Heisman Quarterbacks: Their Paths to Glory

Five quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy since 2001. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at their progression as college players to predict how Tebow will do this season.

Will Tebow put up the stats that allow him to be the first back-to-back Heisman Trophy winner since Archie Griffin? Only time will tell.

This first graph shows how the players season yardages increased (or decreased) for each season of their career.

The next graph shows their touchdown totals for the seasons of their career.

As you can see, there are many different ways players progress into Heisman Trophy winners. It is really quite amazing the different paths these players took on their way to greatness.

Crouch was consistent from day one, peaking in his junior year and winning the Heisman his senior year.

Palmer showed consistent improvement throughout his career, with a real leap his senior year. I did not include Palmer's 1999 season in which he played three games but redshirted due to a broken collarbone.

White was much like Palmer, in that he jumped severely from one season to the next. But as Palmer really made the jump from his junior to senior season, White made it from his sophomore to his junior season. White does not have a senior season because he left early to the NFL.

Leinart went from no production whatsoever his freshman and sophomore year to two great seasons as a junior and senior. He won the Heisman his junior year, when his stats were actually better than his senior year.

Smith showed the most consistent, steady improvement throughout his career to win the Heisman Trophy. This might suggest that coaching was a huge part of his development as a player.

These graphs just show you that there are many different paths to become a great collegiate quarterback. Who will be making these types of leaps this year?