Many of these items can be chalked up to the changes that have occurred in college football during this same stretch, whether it be the implementation of spread offenses, the evolution of press coverage in the information age, the online explosion of high school recruiting content, the ever-pervasive influence of social media or the continually-improving athletic and skill levels of the players themselves. The player who broke that drought, Baker Mayfield, was a former walk-on (non-scholarship) athlete, making him the first Heisman winner to start his college career in that fashion. The most recent senior to win the Heisman before this drought was Troy Smith in 2006.ġ7. Perhaps the most surprising development given the awards history. Between 20, no senior won the Heisman, the longest such drought for a trophy historically dominated by the senior class. Toby Gerhart lost the closest Heisman vote ever to Mark Ingram in 2009, and then Andrew Luck (in ’10 and ’11) and Christian McCaffrey (’15) and Bryce Love (’17), each made strong runs at the trophy. Stanford produced five Heisman runners up in nine seasons between 20. The three youngest Heisman winners of all time - Mark Ingram, Winston and Jackson - won during this period.Ī natural byproduct of more underclassmen winning the Heisman has been that Heisman winners, on average, are getting younger and younger.ġ5. Stops at Florida and Blinn Junior College before landing at Auburn made Newton’s Heisman victory unique.ġ4. Cam Newton became the first double-transfer to win the Heisman. Jackson built on what Tebow started to set a new standard for Heisman winners.ġ3. Lamar Jackson became the first Heisman winner to surpass 30 touchdowns passing and 20 touchdowns rushing. Quarterbacks who could dominate games running and passing became the norm after Tebow’s 2007 season.ġ2. Tim Tebow became the first Heisman winner to surpass 20 touchdowns both running and passing. Bradford and Marcus Mariota set the Heisman record with 53 total touchdowns (running and passing).Įight of the top 10 touchdown totals in Heisman history occurred during this stretch, with these two quarterbacks leading the way.ġ1. The Oklahoma quarterback’s 2008 season was among the most productive in Heisman history.ġ0. Sam Bradford threw for a Heisman-record 48 touchdown passes. In Alabama’s case, however, it was an award so remarkably long in coming.ĩ. Traditional Heisman powers have been fairly quiet this past decade, so up-and-coming programs with exciting offenses have stepped up to take advantage. Texas A&M won its first Heisman since 1957. Since Tebow, we’ve been more likely to see a freshman or sophmore win the Heisman than a junior or senior - a stunning reversal of the award’s first 71 years.Ĩ. Six of the 10 winners during this period were sophomores or freshmen. This accomplishment by Manziel in 2012 was even more shocking than Tebow’s given that hardly anyone knew about the Aggies quarterback heading into the season.ģ. The first freshman (albeit of the redshirt variety), Johnny Manziel, won the Heisman. It took a monster season from the Florida quarterback to break one of the most enduring barriers in sports, but his win opened the floodgates for more underclass winners.Ģ. The first sophomore (Tebow) won the Heisman. Starting in 2007 with Tim Tebow, the following has occurred:ġ. The period between 20 has been, arguably, the most interesting and unpredictable span in the history of the Heisman Trophy.
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