Ranking the Past 10 Heisman Trophy Winners

This Saturday, Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Trent Richardson or possibly Matt Barkley will join an ultra exclusive club of supreme college athletes, Heisman Trophy winners.

Hopefully the next winner will have an NFL career similar to Barry Sander's, not Gino Torretta. And hopefully, the next winner can give back to the community like Danny Wuerffel, and not be a detriment to society like Orenthal James Simpson.

Let's get Heisman Trophy week started looking back at the 10 previous winners.

* Reggie Bush (2005)

I have decided not to rank for Southern Cal Trojan Reggie Bush on this list because he is no longer recognized as a Heisman Trophy winner.

Reggie decided to put himself before the team and now both the USC and Reggie are suffering the consequences.

Bush still hasn't returned his Heisman Trophy after he promised to.

9. Eric Crouch (2001)

Besides Reggie Bush, Eric Crouch was the easiest guy to rank on the list. I'm not sure how he got away with winning the Heisman when he threw more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (seven). 

The Nebraska Cornhusker won the trophy with his feet, rushing for 1,115 yards and 18 touchdowns, not his arm. 

Crouch received only 770 points from the voters in 2001. That's the lowest vote total a winner has received in more than 30 years. 

Heisman moment: I have no idea what it could have been. Crouch and #2 Nebraska were blown out in their final game against #14 Colorado 36-62, and none of the other games really stood out to me as a "Heisman moment." 

8. Troy Smith (2006)

Troy Smith didn't put up as big a number as other quarterbacks on this list, but he put up numbers in the win column week after week, and that's all that matters.

Smith led top-ranked Ohio State to a perfect record in 2006 while throwing for 30 touchdowns and was only picked off six times. The senior received a Heisman record 86.7 percent of the first place votes.

Heisman moment: Smith shone when the Buckeyes needed him the most. The senior threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns against the hated and undefeated Michigan to earn a trip to Glendale, Arizona for a shot at the BCS title.

7. Carson Palmer (2002)

Carson Palmer earned the first of the three Heisman trophies for the Southern Cal Trojans in the 2000s. He is the most successful Heisman winner in the NFL to date, out of the decade's past winners.

After three pedestrian seasons at USC, Palmer went on a tear in his senior season in Norm Chow's newly installed offense. He threw for 33 touchdowns with 10 interceptions, and completed 63.2 percent of his throws.

Palmer set new Trojan single-season records for completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Heisman moment: Carson Palmer helped make up the Heisman voters' minds two weeks before the presentation by throwing for 425 yards and two touchdowns in a 44-13 thrashing against #7 Notre Dame.

6. Mark Ingram (2009)

The Alabama Crimson Tide have been winning a lot of football games for a long time, but the same couldn't be said about Heisman trophies until sophomore Mark Ingram took over the show in 2009.

Ingram became the first player to bring the Heisman trophy home to Alabama in the history of the storied program.

Ingram carried the rock for 1,542 yards and found the end zone 18 times his sophomore season. 

Heisman moment: Ingram ran for three touchdowns and 113 yards in the SEC championship game, upsetting the #1 Florida Gators. Ingram needed this final game to show the Heisman voters why he deserved the trophy as he edged out Stanford's Toby Gerhart by 28 points in the voting.

5 Jason White (2003)

While Jason White didn't lead his team to a BCS title like others on the list, White earns the #6 spot on the list because of the gaudy numbers he put up in his senior season after undergoing surgeries to repair his ACL the previous two seasons.

With the Sooners' opponents knowing White wasn't mobile and strictly a pocket passer, he was still able to pick apart defenses throwing for 40 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.

Heisman moment: White had a coming-out party in the 2003 Red River Shootout against the Sooners' biggest rival #5 Texas, leading #3 Oklahoma to a 65-13 with four passing touchdowns and throwing just short of 300 yards.

4. Matt Leinart (2004)

Unlike Carson Palmer who waited until his senior year to put up big numbers, Matt Leinart proved he had what it took to lead the "Men of Troy" his sophomore season. USC didn't drop off at QB with the departure of Carson Palmer; they got better.

Following a remarkable sophomore campaign, Leinart went out his junior year and threw for 33 touchdowns and just six interceptions while leading the Trojans to a perfect 12-0 record and a BCS title game matchup against Oklahoma.

Heisman moment: In the next to last game of the regular season for the Trojans, Leinart showed the voters all they needed to see against Notre Dame. Leinart threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns in SC's thrashing of Notre Dame. 

3. Cam Newton (2010)

Cameron Newton is the most controversial Heisman Trophy winner on this list. Sure, Reggie Bush had his trophy taken away from him, but no college athlete drew as much negative attention during their collegiate career as Scam Newton... You see what I think of him

Though I personally don't care for Newton, I can't deny what the Auburn quarterback did in his only season on the Plains. Amid a "pay for play" scandal, Newton single-handedly carried the Tigers on his back to an undefeated season and brought home Auburn's first national title since 1957.

*STOP READING NOW CRIMSON TIDE FANS*

Heisman moment: You know the story, on the road, trailing 24-7 to the hated defending champions, Alabama, Newton threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in one of the greatest comebacks in modern college football history.

2. Sam Bradford (2008)

After Rhett Bomar threw away his college career by violating NCAA rules and getting kicked off the Oklahoma team in 2006, Bradford took over the reins of the Sooner Schooner and never looked back as a freshman in 2007.

Bradford threw for 36 touchdowns and 3,121 yards as a freshman, and continued to dominate as a sophomore throwing for 48 touchdowns and 4,464 yards. During Bradford's Heisman campaign in 2008, the Sooners scored 50 or more points in nine games. Oklahoma set a NCAA record by scoring 702 points in 2008.

Heisman moment: Sam Bradford put up unreal numbers in 2008 against un-ranked Kansas State, Nebraska and Texas A&M teams, but he proved he could throw the ball against anyone and win; he threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns against #2 Texas Tech in late November.

1. Tim Tebow (2007)

Tim Tebow is the greatest college football player to ever play the game. Tebow under Urban Meyer's tutelage became the face of college football during his four years at the University of Florida. Tebow left Gainesville with two BCS titles and became the first sophomore ever to win a Heisman Trophy.

Tebow made his introduction to college football with huge performances for the Gators against Tennessee and LSU in 2006. 

The year 2007 was Tebow's official coming-out party. The sophomore was impossible to defend. If he wasn't torching secondaries with 3,132 passing yards and his 29 passing touchdowns, he was bowling over linebackers on the way to the end zone running for 838 yards and 22 touchdowns. 

Heisman moment: Tebow capped off an incredible season with a big win over bitter in-state rival Florida State. Tebow threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more while silencing FSU's Geno Hayes, who declared Tebow was "going down." When the final whistle blew, Hayes and the Heisman voters both had seen all they needed to see of #15.