Will Heisman Winner Devonta Top Trevor & Fields In NFL?
QB Trevor Lawrence has been a Heisman front-runner since he became the starter at Clemson his freshman year. At 6-6 and 220 pounds, he’s compared to the likes of everybody from John Elway to Andrew Luck.
In this year’s NFL Draft, Ohio State QB Justin Fields will be the presumed savior of some poor franchise.
Alabama’s Devonta Smith wasn’t on the Heisman favorites list until late this season, and no wide receiver had won the award since 1991.
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So what happens to the threesome in the pros? Let's look at some history ...
The first quarterback taken from Ohio State in the NFL Draft was Don Scott. Drafted ninth overall by the Bears in 1941 he chose a military career and was killed during a training flight in England. Since then, 20 quarterbacks have been drafted out of OSU, with few of them making a name for themselves in the NFL.
Jack Graf (1942) chose a higher education over the NFL. Dave Leggett and John Borton followed in 1955. Leggett went into the Air Force and then to the CFL. Borton was out of football after just one season. Frank Kremblas (1959) was part of the 1957 Buckeyes championship team; his college success did not transfer. Rex Kern (1971) was taken in the 10th round but converted to defensive back. Ron Maciejowski was also selected in 1971 in the 15th round by the Bears but never played a snap.
Greg Hare (1974) went in the eighth but played in the CFL. The 1982 draft saw Art Schilichter taken fourth overall. But gambling and other legal issues derailed his career.
Mike Tomczak is possibly the most successful quarterback to come out of Ohio State, and he was undrafted. He played for five teams in his 15-year career, winning a Super Bowl ring as part of the Chicago Bears team in 1985. Tom Tupa was selected in 1988, and had a respectable NFL career, but as a punter, not a quarterback.
In 1992 the Giants took Kent Graham in the eighth round, and he played for five teams in his career. Bobby Hoying (1996) went in the third round and was gone after five seasons. Joe Germaine (1999) went in the fourth round but played in the Arena League. The Rams also drafted Steve Bellisari in the sixth round in 2002. He also played with the Arena League.
Craig Krenzel (2004) went in fifth round and was out of football quickly. The 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth and was out of football after the 2010 season.
After a troubled Ohio State career, the Raiders selected Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft in 2011. He was moved to receiver by the Browns and played for six teams.
Braxton Miller (2016) was taken by the Texans in the third round and moved to receiver. Cardale Jones (also 2016) went in the fourth to the Bills but played in the XFL.
Dwayne Haskins is fresh on everyone’s mind, as the 15th overall selection in 2019. He lost his starting job in Washington, and was recently cut, not even lasting two full seasons with the team that drafted him.
So Buckeyes QB in the NFL ... not so much.
Clemson’s list of NFL quarterbacks who were drafted is much shorter. Tajh Boyd, Charlie Whitehurst, Woody Dantzler, Nealon Greene, Rodney Williams, Homer Jordan, Steve Fuller were all highly touted quarterbacks coming out of Clemson. It was only Fuller and Whitehurst who had extended NFL careers, with Fuller helping the aforementioned Tomczak and the Bears win Super Bowl XX.
Then, of course, there’s Deshaun Watson, who set a new standard for Clemson quarterbacks in the NFL. And now, Trevor Lawrence, although losing out on the 2020 Heisman Trophy to Alabama’s Smith, will follow up on what Watson started.
So ... maybe a recent trend.
And finally, to Heisman receivers ... Smith is the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991.
History tells us that Ohio State QBs don't make it, but that's not fair to Justin Fields. History says the same about Clemson QBs, too, But what does "Homer Jordan'' really have to do with Trevor Lawrence? And "history'' for Heisman wideouts? We don't have enough.
Here's what I think we can predict: The receiver Smith has a chance to do more, faster, than the QBs. Why? If Trevor Lawrence is a Jag and if Justin Fields is a Jet ... their climbs will be long ones.
We don't know where Devonta Smith will land in the NFL. But history tells us his new team will be better than the Jags and the Jets.
