Ranking the Saints Heisman Trophy Winners
New Orleans Saints RB Mark Ingram's 12-year NFL career has come to an end with Thursday's announcement that he'll be joining Fox Sports College Football pregame show. Ingram leaves as the franchise's all-time leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He was also the last remaining player from the Saints historically prolific 2011 offense. Current DE Cameron Jordan was also a rookie on that squad.
A first-round choice in the 2011 NFL Draft, Ingram won the Heisman Trophy in 2009 with Alabama. He is one of seven Heisman Trophy winners to ever play for the Saints. Five of them were drafted by the team. Jameis Winston and Earl Campbell are the other two Heisman Trophy recipients that have played for the Saints, but weren't originally drafted by the franchise.
Here's where I ranked all five Heisman Trophy winners drafted by New Orleans, based off their careers with the Saints.
5. Danny Wuerffel, QB
Former New Orleans Saints QB Danny Wuerffel (7). Credit: profootballhistory.com
Wuerffel was selected in the fourth round of the 1997 NFL Draft by Mike Ditka and the Saints. He was the third signal caller drafted that season, behind Jim Drunkenmiller (1st Round) and Jake Plummer (2nd).
Wuerffel had a fabulous collegiate career with the Florida Gators that included a National Championship and the 1996 Heisman Trophy. Despite his gaudy statistics, most scouts were concerned about Wuerffel's lack of arm strength and that his numbers were a product of a wide-open system.
Those concerns turned out to be accurate. Wuerffel was a microcosm of the team’s putrid QB play under Ditka and was one of seven quarterbacks to start over his 48 games as coach. He went 2-4 as a starter, completing a lowly 48.8% of his passes for 1,404 yards with 9 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
Wuerffel spent just three seasons with the Saints. He'd end his career with the Washington Redskins in 2003 under Steve Spurrier, who was his head coach at Florida.
4. Ricky Williams, RB
Aug 13, 1999; FILE PHOTO; New Orleans Saints running back Ricky Williams (34) running the ball against the Miami Dolphins. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Two years after drafting one Heisman winner (Wuerffel), Saints coach Mike Ditka was at it again. This time, the coach stunned the football world by trading the Saints entire 1999 draft (six picks) plus first and third round choices in 2000 for ONE draft selection. Infamously, that fifth overall choice was RB Ricky Williams out of Texas.
Williams had an incredible college career for the Longhorns. He rushed for 6,279 yards and 72 touchdowns in four years. His Texas career culminated with 2,124 yards, 27 scores, and a Heisman Trophy in 1998.
Williams had an okay three-year stint in New Orleans, but it was impossible to live up to the hype. His rookie campaign ended with 884 yards in an injury-shortened 12 games. He'd pick up 1,000 yards in 2000, then 1,245 the following year, becoming the first player in Saints history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Tremendous expectations and an aloof personality doomed Williams in New Orleans. In 2002, the Saints traded the running back to the Miami Dolphins. Despite a well publicized affinity that caused him to miss two years, he rushed for over 1,000 yards in three of six full seasons with Miami.
Ricky Williams finished his career with the Baltimore Ravens in 2011. He rushed for 10,009 yards and 66 touchdowns over 11 years, including a league-high 1,853 with the Dolphins in 2002. Unfortunately for Williams, his time as a Saint will always be considered underwhelming.
3. George Rogers, RB
Dec 12, 1982; FILE PHOTO; New Orleans Saints running back George Rogers (38) runs the ball against the Atlanta Falcons. Mandatory Credit: Manny Rubio-USA TODAY
New Orleans has had the top overall pick in the NFL Draft just once, using it to select Rogers out of South Carolina in 1981. Rogers had a standout career for the Gamecocks. He rushed for 4,468 yards and 28 touchdowns over his last three years on his way to the 1980 Heisman Trophy.
Rogers was an immediate sensation. His 1,674 rushing yards as a rookie led the NFL, scoring 13 times and earning 1st Team All-Pro honors and the NFL Rookie of the Year. He still holds the franchise record for rushing yards in a season. Only Eric Dickerson has rushed for more yards as a rookie in NFL history.
Drug problems and injuries hampered a strike-shortened 1982 for Rogers, when he ran for 535 yards. He'd bounce back in 1983, rushing for 1,144 yards and becoming the first back in Saints history with multiple 1,000-yard seasons.
Rogers had a 914-yard campaign in 1984, despite sharing backfield duties with Earl Campbell late in the year. The Saints became disheartened with Rogers' and his drug problems, trading him to the Washington Redskins after the year.
In a bit of a rebirth, Rogers had consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with Washington in 1985 and 1986, when he had a league-high 18 touchdowns. He'd wrap up his career for the Super Bowl champion Redskins in 1987.
Rogers was drafted one spot ahead of iconic New York Giants LB Lawrence Taylor in a first-round that also included future Hall of Fame safeties Ronnie Lott and Kenny Easley. However, the 1981 draft also gave the Saints future Hall of Fame LB Rickey Jackson in the second round and future franchise Hall of Famers Frank Warren, Hoby Brenner, Hokie Gajan, and Jim Wilks.
George Rogers had 7,176 yards and 54 touchdowns over a seven-year career. His 4,267 rushing yards in four years with the Saints still ranks fourth in team history. His overall statistical output doesn't match up with Ricky Williams, but he was the more productive of the two as a Saint - albeit during an even more controversial stint.
2. Reggie Bush, RB
Jan. 13, 2007; New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush (25) carries against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional Playoff. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports © 2006 John David Mercer
Coming off a disastrous post-Katrina season of 2005, the Saints owned the second overall choice in the 2006 Draft. They used it on Heisman Trophy winning USC RB Reggie Bush, one of the most explosive all-purpose players in college football history.
Bush, along with QB Drew Brees, coach Sean Payton, and an outstanding 2006 draft class became the faces of a rebuilt franchise that would win Super Bowl XLIV three years later. The dynamic running back did his part immediately as a rookie, contributing 1,513 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns on his way to the NFL All-Rookie Team. He also caught 88 passes as a rookie, a franchise reception record for a running back that still stands.
Bush played five years in New Orleans. Injuries and a plethora of other weapons prevented him from being as effective as he was as a rookie. However, he was still an important versatile threat for the offense and on special teams.
Upon leaving the Saints after the 2010 campaign, Bush averaged over 1,000 yards rushing the next three seasons with the Dolphins and Lions. His final NFL season was in 2016 with Buffalo. Ironically, Bush is being replaced on FOX Sports College Football pregame by Mark Ingram this fall.
In five years with the Saints, Reggie Bush had 2,090 yards rushing, 294 receptions for 2,142 yards, and scored 32 touchdowns in the regular season. He also had some spectacular moments for the franchise during the postseason.
1. Mark Ingram II, RB
Dec 24, 2016; New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram (22) runs for a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY
After drafting DE Cameron Jordan with the 24th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Saints traded back into the first round to select Ingram with the 28th overall choice.
Son of former Giants and Dolphins wideout Mark Ingram, Mark Ingram II played collegiately at Alabama, where he rushed for 3,261 yards and scored 46 touchdowns in three years. His 1,658 yards and 17 scores on the ground in 2009 earned him the Heisman Trophy for the National Champion Crimson Tide.
In 10 overall seasons with New Orleans, Ingram rushed for 6,500 yards and scored 57 total touchdowns. He left as a free agent in 2019 to join the Baltimore Ravens, where he'd remain for two years. He'd sign with the Houston Texans in 2021, but was traded back to New Orleans midway through the season, where he ended his career with the third most rushing yards among active players.
Ingram's 6,500 rushing yards and 52 rushing touchdowns as a Saint are both first on the franchise's all-time list. He is one of just four players to have multiple 1,000-yard seasons with the team (2) and one of only three players to accomplish the feat in back-to-back years.
The 33-year-old Ingram played 12 NFL seasons. He rushed for 8,111 yards and 65 touchdowns over his career, also catching 303 passes for 2,125 yards and another five scores. He had three 1,000-yard seasons, led his team in rushing five times, and finished with 19 career 100-yard outings.
Ricky Williams and Reggie Bush had more dynamic collegiate careers. Williams had the most NFL rushing yards of any Heisman winner that was drafted by New Orleans. The longevity and accomplishments of Mark Ingram as a Saint is what puts him at the top of the list of any Heisman Trophy winner that has played for the New Orleans Saints.
