackson, who won the award in 2016 while playing quarterback for Louisville. At the time of presentation, Jackson was 19 years and 337 days.

The now NFL superstar surpassed the previous record held by Jameis Winston, who won the award in 2013 at the age of 19 years and 342 days.

Who was the oldest Heisman winner?

The oldest player to ever win the Heisman Trophy is quarterback Chris Weinke of Florida State. He won the award in the year 2000 at the age of 28 years and 131 days (just shy of 29).

Weinke's advanced age for a college football player was due to the fact that he spent six years playing minor league baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization after graduating high school before enrolling at Florida State in 1997. He returned to college football and ultimately won the Heisman as a fifth-year senior.

Has a Heisman winner ever gone undrafted?

Several Heisman Trophy winners have gone undrafted in the NFL.

The most notable recent examples include:

• Jason White (2003): The Oklahoma quarterback went undrafted in the 2005 NFL Draft due to concerns about his repeatedly injured knees. He briefly signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent but retired quickly due to the condition of his knees.
• Charlie Ward (1993): The Florida State quarterback was not selected in the 1994 NFL Draft because he informed teams he would not play professional football unless he was taken in the first round. Ward was also a phenomenal basketball player and was drafted by the New York Knicks in the first round of the NBA Draft, where he played for 11 seasons.
• Pete Dawkins (1958): The Army halfback went undrafted due to his military commitment. He chose to serve a distinguished 24-year career in the U.S. Army.

Historically, over a dozen Heisman winners have gone undrafted, often due to choosing alternative careers or military service.

Has anyone won a Heisman as a freshman?

Two players have won the Heisman Trophy in their freshman year, and they're two of the more-remembered Heismans in recent years.

The first occurrence was the one and only "Johnny Football", when the long-standing tradition of the Heisman Trophy exclusively recognizing upperclassmen was shattered in 2012 by Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel. Manziel, competing in his second year on campus, became the first-ever freshman to claim college football's most prestigious individual award. His unprecedented success was fueled by a spectacular dual-threat season that included an upset victory over the previously dominant No. 1 Alabama team in Tuscaloosa. This victory signaled a seismic shift in Heisman voting and Manziel's collegiate career will always be historic.

The following year, in 2013, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston immediately built upon Manziel's breakthrough, becoming the second consecutive freshman Heisman winner and the youngest recipient at the time. Winston put together a historically efficient season, setting freshman records for passing yards and touchdowns while leading the Seminoles to an undefeated campaign. Crucially, his Heisman win was immediately validated by the team’s success, as he went on to lead Florida State to  the BCS National Championship Game, where it defeated Auburn — a feat that cemented Winston's season as arguably the greatest individual and team performance ever delivered by a freshman Heisman winner.

But, both were redshirt freshmen, meaning it was their second year enrolled in college after sitting out their initial year.

The highest finish by a true freshman belongs to Oklahoma running back and NFL great Adrian Peterson in 2004. Peterson was simply dominant in his first year out of high school, setting an NCAA freshman record with 1,925 rushing yards. Despite his overwhelming production and clear national impact, he ultimately finished second in the voting to USC quarterback Matt Leinart. Many observers at the time felt Peterson was the best player in the country, and his runner-up finish is often cited as a prime example of the former voting bias against both the running back position and players who had not yet completed a full year in college.

Looking back at what Peterson did at the pro level, that season was just foreshadowing to a legendary NFL career. He's still the most-recent running back to win NFL MVP, taking home the award in 2012.

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