A look back at the players who've won the prestigious honor.
| Heisman Winners By Year |
| Year | Name | School | Position | Class | Points |
| 1935 | Jay Berwanger | Chicago | RB | Sr. | 84 |
| 1936 | Larry Kelley | Yale | END | Sr. | 219 |
| 1937 | Clint Frank | Yale | QB | Sr. | 524 |
| 1938 | Davey O'Brien | TCU | QB | Sr. | 519 |
| 1939 | Nile Kinnick | Iowa | RB | Sr. | 651 |
| 1940 | Tom Harmon | Michigan | RB | Sr. | 1,303 |
| 1941 | Bruce Smith | Minnesota | RB | Sr. | 554 |
| 1942 | Frank Sinkwich | Georgia | RB | Sr. | 1,059 |
| 1943 | Angelo Bertelli | Notre Dame | QB | Sr. | 648 |
| 1944 | Les Horvath | Ohio State | QB | Sr. | 412 |
| 1945 | Doc Blanchard | Army | FB | Jr. | 860 |
| 1946 | Glenn Davis | Army | RB | Sr. | 792 |
| 1947 | John Lujack | Notre Dame | QB | Sr. | 742 |
| 1948 | Doak Walker | Southern Methodist | RB | Jr. | 778 |
| 1949 | Leon Hart | Notre Dame | E | Sr. | 995 |
| 1950 | Vic Janowicz | Ohio State | RB | Jr. | 633 |
| 1951 | Dick Kazmaier | Princeton | RB | Sr. | 1,777 |
| 1952 | Billy Vessels | Oklahoma | RB | Sr. | 525 |
| 1953 | John Lattner | Notre Dame | RB | Sr. | 1,850 |
| 1954 | Alan Ameche | Wisconsin | FB | Sr. | 1,068 |
| 1955 | Howard Cassady | Ohio State | RB | Sr. | 2,219 |
| 1956 | Paul Hornung | Notre Dame | QB | Sr. | 1,066 |
| 1957 | John David Crow | Texas A&M | RB | Sr. | 1,183 |
| 1958 | Pete Dawkins | Army | RB | Sr. | 1,394 |
| 1959 | Billy Cannon | Louisiana State | RB | Sr. | 1,929 |
| 1960 | Joe Bellino | Navy | RB | Sr. | 1,793 |
| 1961 | Ernie Davis | Syracuse | RB | Sr. | 824 |
| 1962 | Terry Baker | Oregon State | QB | Sr. | 707 |
| 1963 | Roger Staubach | Navy | QB | Jr. | 1,860 |
| 1964 | John Huarte | Notre Dame | QB | Sr. | 1,026 |
| 1965 | Mike Garrett | USC | RB | Sr. | 926 |
| 1966 | Steve Spurrier | Florida | QB | Sr. | 1,679 |
| 1967 | Gary Beban | UCLA | QB | Sr. | 1,968 |
| 1968 | O.J. Simpson | USC | RB | Sr. | 2,853 |
| 1969 | Steve Owens | Oklahoma | FB | Sr. | 1,488 |
| 1970 | Jim Plunkett | Stanford | QB | Sr. | 2,229 |
| 1971 | Pat Sullivan | Auburn | QB | Sr. | 1,597 |
| 1972 | Johnny Rodgers | Nebraska | RB | Sr. | 1,310 |
| 1973 | John Cappelletti | Penn State | RB | Sr. | 1,057 |
| 1974 | Archie Griffin | Ohio State | RB | Jr. | 1,920 |
| 1975 | Archie Griffin | Ohio State | RB | Sr. | 1,800 |
| 1976 | Tony Dorsett | Pittsburgh | RB | Sr. | 2,357 |
| 1977 | Earl Campbell | Texas | RB | Sr. | 1,547 |
| 1978 | Billy Sims | Oklahoma | RB | Jr. | 827 |
| 1979 | Charles White | USC | RB | Sr. | 1,695 |
| 1980 | George Rogers | South Carolina | RB | Sr. | 1,128 |
| 1981 | Marcus Allen | USC | RB | Sr. | 1,797 |
| 1982 | Herschel Walker | Georgia | RB | Jr. | 1,926 |
| 1983 | Mike Rozier | Nebraska | RB | Sr. | 1,801 |
| 1984 | Doug Flutie | Boston College | QB | Sr. | 2,240 |
| 1985 | Bo Jackson | Auburn | RB | Sr. | 1,509 |
| 1986 | Vinny Testaverde | Miami (Fla) | QB | Sr. | 2,213 |
| 1987 | Tim Brown | Notre Dame | WR | Sr. | 1,442 |
| 1988 | Barry Sanders | Oklahoma State | RB | Jr. | 1,878 |
| 1989 | Andre Ware | Houston | QB | Jr. | 1,073 |
| 1990 | Ty Detmer | Brigham Young | QB | Jr. | 1,482 |
| 1991 | Desmond Howard | Michigan | WR | Jr. | 2,077 |
| 1992 | Gino Torretta | Miami (Fla) | QB | Sr. | 1,400 |
| 1993 | Charlie Ward | Florida State | QB | Sr. | 2,310 |
| 1994 | Rashaan Salaam | Colorado | RB | Jr. | 1,743 |
| 1995 | Eddie George | Ohio State | RB | Sr. | 1,460 |
| 1996 | Danny Wuerffel | Florida | QB | Sr. | 1,363 |
| 1997 | Charles Woodson | Michigan | CB | Jr. | 1,815 |
| 1998 | Ricky Williams | Texas | RB | Sr. | 2,355 |
| 1999 | Ron Dayne | Wisconsin | RB | Sr. | 2,042 |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke | Florida State | QB | Sr. | 1,628 |
| 2001 | Eric Crouch | Nebraska | QB | Sr. | 770 |
| 2002 | Carson Palmer | USC | QB | Sr. | 1,328 |
| 2003 | Jason White | Oklahoma | QB | Jr. | 1,481 |
| 2004 | Matt Leinart | USC | QB | Jr. | 1,325 |
| 2006 | Troy Smith | Ohio State | QB | Sr. | 2,540 |
| 2007 | Tim Tebow | Florida | QB | Sop | 1,957 |
| 2008 | Sam Bradford | Oklahoma | QB | Sop | 1,726 |
| 2009 | Mark Ingram | Alabama | RB | Sop | 1,304 |
| 2010 | Cam Newton | Auburn | QB | Jr. | 2,263 |
| 2011 | Robert Griffin III | Baylor University | QB | Jr. | 1,687 |
| 2012 | Johnny Manziel | Texas A&M | QB | Fr. | 2,029 |
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