Tonight the Heisman Trust will elect a new member of their group when they vote in the 2024 Heisman Trophy Winner. WR/DB two-way star Travis Hunter from Colorado is the clear cut front runner, while runningback Ashton Jeanty from Boise State will be the runner up (at least that is the way it is looking right now). QB’s Dillon Gabriel and Cam Ward from Oregon and Miami(FL) respectfully have been invited to the ceremony as well, however neither is a true threat to the front runner’s chances of striking a pose on stage tonight.
Yearly a player or two stands out, but looking back over the last 24 years, some have stood out above the rest.
Let’s look at some of my favorite Heisman Highlights/Players since 2000.
I won’t mention the 4 Heisman Winners from USC – that would be a little bias of me since they are 1-2-3-4 on the best seasons (just kidding, Reggie and Leinart would be on this list though).
Some notable performances but not necessarily “electric” to watch:
– Joe Burrow (2019 LSU QB) *the picture above is top 5 sickest college football pictures ever*
– Troy Smith (2006 Ohio State QB)
– Robert Griffin III (2011 Baylor QB)
Cam Newton – 2010 Auburn Quarterback
Cam’s run during the 2010 season was some of the most fun football there was during my life. He dominated the SEC at a level that few have done. In the air, on the ground, he had future NFL 1st round picks looking like myself playing high school football (a liability). Cam was dominating at Auburn right when I was beginning to play high school football and I wanted to mimic my game exactly like his – however I was unfortunately not 6’5, lacked a rifle arm, and didn’t run a 4.59 40-yard dash. But man, Cam at Auburn was something special.
When you look at his stats, they may not jump off the sheet like Joe Burrows 2019 line (we’ll talk in a second about that), but 30 passing TD’s, 20 rushing TD’s, and 4000+ all-purpose yards… man, his highlight tape is incredible.
Johnny Manziel – 2012 Texas A&M Quarterback
Johnny Football took the football world by storm in 2012. The redshirt freshman became the first freshman to win the award when he threw for 26 TD’s and rushed for another 21, similar to Cam – in the SEC. Everyone remembers his insane play against Alabama during his Heisman season to upset the juggernaut Crimson Tide where it looked as though he would be sacked, fumbled the ball around, rolled out and threw a TD pass to end the play…but watch his entire season highlight reel. The kid truly was the definition of watching someone who was so much better than everyone else and was enjoying every minute of it.
What is wild about Johnny Manziel, his season following his Heisman run was a better passing season than the year he won it… and while he never became what we wished he would in the NFL – we forever have Johnny Football in College Station.
Lamar Jackson – 2016 Louisville Quarterback
We see it every Sunday when Lamar Jackson breaks someone’s ankles while running the ball in the NFL, and that is against a football player who is among the top 1% of athletes in the world – a professional. Now, imagine him playing against college guys who are now accountants working a 9-5 job. During the 2016 season Lamar Jackson was hands down the best player in college football. While many (myself included) believe he is a runner first then a passer, he did it all while at Louisville – during his Heisman season he passed for 30 TD’s and rushed for another 21. Unfortunately for Jackson, he wasn’t blessed with a stellar team around him and finished 9-4 on the season, where if he would have been on a high profile team his college days would have been much more highlighted. Yes, they were highlighted enough to win the Heisman, but I’m talking about we would still be seeing his highlight plays pop up on social media like we do countless other Heisman winners from days past. Do yourself a favor and take the 5 minutes out of your day and watch his 2016 Highlight reel.
Marcus Mariota – 2014 Oregon Quarterback
Marcus Mariota was dominant at Oregon from the second he was named the starter. As a freshman he led the Ducks to a #2 final ranking in the polls after going 12-1, his second year at the helm going 11-2, and eventually leading his team to a 13-2 finish and a National Championship appearance during his Heisman season in 2014. He would throw for 42 TD’s and 4454 yards in the air, adding another 15 TD’s and 770 yards on the ground. Mariota was one of those deceptively quick guys at Oregon, he would roll out and all the sudden be 20 yards down field in the open. While he was never truly a runner during his Heisman year, his ability to make things happen both in the air and on the ground led him to the trophy. He didn’t have any stand out plays like Manziel did again Alabama, but he did have a beyond exciting highlight reel that is worth putting on if you’ve got nothing else going on. He was another guy that was doing his thing at Oregon while I was attempting to be a high school football player, and I wanted to do what on the field what he was doing in Eugene.
It also helped his cause that during this time was when Oregon began to truly pump out the best uni’s in college football weekly, just adding an amazing look to his amazing play.
Tim Tebow – 2007 Florida Quarterback
My favorite Heisman winner to not play for USC is none other than the Super Star Tim Tebow. Tim gets a bad rap for his time in the NFL which is tainted by him attempting to play TE, not being what he was in college, and various other reasons… but his time at Florida is some of the most dominant college football performances in the history of the sport. During his Heisman run in 2007, Tim threw for 32 TD’s and ran for 23, in some of the most dynamic performances known to man. He was only a sophomore at the time (and only sophomore to ever win the award at the time) and would go on to play another two years at Florida after, finishing 3rd and 5th in the Heisman voting. Tebow was the perfect combination of size and seed, making it damn near impossible to stop him because he could run over a linebacker in the A-gap, but also out run a DB on the outside. I love Tim Tebow and truly believe his 2007 Heisman season is one of, if not thee, most dominant performances during a Heisman campaign.
Every Heisman winner deserves to be on this list, whether or not I thought they were deserving of the award. These are just my personal favorite performances during since 2000, that doesn’t mean that guys like Derrick Henry and DeVonta Smith didn’t have incredible seasons. These were my personal favorite to watch and my personal favorite highlight tapes.
Till Next Time,
Trevor
Comments are closed