The Heisman Trophy winner is given out to the best player in college football. You might not like who won it (like Charles Woodson over Peyton Manning in 1997), but the fact is this: They won it, and the other guy didn't.
The View From America did some Heisman-to-NFL research over the last 20 years (starting with Woodson).
The 1997 is the cream of the crop of the Heisman-to-pro stash, with three of the top 4 players in the voting (Woodson, Manning and Randy Moss) becoming first-ballot Hall of Famers.
But there are others who have been terrible. Why? Some because they weren't very good, others because they refused to play anything other than the college position, and others because they were injured. A lot.
Anyway, it's really interesting for us who won, and who went onto succeed in the NFL in the last two decades.
By the way, we won't know about 2016 Heisman winner LaMar Jackson (Louisville), because he's going into the NFL this year.
1997: Charles Woodson (Michigan): HIT (14 years in the NFL, going to the Hall of Fame)
1998: Ricky Williams (Texas): MISS/HIT (Strange career in the NFL with early retirements and drug violations, but still managed 10,000 yards and to be 30th all-time rushing)
1999: Ron Dayne (Wisconsin): MISS (7 years in the NFL, never had a 1,000-yard season, couldn't lose weight).
2000: Chris Weinke (Florida State): MISS (Six very unsuccessful years in the NFL. His rookie year was a record for him.....for interceptions. It didn't get a lot better).
2001: Eric Crouch (Nebraska): MISS (Despite people wanting him to play WR, he refused to. His career moved from the NFL to NFL Europe to leagues we've never heard of really rather quickly).
2002: Carson Palmer (USC): HIT (14 years, 46,000 yards passing, now retired).
2003: Jason White (Oklahoma): MISS (Didn't get picked for any NFL team and retired early to run businesses).
2004: Matt Leinart (USC): MISS (Much-heralded before going into the NFL, and was awful in the league. Had one good season and a lot of mediocre-to-awful ones. 'Retired' after 6 years).
2005: Reggie Bush (USC): MISS (Seemingly always injured, but 5 teams in 10 years, and never really got up to his sensational NFL Rookie season).
2006: Troy Smith (Ohio State): MISS (Three years in the NFL. It wasn't unduly surprising that he was a small QB, but the inconsistency is what killed him).
2007: Tim Tebow (Florida): MISS (While he wasn't predicted to be brilliant in the NFL, his refusal to play as a TE and continue his QBing career after leaving Denver became almost a running joke. He's now a SEC Network host and part-time amateur NFL player).
2008: Sam Bradford (Oklahoma): MEDIOCRE (An injury-bothered career, but it's continued. Teams still love his cannon arm, and he's passed for 19,000 yards and 101 TDs in his career so far, which isn't terrible. When he retires he might be on 'The could-have-been-great-if-it-wasn't-for-injury' scale).
2009: Mark Ingram (Alabama): MEDIOCRE (After a slow start, back-to-back 1,000 yards rushing seasons. Also 1,000 yards receiving)
2010: Cam Newton (Auburn): HIT (Currently the best running QB in the NFL. Has run for 4,000 yards and passed for 25,000. Future Hall of Famer).
2011: Robert Griffin III (Baylor): MISS (Fantastic opening season, then injuries destroyed his career).
2012: Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M): HUGE MISS (One of the biggest 'fails' in NFL history, smartmouth 'Johnny Football' was terrible from start-to-finish, starting from an ability to play very well to drugs and alcohol, with some alleged domestic abuse thrown in).
2013: Jameis Winston (Florida State): HIT (Starting from his first day of the team, youngest player under 40 to throw for 40 TDs. He's the captain of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
2014: Marcus Mariota (Oregon): ON-THE-FENCE (After a superb rookie year, Mariota's been at-best inconsistent since starting for the Tenessee Titans).
2015: Derrick Henry (Alabama): HIT (While his first season wasn't mind-blowing, Henry's looking more-and-more like a starting running back in the NFL after splitting carries in his first two seasons).
We'll see how Baker Mayfield does. Here's his film, anyway....
The View From America did some Heisman-to-NFL research over the last 20 years (starting with Woodson).
The 1997 is the cream of the crop of the Heisman-to-pro stash, with three of the top 4 players in the voting (Woodson, Manning and Randy Moss) becoming first-ballot Hall of Famers.
But there are others who have been terrible. Why? Some because they weren't very good, others because they refused to play anything other than the college position, and others because they were injured. A lot.
Anyway, it's really interesting for us who won, and who went onto succeed in the NFL in the last two decades.
By the way, we won't know about 2016 Heisman winner LaMar Jackson (Louisville), because he's going into the NFL this year.
1997: Charles Woodson (Michigan): HIT (14 years in the NFL, going to the Hall of Fame)
1998: Ricky Williams (Texas): MISS/HIT (Strange career in the NFL with early retirements and drug violations, but still managed 10,000 yards and to be 30th all-time rushing)
1999: Ron Dayne (Wisconsin): MISS (7 years in the NFL, never had a 1,000-yard season, couldn't lose weight).
2000: Chris Weinke (Florida State): MISS (Six very unsuccessful years in the NFL. His rookie year was a record for him.....for interceptions. It didn't get a lot better).
2001: Eric Crouch (Nebraska): MISS (Despite people wanting him to play WR, he refused to. His career moved from the NFL to NFL Europe to leagues we've never heard of really rather quickly).
2002: Carson Palmer (USC): HIT (14 years, 46,000 yards passing, now retired).
2003: Jason White (Oklahoma): MISS (Didn't get picked for any NFL team and retired early to run businesses).
2004: Matt Leinart (USC): MISS (Much-heralded before going into the NFL, and was awful in the league. Had one good season and a lot of mediocre-to-awful ones. 'Retired' after 6 years).
2005: Reggie Bush (USC): MISS (Seemingly always injured, but 5 teams in 10 years, and never really got up to his sensational NFL Rookie season).
2006: Troy Smith (Ohio State): MISS (Three years in the NFL. It wasn't unduly surprising that he was a small QB, but the inconsistency is what killed him).
2007: Tim Tebow (Florida): MISS (While he wasn't predicted to be brilliant in the NFL, his refusal to play as a TE and continue his QBing career after leaving Denver became almost a running joke. He's now a SEC Network host and part-time amateur NFL player).
2008: Sam Bradford (Oklahoma): MEDIOCRE (An injury-bothered career, but it's continued. Teams still love his cannon arm, and he's passed for 19,000 yards and 101 TDs in his career so far, which isn't terrible. When he retires he might be on 'The could-have-been-great-if-it-wasn't-for-injury' scale).
2009: Mark Ingram (Alabama): MEDIOCRE (After a slow start, back-to-back 1,000 yards rushing seasons. Also 1,000 yards receiving)
2010: Cam Newton (Auburn): HIT (Currently the best running QB in the NFL. Has run for 4,000 yards and passed for 25,000. Future Hall of Famer).
2011: Robert Griffin III (Baylor): MISS (Fantastic opening season, then injuries destroyed his career).
2012: Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M): HUGE MISS (One of the biggest 'fails' in NFL history, smartmouth 'Johnny Football' was terrible from start-to-finish, starting from an ability to play very well to drugs and alcohol, with some alleged domestic abuse thrown in).
2013: Jameis Winston (Florida State): HIT (Starting from his first day of the team, youngest player under 40 to throw for 40 TDs. He's the captain of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
2014: Marcus Mariota (Oregon): ON-THE-FENCE (After a superb rookie year, Mariota's been at-best inconsistent since starting for the Tenessee Titans).
2015: Derrick Henry (Alabama): HIT (While his first season wasn't mind-blowing, Henry's looking more-and-more like a starting running back in the NFL after splitting carries in his first two seasons).
We'll see how Baker Mayfield does. Here's his film, anyway....
