College Football History: The 15 Worst Heisman Trophy Winners of All Time
The Heisman Trophy is the most coveted award in all of college football, given to the most outstanding player that given year. A total of 75 players have had the honor of winning that prestigious trophy and all of them were well deserving of the honor.
But of those 75 past winners, not all of them went on to have stellar professional careers. In fact, there are a number of former Heisman Trophy winners that never even took a live snap in an NFL game. So if they're so good in college, we ask, why did their game not transition into the pros?
Guys like Danny Wuerffel, Eric Crouch and Jason White all had standout collegiate careers, but what happened after that is a whole other story.
Let's break this down and take an inside look at the 15 worst Heisman Trophy winners of all time.
15. Ty Detmer
1 of 15
Ty Detmer had one of the greatest single seaons of all time by a college quarterback. In his senior year, this former BYU star led the nation in passing with an eye-popping 5,188 yards and 41 touchdowns through the air.
After winning the Heisman Throphy that season, Detmer went on to the NFL and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. While playing with Green Bay for four seasons, the former Heisman winner only apeared in seven total games, not starting a single one. He completed just 11 of 21 pass with a touhdown and an interception in mop-up time.
After that, Detmer became an NFL journey man, traveling from team to team, trying to make a roster. In 2001, he landed with the Detroit Lions where he managed to throw 10 interceptions in just four games that season. Sounds like the numbers of a true Heisman bust.
14. Troy Smith
2 of 15
The 2006 Heisman Trophy decision came down to either Troy Smith or Brady Quinn. Now, five years later, both of those guys have to be on top of the list of biggest busts in the NFL today.
Smith wound up winning the Heisman by a unanimous decision, receiving 87 percent of first place votes, which is still a record today. What happeend after that was all down hill for this former Ohio State star quarterback.
Smith had a horible performance in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game and slipped all the way to the fourth round in the NFL Draft, where he was selected by the Baltimore Ravens. In his three seasons with Baltimore, Smith spent much of his time riding the bench as the teams' third string quarterback. He saw game action in all three years, but only had one season where he passed for more than 100 yards.
The former Buckeyes quarterback was traded to San Francisco this past year, where he started six games, but threw four interceptions to only five touchdown passes. He finished the year with a 77.8 passer rating, which was amongst the worst in the NFL.
13. Pat Sullivan
3 of 15
Back in the late 1960's and early 70's, Pat Sullivan was the most dominant quarterback in all of college football.
In his 30 games as the starting quarterback for the Auburn Tigers, Sullivan threw for 6,284 yards, including 53 TDs and ran for 18 scores. In 1970, this former Auburn standout led the NCAA in total offense, accumulating 2,856 yards and setting an NCAA record for the highest yards-per-play average ever with a mark of 8.57.
After his standout career, the former Heisman winner was drafted in the second round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He played only four seasons as a backup quarterback for Atlanta, completing just 42 percent of his 220 career passes, while throwing just five touchdown passes compared to 16 interceptions. He finished his NFL career with a passer rating of 36.5, one of the worst career quarterback ratings of all time.
12. Archie Griffin
4 of 15
Archie Griffin will still go down today as one of, if not the most dominant running back in college football history.
He was the top rusher in the nation his junior season, accumulating 1,620 yards and 12 touchdowns on his way to the Heisman Trophy. He returned in his senior season and won the award again, rushing for 1,357 yards. To this day, Griffin is still the only player in college football history to win the coveted Heisman Trophy on two separate occasions.
Then came his NFL career, which just never lived up to the hype.
After being selected in the first round of the 1976 NFL Draft by Cincinnati, Griffin spent seven seasons with the Bengals, But in those seven years, he totaled just 2,808 yards and seven touchdowns. Griffin attempted to make a comeback after that in the USFL, but ended up retiring shortly after.
11. Matt Leinart
5 of 15
There might not be a more accomplished collegiate quarterback in the past 20 years, then former USC Heisman Trophy winner, Matt Leinart.
In 2004, Leinart led the Trojans to the National Championship and was awarded the Heisman Trophy by a unanimous decision. Many believed that he would have been the first pick in that year's NFL Draft, but he chose to return for his senior year, where he put together another memorable season and was a Heisman runner-up.
Leinart was the 10th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, but that's about where the good ol' days came to an end for this southpaw quarterback.
In four years with the Cardinals, Leinart started 17 games, but never completed one season where he had more touchdown passes than interceptions. He was benched after his first year and replaced by Kurt Warner, who went on to lead Arizona to a Super Bowl in 2009. After finishing his four-year stint in Arizona with just 14 touchdowns compared to 20 interceptions, Leinart was released by the Cardinals in 2010.
Leinart is currently a backup quarterback for the Houston Texans, but after not seeing the field once this past season, his time in the NFL may already be coming to an end.
10. Howard Cassady
6 of 15
Howard Cassady may have played a very long time ago, but his college career was one that was not forgotten.
The former Ohio State Buckeye excelled playing both sides of the ball, rushing for 958 yards on offense while not allowing a pass to be completed to the receiver he was guarding during his Heisman season. In his memorable college career, he scored 37 touchdowns in 36 games
But after being drafted as the third overall pick in the 1956 draft, Cassady just didn't have it as a pro. In nine NFL seasons, Cassady never rushed for more than 413 yards and three touchdowns in a single season, while playing for the Lions, Browns and Eagles
9. Terry Baker
7 of 15
This one is going way back in time, all the way back to 1962, where Terry Baker was a star quarterback for the Oregon State Beavers and was awarded the Heisman Trophy in his senior season.
During that year, Baker led the Beavers to a 9-2 record and closed out his college career with 3,476 yards and 23 touchdown passes.
After graduation, Baker entered the 1963 draft where he was selected as the first overall pick by the LA Rams. In his first NFL season, the former Oregon State star didn't fare so well, only completing 11 total passes for 140 yards. Coaches tried to switch him to the receiver position because he didn't fit the Rams' offensive scheme, and it all went down hill from there.
The next two seasons, Baker rushed 49 times for only 164 total yards. By 1966, he was out of the NFL. Baker will be remembered as the first true Heisman Trophy bust in the NFL.
8. Ron Dayne
8 of 15
There weren't too many running backs in the 1990's that could say they put up the type of numbers like Ron Dayne did during his college years.
In fact, in his four seasons at Wisconsin, Dayne set the NCAA rushing record for total yards in a career. He rushed for more than 1,300 yards in every season of his college career, including 1,834 yards as a senior on his way to being named the 1999 Heisman Trophy winner.
As of today, Dayne's 6,397 career yards still stand as the Division I career rushing record.
Unfortunately for Dayne, that story would not be the same for him in the NFL.
After being selected as the 11th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, Dayne spent his first four seasons with the New York Giants. During that time, he failed to rush for more than 800 yards in a season, averaging only three yards per carry. The former Wisconsin stud back spent three more years between Denver and Houston, before he was out of the league in 2007.
7. Gino Torretta
9 of 15
Gino Torretta will go down in the history books as having one of the most successful collegiate careers in the history of NCAA football. In the NFL, well, not so much.
Toretta was a member of the Miami Hurricanes National Championship teams in 1989 and 91, and then in his 1992 senior season, he was rewarded the Heisman Trophy after passing for more than 3,000 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Despite his great success at the college level, Torretta was not selected until the seventh round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He never played a single down for the Vikings, or pretty much any other NFL team that took a chance on him.
The only time that Torretta saw the field in the NFL was in 1996 where he attempted 16 total passes that season for the Seahawks, and sure enough, one of them was an interception...How fitting.
6. Chris Weinke
10 of 15
After spending six years trying to make it in major league baseball, Weinke gave up his first career and enrolled at Florida State. Two years later, the 28-year-old Weinke became the oldest player ever to win the Heisman Trophy.
In his Heisman season the former Florida State standout threw for 4,167 yards and 33 touchdowns. He finished his college career with a 32-3 record and held numerous FSU records including most passing yards in a career and most career touchdown passes.
Weinke went on to be a fourth round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers, but his fortune in the NFL would not be the same as in his college days.
In six years with the Panthers, Weinke managed to throw 14 touchdown passes compared to 26 interceptions and seven fumbles. He was so bad in his rookie season, that Carolina lost 15 straight games, which was an NFL record. He was picked up by the 49ers in 2007, and was then out of the league shortly there after.
5. Rashaan Salaam
11 of 15
In 1994, Rashaan Salaam put together arguably the most impressive single season by a college running back in NCAA football history.
The former Colorado tailback rushed for 2,055 yards, becoming just the fourth college player in NCAA history to top 2,000 yards. That year, the Buffaloes went 11-1 and went on to win the Fiesta Bowl over Notre Dame.
After that season, Salaam took his talents to the NFL, where he was a first round selection of the Chicago Bears. After rushing for over 1,000 yards his rookie season, Salaam was horrendous after that, running for only 600 yards the next two seasons before the Bears cut him loose.
To this day he is remembered the NFL for being a huge bust due to constant injuries, fumbles and an addiction to marijuana.
4. Danny Wuerffel
12 of 15
In the mid 1990's, there really wasn't a more exciting quarterback in college football than Florida the great, Danny Wuerffel.
In fact, Wuerffel was so lethal in college, that he passed the 10,000-plus-yard throwing mark during his career at Florida. In his senior year, this former Gator great threw for 3,625 yards and 39 TDs while leading his team to a national championship. He won the Heisman Trophy that year while becoming the all-time leading passer in SEC Conference history.
Wuerffel went on to become a fourth round draft pick by the New Orleans Saints, but he struggled mightily in the NFL. In three years with the Saints, Wuerffel plaid in 16 games, but managed just nine touchdown passes compared to 16 interceptions. He never once threw for more than 719 yards in an NFL season, which was about what he averaged in a two-game span while at Florida.
3. Andre Ware
13 of 15
After his incediable junior season at Houston, Andre Ware was tagged to be the next great quarterback in the NFL...Not so much.
The former Heisman winner recorded major college records during his junior campaign, throwing for 4,699 yards and 46 touchdowns while leading the Cougars to a 9-2 record.
After that year, he decided to declare for the NFL draft, forgoing his senior year. The Detroit Lions made him the seventh overall pick of the 1990 draft, and what a mistake that turned out to be.
In just four seasons in the NFL, the former Heisman great played in just 14 NFL game, where he threw for a total of five touchdowns, compared to eight interceptions. After failing to make a roster in the NFL, Ware went on to play in the CFL, where he was even more of a bust.
If you thought that Detroit fans hated Joey Harrington. You have no idea the remarks that come along when you hear the name Andre Ware mentioned in the Motor City.
2. Jason White
14 of 15
If you were to tell me that Oklahoma's all-time leading passer would never take a single snap in the NFL, I would have called you crazy. Well it turns out the jokes on me, because that is the exact case with former Oklahoma quarterback Jason White.
In 2003, White threw for over 3,700 yards and 40 touchdowns on his way to winning the coveted Heisman Trophy. He decided to return for his senior season, and had another stellar year, finishing third in the Heisman race behind Matt Leinart and teammate, Adrian Peterson.
But what happened after that is just beyond upsetting. White went undrafted in the 2005 NFL Draft, yet many expected him to make a roster. He tried out for the Kansas City Chiefs, but did not make the cut. He later was able to land a tryout with the Titans, and made the roster, but quit the team before he ever took a single snap in an NFL uniform.
From stud to dud, Jason White is right up there with the best of them.
1. Eric Crouch
15 of 15
There wasn't a single player in all of college football during the early 1990's that was anywhere near as electrifying and versatile as Eric Crouch was.
In 2001, Crouch threw for 1,510 yards and rushed for 1,115 yards while scoring a combined 25 touchdowns that season. He was awarded the Heisman Trophy that year and was looked at to be a new breed of quarterback in the NFL.
Crouch slipped in the draft and was eventually picked in the third round by the St. Louis Rams. Then, in a strange change of events, Crouch decided to retire midway through training camp after the team tried to move him to the wide receiver position.
The former Nebraska star attempted to come back to the league with both the Packers and the Chiefs, but to this day, he has yet to play a down in the NFL.
When it comes to Heisman busts, Eric Crouch tops them all.
