College football teams with the most Heisman Trophy winners
For almost 90 years, the Heisman Trophy has stood above all other honors as the single most prestigious individual award given to the best college football player of the year. Some schools have fought above their class when it comes to sending their best players to New York for the award over the years. Here's your look at which schools have produced the most Heisman talent in that time.
College football teams with most Heisman Trophy winners
1. Ohio State — 7
Heisman Trophy winners from Ohio State: Les Horvath (1944), Vic Janowicz (1950), Howard Cassady (1955), Archie Griffin (1974, 75), Eddie George (1995), Troy Smith (2006)
Still in the long history of Heisman greatness, Ohio State is the only school to produce a player that won two honors: star running back Archie Griffin, who won the award in 1974 and again in 1975. OSU compiled a 40-5-1 record in the four years Griffin played.
George won the Heisman in the 1995 season after rushing for 1,927 yards and 24 touchdowns while averaging nearly 6 yards per carry, including a 200-plus rushing yard performance against Notre Dame. Smith led Ohio State to a No. 1 ranking in 2006, passing for 2,452 yards and 30 touchdowns.
T-1. Oklahoma — 7
Heisman Trophy winners from Oklahoma: Billy Vessels (1952), Steve Owens (1969), Billy Sims (1978), Jason White (2003), Sam Bradford (2008), Baker Mayfield (2017), Kyler Murray (2018)
Recent memory recalls two straight seasons of dominant quarterback play at OU that brought the school two more Heisman winners.
Mayfield threw for 4,627 yards with 43 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, leading the Sooners to their first College Football Playoff berth, earning 86% of the possible points and became the first walk-on player to win the award.
Murray followed that with a 4,054 yard effort in 2018, scoring 40 touchdowns and earning another CFP bid.
T-1. Notre Dame — 7
Heisman Trophy winners from Notre Dame: Angelo Bertelli (1943), John Lujack (1947), Leon Hart (1949), John Lattner (1953), Paul Hornung (1956), John Huarte (1964), Tim Brown (1987)
Notre Dame dominated the college football scene during the war years and right after, with the school's first two Heisman winners claiming the prize despite having their careers cut short by the war. Hart notably went 36-0-2 during his four years at South Bend, and "Touchdown Timmy" Brown, the school's most recent winner, was a prolific receiver, rusher, and return specialist.
T-1. USC — 7
Heisman Trophy winners from USC: Mike Garrett (1965), O.J. Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), Marcus Allen (1981), Carson Palmer (2002), Matt Leinart (2004), Caleb Williams (2022)
Four brilliant tailbacks dominated USC's presence at the Heisman ceremonies over the decades, starting back in the 1960s when Mike Garrett won the first award for the school. Marcus Allen went on to become the first back in college football history to run for over 2,000 yards in a season.
Quarterback play helped define USC in the early 21st century when Palmer and Leinart earned the sport's highest honor. Running back Reggie Bush won the award in 2005, but voluntarily forfeited it due to NCAA violations.
Caleb Williams helped return USC to national prominence in the 2022 season and won the school's 7th official Heisman Trophy. But those who want to count Bush's award will tell you that the Trojans are the all-time leader with 8, and they certainly have a case, especially given the NCAA's new NIL rules.
2. Alabama — 4
Heisman Trophy winners from Alabama: Mark Ingram (2009), Derrick Henry (2015), DeVonta Smith (2020), Bryce Yong (2021)
The one thing that seemed to evade the Alabama football program amidst all its other honors, including a slew of national championships, was the Heisman Trophy.
It wasn't until 2009 when tailback Mark Ingram finally broke through and won the first Heisman for the Crimson Tide in what was the closest vote in the award's history, beating Stanford back Toby Gerhart by 28 votes. Alabama went on to win its first national title since 1992 later that postseason.
Smith and Young went on to become the first back-to-back Heisman winners for any school since Mayfield and Murray did for Oklahoma a few years prior.
Schools with three Heisman Trophy winners
Michigan: Tom Harmon won Michigan's first Heisman Trophy back in the 1940 season, a year capped off by a game against Ohio State in which he scored three rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, four extra points, and intercepted three passes, and punted three times, a performance so dominant that even OSU gave him a standing ovation. Desmond Howard won the honor in 1991 after his famous Heisman pose, and Charles Woodson edged out Peyton Manning for the 1997 Heisman.
LSU: Running back Billy Cannon took home the Tigers' first-ever Heisman a year after winning the national championship, and by one of the widest margins in the Trophy's history up to that time. But LSU had to wait several decades to return to Heisman contention, when Joe Burrow won the honor in 2019 during the school's historic title run, and in 2023 as quarterback Jayden Daniels won LSU's third Heisman.
Nebraska: Johnny Rodgers became the first wide receiver to win the award in 1972 following a brilliant career for the Cornhuskers, with Mike Rozier winning in 1983, and option quarterback Eric Crouch the most recent honoree, in 2001.
Auburn: Pat Sullivan led the Tigers to an undefeated season by throwing over 2,000 yards with 20 touchdowns in 1971. Bo Jackson is regarded as one of the two or three greatest individual players in college football history, winning the honor as a tailback in 1985. Cam Newton scored 48 all-purpose touchdowns in 2010, leading Auburn to a national championship.
Army: Like the actual Army did against Germany and Japan, the West Point football team did most of its damage in the 1940s as Doc Blanchard won the Heisman in 1945 and Glenn Davis followed in 1946. Blanchard won the honor over Davis the first time, and Davis over Blanchard the next year.
Florida: Steve Spurrier won the Gators' first Heisman Trophy after a brilliant 1966 season as a unanimous All-American. Danny Wuerffel followed exactly 30 years later on a team coached by Spurrier, and Tim Tebow claimed the honor in 2007 as the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.
Florida State: Charlie Ward brought the Seminoles their first Heisman during the glory years under Bobby Bowden, in 1993, followed by quarterback Chris Weinke, the oldest player to ever win the award at age 28 after playing baseball first. Jameis Winston earned the Heisman during Florida State's 2013 national championship season.
Heisman Trophy winners
1930s
1935 Jay Berwanger, RB, Chicago
1936 Larry Kelley, TE, Yale
1937 Clinton Frank, HB, Yale
1938 Davey O'Brien, QB, TCU
1939 Nile Kinnick, RB, Iowa
1940s
1940 Tom Harmon, RB, Michigan
1941 Bruce Smith, RB, Minnesota
1942 Frank Sinkwich, RB, Georgia
1943 Angelo Bertelli, QB, Notre Dame
1944 Les Horvath, HB, Ohio State
1945 Doc Blanchard, FB, Army
1946 Glenn Davis, RB, Army
1947 John Lujack, QB, Notre Dame
1948 Doak Walker, RB, SMU
1949 Leon Hart, TE, Notre Dame
1950s
1950 Vic Janowicz, RB, Ohio State
1951 Dick Kazmaier, RB, Princeton
1952 Billy Vessels, RB, Oklahoma
1953 John Lattner, RB, Notre Dame
1954 Alan Ameche, FB, Wisconsin
1955 Howard Cassady, RB, Ohio State
1956 Paul Hornung, QB, Notre Dame
1957 John David Crow, RB, Texas A&M
1958 Pete Dawkins, RB, Army
1959 Billy Cannon, RB, LSU
1960s
1960 Joe Bellino, RB, Navy
1961 Ernie Davis, RB, Syracuse
1962 Terry Baker, QB, Oregon State
1963 Roger Staubach, QB, Navy
1964 John Huarte, QB, Notre Dame
1965 Mike Garrett, RB, USC
1966 Steve Spurrier, QB, Florida
1967 Gary Beban, QB, UCLA
1968 O.J. Simpson, RB, USC
1969 Steve Owens, RB, Oklahoma
1970s
1970 Jim Plunkett, QB, Stanford
1971 Pat Sullivan, QB, Auburn
1972 Johnny Rodgers, WR, Nebraska
1973 John Cappelletti, RB, Penn State
1974 Archie Griffin, RB, Ohio State
1975 Archie Griffin, RB, Ohio State
1976 Tony Dorsett, RB, Pittsburgh
1977 Earl Campbell, RB, Texas
1978 Billy Sims, RB, Oklahoma
1979 Charles White, RB, USC
1980s
1980 George Rogers, RB, South Carolina
1981 Marcus Allen, RB, USC
1982 Herschel Walker, RB, Georgia
1983 Mike Rozier, RB, Nebraska
1984 Doug Flutie, QB, Boston College
1985 Bo Jackson, RB, Auburn
1986 Vinny Testaverde, QB, Miami
1987 Tim Brown, WR, Notre Dame
1988 Barry Sanders, RB, Oklahoma State
1989 Andre Ware, QB, Houston
1990s
1990 Ty Detmer, QB, BYU
1991 Desmond Howard, WR, Michigan
1992 Gino Torretta, QB, Miami
1993 Charlie Ward, QB, Florida State
1994 Rashaan Salaam, RB, Colorado
1995 Eddie George, RB, Ohio State
1996 Danny Wuerffel, QB, Florida
1997 Charles Woodson, CB, Michigan
1998 Ricky Williams, RB, Texas
1999 Ron Dayne, RB, Wisconsin
2000s
2000 Chris Weinke, QB, Florida State
2001 Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska
2002 Carson Palmer, QB, USC
2003 Jason White, QB, Oklahoma
2004 Matt Leinart, QB, USC
2005 Reggie Bush, RB, USC (Vacated)
2006 Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State
2007 Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
2008 Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
2009 Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
2010s
2010 Cam Newton, QB, Auburn
2011 Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
2012 Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
2013 Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
2014 Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
2015 Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama
2016 Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
2017 Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
2018 Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
2019 Joe Burrow, QB, LSU
2020s
2020 DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama
2021 Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
2022 Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2023 Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
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