The history of the Heisman Trophy in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference.
Created by mvopsu on Aug 13, 2008
Last updated: 03/12/10 at 03:17 AM
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Tebow capped an unprecedented season by becoming the first sophomore in NCAA history to win the Heisman Trophy…The consummate dual-threat quarterback...A first-team All-American selection by the Associated Press. AP SEC Offensive Player of the Year...Selected as the CBS Sportsline.com National Offensive Player of the Year...Earned All-American offensive honors by the Football Writers Association of America and CBS Sportsline.com...Named to the Walter Camp Foundation 118th annual All-American Team...Garnered first-team All-American accolades by the Sporting News, SI.com, CollegeFootballNews.com and Phil Steele...ESPN.com All-American Team member...All-SEC First-team Coaches' and AP selection...Rivals.com first-team All-American, Rivals.com SEC Offensive Player of the Year and Rivals.com first-team All-SEC selection...First-team All-SEC honoree by CollegeFootballNews.com and Phil Steele...ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American first-team selection ...Three-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week following his efforts against South Carolina, Ole Miss and Troy...Walter Camp National Player of the Year finalist...A two-time Walter Camp Foundation National Offensive Player of the Week winner from his performances against Tennessee and South Carolina...An SI.com midseason All-American selection...Has accounted for 51 total touchdowns which ranks the most in a season in school history and in SEC single-season history, 29 passing and 22 rushing...
At 6-feet 5-inches and 230 pounds, Chris Weinke is the second Florida State Seminole to win the Heisman Trophy. Chris was the first three-year starter at quarterback in the 22-year tenure of Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden. In 1999 Chris led the Seminoles to their first undefeated season and their second national title. Charlie Ward, the 1993 Heisman Trophy winner led Florida State to their first national title in 1993. Chris led the Seminoles to three straight national championship games as the complied a 32-3 record at Florida State as the starting quarterback. During Chris' Heisman winning season he led the nation in passing with 4,167 yards during the regular season for an average of 347.3 yards per game. Chris is the second QB in NCAA history to pass for more than 9,500 career yards and win a national championship. Chris is the ACC and FSU career record holder for career passing yardage as well as career touchdown passes.
Danny Wuerffel became the second player from the University of Florida to win the Heisman. It also marked the first time a Heisman winner came from a school coached by another former Heisman winner, in this case, Steve Spurrier. With 920 ballots mailed out, Wuerffel captured three sections, the Northeast, Mid Atlantic and South. Troy Davis of Iowa State also finished first in three sections, the Southwest, Midwest and Far West.
The brilliant and exciting signal-caller from Thomasville, Georgia is the first Seminole player to win the Heisman award. From the first moment of the '93 season, the spotlight focused on Ward, who was considered to be the nation's premier quarterback and the prime candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Ward responded not only with many a marvelous performance at passing and running, but also with the kind of inspired leadership which is present in only the finest of quarterbacks. Analysts noted that the 6-foot 2 inch, 190-pound Ward did much better when lined up in the "Shotgun" formation, wherein he stood some seven yards behind center. This enabled him to get a better view of the defense and to use his phenomenal escape skills to avoid the oncoming defensive linemen. Indeed, he averaged six yards every time he ran with the ball. But it was as a passer that Ward ruined a defense, with an almost unbelievable- near 70 percent- completion average, and the ability to throw the long pass as well as the short. Even in the furiously exciting heart-stopping loss to Notre Dame at South Bend in mid-November '93, Ward still managed some 300 yards passing and came within a whisker of saving the day for the Seminoles.
A 6-foot 3-inch, 205-pound senior, Torretta was the key man in the extraordinary success of his team. The one attribute shared by all great quarterbacks is the ability to lead their team to victory week after week. It is extremely difficult to go undefeated for one season, but it is a truly amazing accomplishment to do it twice in succession. Against archrival Florida State, one of the strongest teams in the nation, it all came down to the fourth quarter. On the crucial third down and long yardage play, that meant the difference between victory and defeat, it was Torretta once again coming through with a thrilling 14-yard run that left the Florida State defense awestruck. Torretta, as clever a quarterback as college football has seen in years, quickly exploited his advantage and threw the touchdown pass that won the game. "Gino showed everybody he is the best quarterback in college football," said his delighted coach Dennis Erickson. Florida State's coach Bobby Bowden captured the essence of the day when he noted: "I can sum this game up in one word-Torretta was great." Torretta is the latest in a long line of standout Miami quarterbacks and has eclipsed all other Hurricane quarterbacks when it comes to the record book with his 7,000 aerial yards.
Vinny Testaverde, the incomparable quarterback of the University of Miami, is the 52nd winner of college football's premier individual award, The Heisman Trophy. Vinny, in common with all great quarterbacks, knows that his offensive line makes or breaks the day for him, and no one has been more generous in praise of his blockers than the 6'5", 220-pound aerial wizard from Elmont, Long Island, New York. Let that most successful of college football coaches, in terms of winning percentage, Oklahoma's Barry Switzer, tell you how good Vinny is as a quarterback. "In 21 years," Switzer said, after Vinny had thrown four touchdown passes to beat his number-one-ranked Sooners earlier in the season, "I have never seen a better quarterback." To add some statistical weight to Switzer's appraisal, consider that through the first nine games of the 1986 season, Vinny had completed 154 passes in 242 attempts for but what was perhaps even more impressive was the fact that he threw only eight interceptions. He is, in addition, Miami's all-time leader in career touchdown passes, with 46.
The 51st winner of the Heisman Trophy, Auburn's great running back Bo Jackson, is such a remarkable all-round athlete that, if there were Heisman awards in baseball and track, he would almost certainly have won them, too. As the nation's premier ball carrier, Jackson was the spearhead of Auburn's return to football prominence. Under the inspired direction of Coach Pat Dye, the school has produced the best teams since the national championship days of 1957, when the revered Ralph "Shug" Jordan coached the Tigers to first place in the Associated Press poll. Jackson was the second Auburn football star to win the Heisman Trophy. In 1971, quarterback Pat Sullivan took the prize. In his freshman year Bo averaged 6.4 yards per rush, sprinted a 6.18 second-yard dash for the track team, and hit .279 as the starting centerfielder in baseball. In 1985, Jackson led the nation in all four main categories of ball-carrying as late as the eighth week of the season. At that point, he was tops in total rushing yardage, average per carry, touchdowns scored, and yards-per-game. Bo retired from baseball in 1995 and is pursuing an acting career. Elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1999.
Flutie's career at Chestnut Hill saw him become the all-time total offense leader in the game, surpassing the record of BYU's Jim McMahon. At a mere early doubters who questioned whether he was big enough to play in the big leagues of college football. Douglas S. Looney, resident college football expert at Sports Illustrated, wrote, "Little Flutie is far bigger than merely the best Eagle of all time. He's on the threshold of being the best New England college football player ever." And Tim Cohane, longtime sports editor of Look, and a football historian who has seen all the great ones going back more than half-a-century, added that Flutie is the most exciting New England player since Albie Booth of Yale in 1929-31. "Flutie," observes Looney "has three things going for him on the football field: spontaneity, brains, and optimism." In 1992, he was named the MVP of the Grey Cup and led his team to the Western Division finals in 1993. Flutie was a six-time Canadian Football League Outstanding Player of the Year, three-time Grey Cup Most Valuable Player and the first CFL player to throw for 6,000 yards in one season. After playing in the Canadian Football League for seven years, Flutie returned to the NFL. In 1999, Doug led the Bills to the playoffs and was named as an alternate to the Pro-Bowl. He launched his autobiography, "Flutie" in Junior. He established Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism in honor of his son.
The seventh junior to win the Heisman Trophy - the 6'1", 222 lb. versatile athlete amassed an unbelievable 5,097 yards rushing (an NCAA record for yards rushing in three seasons). He exploded for whopping 5.3 yards per carry. He led the Bulldogs to a National Championship and an amazing three-year record of 32 wins and only 2 losses. Herschel signed with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League. Herschel was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1999.
Ball carriers can get pigeonholed as musclers or runabouts, not Rogers. S.C. backfield coach Bob Brown called him the mix of bigness and quickness. New Orleans Saints coach Bum Phillips, who made Rogers the top NFL '81 draft choice, also noted the running back's double edge - Rogers could dodge a defender or run over him. At tailback for the S.C. Gamecocks, Rogers rolled up 21 consecutive wins and led the nation in rushing with 1,781 yards and tied for third in TDs with 14. On top of these great statistics, Rogers set an example in perseverance. There was a time in his youth when he couldn't afford the $2 insurance fee needed to play. Uneasy about contact when he started high school ball, he changed into a skilled hitter. When the 1980 season opened, he was a Heisman long shot, but when the voting was over he led decisively. In his first NFL season, he was one of the league's leading ground-gainers. George played with the Washington Redskins, Super Bowl Champions.
Pat Sullivan, a three-season starter at Auburn was the first Heisman winner from one of John Heisman's old schools. As quarterback, Sullivan led his team to 25 victories in 30 games. With Sullivan at the helm, the Tigers averaged well over 34.4 points and 425.8 yards a game throughout his three-year tenure. Sullivan himself accounted for 73 touchdowns (18 running and 55 passing) to equal the all-time NCAA mark. After graduating from Auburn in 1972, Sullivan was signed by the Atlanta Falcons. Sullivan played on the Falcons for four years before being traded to the Washington Redskins. Upon retirement, Sullivan entered into private business in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, as a successful insurance and tire company executive. Additionally, Sullivan served as the Color Analyst on Auburn's radio broadcasts for five years. Prior to the 1986 season, he returned to his alma mater as quarterback coach. On January 2, 1992, he was named the Head Football Coach at Texas Christian University.
“Super Steve” Spurrier, University of Florida quarterback 6’2, 203 pounds, broke many Florida and South eastern Conference records. This brilliant field general had a tremendous gridiron career that spanned 31 games. He completed 392 passes out of 692 attempts for a total yardage of 4,848, which included 37 touchdowns and picked up 442 yards rushing. Steve was the number one draft choice of the San Francisco ‘49ers where he played for nine years spelling John Brodie as quarterback in 1972 and leading the ‘49ers to a third consecutive NFC West Title. His best day as a quarterback came against Minnesota in 1973 when he completed 31 out of 48 attempts for 320 yards. In the great ’72 season he threw for five touchdown passes against Chicago to tie Brodie and Albert for the record. He was head coach at the collegiate level for 15 years. At Duke University he was 20-13-1 and won the ACC Championship in 1989, Duke’s first in 27 years. While head coach at his alma mater, Florida, his team won the SEC Championship in 1990, ’91, ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96 & 2000. His record at Florida was 122-27-1 for 12 years. This makes him the winningest coach in his tenure at one school in NCAA history. His teams have also won the SEC Conference Championship in seven of his 12 years. He is a member of the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame, the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame, and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. He is currently the Head Football Coach at the University of South Carolina. He has been married to the former Jerri Starr for 39 years.
Billy Cannon of Louisiana State University gained 598 yards rushing, an average of ran them back for 221 yards, returned eight kickoffs for 191 yards, scored seven touchdowns and punted 44 times for an average of 40.3 yards. The shifty, slashing 6'1", 210-pound "atomic cannon" was clocked in the hundred in 9.4 and was the scourge of LSU's Southeastern Conference opponents for three years. Cannon went on to a distinguished career in pro ball with the Houston Oilers (4 years), the Oakland Raiders (6 years) and the Kansas City Chiefs (1 year). He was named All-Pro halfback with Houston and All-Pro tight end with Oakland. During his pro years Billy went to dental school at the University of Tennessee, graduating in 1968 with a D.D.S. He continued a graduate program in orthodontia at Loyola in Chicago, gaining two additional degrees. Billy and his wife Dorothy have five children and reside in Baton Rouge , LA, where he is an orthodontist.
Frank was in a Marine uniform when he accepted his Trophy. He still holds the Orange Bowl total offense record-382 yards rushing and passing. He also passed for 2,331 yards during his college career. His 13 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns, rushing for 139 yards including a 43-yard TD run, for a total 382 yards, is still regarded as the greatest in any Orange Bowl Classic. Frank played several years in professional football and coached at the University of Tampa in Florida for the 1950-51 seasons.
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