Heisman Moments: Failed Repeats

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Dec 11, 2009

Heisman Moments: Failed Repeats

Sam Bradford

Winning one Heisman is tough enough, but winning two... Well, it's telling that only one person (Archie Griffin) has even done so. Here's a look at how some other repeat bids went awry, beginning with Bradford's, whose follow-up campaign was quickly derailed when he suffered a shoulder injury in the Sooners' season-opening loss to BYU.

Tim Tebow

The first sophomore to win, Tebow finished third as a junior behind Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Texas' Colt McCoy, despite earning the most first-place votes. He has been named a finalist as a senior, but appears to be a long shot.

Matt Leinart

The USC quarterback's numbers (3,815 passing and 38 touchdowns) were better his senior season than during his Heisman-winning year.But it was fellow Trojan Reggie Bush who dominated the voting, taking 784 of the 892 first-place votes, while Leinart was a distant third.

Jason White

White returned form consecutive ACL tears and reconstructive knee surgeries to win the '03 award by a mere 121 points over Pitt's Larry Fitzgerald. He would return for his senior year after being granted a sixth year of eligibility and was third in voting behind USC's Matt Leinart and Sooners teammate Adrian Peterson.

Ty Detmer

The last winner to come from a school that's currently not in a BCS conference, Detmer's numbers dipped from his record-setting junior season as he passed for 4,031 yards and 35 touchdowns his senior year. He was a consensus All-America but finished third in the Heisman behind Michigan's Desmond Howard and Florida State's Casey Weldon.

Billy Sims

Oklahoma's Sims is the closest to come to a repeat before or after Archie Griffin's 1974-75 feat. He led the nation with 22 rushing touchdowns but finished 922 points behind USC's Charles White in the voting.

Roger Staubach

The last service academy player to win the award, Staubach suffered an ankle injury in the first game of the season, which limited his effectiveness for most of the year as the Midshipmen stumbled to 3-6-1.

Vic Janowicz

The Ohio State runner was a triple threat out of the single wing, but his follow-up campaign was stalled as new coach Woody Hayes arrived in Columbus and installed the T-formation. Janowicz rushed for 376 yards as a senior and completed just seven passes.

Doak Walker (second from right)

SMU's three-time All-America was hampered by injuries for most of his senior season and asked that voters withdraw his name from consideration so a healthy player could win. He still finished third in voting.

Doc Blanchard

Army's "Mr. Inside" (right) was the first player to win the award as a junior in 1945. As a senior he missed his first two games with a knee injury and finished fourth in the voting, won by teammate Glenn "Mr. Outside" Davis.