Spotlight on the Last 5 Heisman Trophy Winners
Awarded annually since 1935, the Heisman Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college football and is given to the most outstanding player in the country. It was first won by Chicago running back Jay Berwanger and has since almost exclusively been won by offensive players; University of Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson won the award over Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning in 1997 and is the only defensive player to ever win the Heisman. Below are the last five recipients of the award.
Joe Burrow
Louisiana State University (LSU) quarterback Joe Burrow won the 2019 Heisman Trophy in record fashion after receiving 90.7 percent of all first-place votes. He was also named on 95.5 percent of all ballots, which broke Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota’s record of 95.2 in 2014. Moreover, Burrow received a combined 2,608 points from all ballots and broke a margin-of-victory record that had been in place since 1968. Quarterbacks Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma) and Justin Fields (Ohio State) finished second and third, respectively, in voting.
Burrow originally enrolled at Ohio State, but transferred to LSU in 2018 after he struggled to find regular playing time with the Buckeyes. He was dominant in 2019. That season, Burrow established a new Southeastern Conference single season record of 48 touchdown passes and led LSU to the College Football Playoffs for the first time in its history. Burrow finished his college career with 8,852 passing yards and 78 touchdowns. He also had 836 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. He was selected first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Kyler Murray
Kyler Murray was the second consecutive Oklahoma quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy after Baker Mayfield won the award in 2017. Two other Oklahoma quarterbacks — Sam Bradford (2008) and Jason White (2003) — have won the award in the 21st century. Murray, who played his freshman season at Texas A&M, transferred to Oklahoma in 2017 and played sparingly behind Mayfield. He was the team’s starting quarterback in his junior year in 2018 and finished the year with 4,361 passing yards and 1,001 rushing yards in addition to 42 passing touchdowns and 12 rushing touchdowns. He was also named 2018 AP Player of the Year and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Like Burrow, Murray was taken first overall in the NFL Draft. Selected by the Arizona Cardinals, he recorded 3,722 passing yards and 544 rushing yards as a rookie. He also had 20 passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns. A talented multi-sport athlete, Murray was also selected ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2018 MLB Draft. He is the first player ever selected in the first round of both the NFL and MLB Drafts.
Baker Mayfield
A native of Austin, Texas, Baker Mayfield won the 2017 Heisman Trophy ahead of Stanford running back Bryce Love and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, who won the award in 2016. Like the two aforementioned quarterbacks, Mayfield also played for two different schools. He enrolled at Texas Tech as a freshman, but played out his final three years of eligibility at Oklahoma. Mayfield accumulated 4,627 passing yards and 43 touchdowns in his senior year and finished his college career with 14,607 passing yards and 131 touchdowns. He also had 1,085 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns through 48 career games.
Selected first overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield had a 12–17 win-loss record through his first two seasons, but had led the Browns to a 11–5 record with one game remaining in the 2020 season. He also had a career-best quarterback rating of 95.9.
Lamar Jackson
Primarily known for his ability to scramble and rush the ball from the quarterback position, Lamar Jackson rushed for an impressive 1,571 yards and scored 21 rushing touchdowns during his sophomore season in 2016. He also had 3,543 passing yards and 30 passing touchdowns. He was the first sophomore to win the award since Mark Ingram in 2009.
Unlike the prior three quarterbacks, Jackson wasn’t a first overall pick. Instead, he was chosen by the Baltimore Ravens with the final pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He started only seven games as a rookie, but won the NFL MVP in 2019 after leading the league in touchdown passes (36) and accumulating 1,206 rushing yards.
Derrick Henry
Derrick Henry was the last running back to win the Heisman and one of only three players at that position to win the award since 2000. Reggie Bush and Mark Ingram won the award in 2005 and 2009, respectively. Henry accumulated fewer than 1,000 rushing yards in each of his first two seasons at Alabama, but had a breakthrough season in 2015 as he recorded 2,219 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. He wasn’t drafted until the 45th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, but has since been a star for the Tennessee Titans. Henry led the NFL in rushing yards (1,540) and touchdowns (16) in 2019 and had a career-best 126.7 rushing yards per game through the first 16 games of the 2020 season.
