Teammates and the Heisman
Pat Forde of YahooSports.com posed a simple question following Ohio State’s 42-24 victory over Virginia Tech on Monday night.
“Who is the Buckeyes’ top Heisman candidate?” asked Forde, who also wrote:
The only suspense [regarding Ohio State’s season] will be finding out which of the Buckeyes’ star players turns out to be their leading candidate for the Heisman.
They could have four candidates, if they didn’t all play for the same team. But they do. And Urban Meyer isn’t sharing with the poor teams tasked with trying to beat the Buckeyes.
It would indeed be an accomplishment if Ohio State managed to finish the season with four Heisman contenders. While 46 teams have managed to place more than one player in the top 10 of the Heisman vote in a single year, no team has ever had four players finish in the top 10. Only six teams have placed three players in the top 10: 1943 Notre Dame, 1944 Army, 1946 Army, 1949 Notre Dame, 1969 Ohio State and 1973 Ohio State. Army in ’46 and Ohio State in ’73 ended up with three players in the top five in Heisman balloting and, in 2004, three teams had two entries each: USC, Oklahoma and California. Notre Dame and Oklahoma are tied for the most seasons with multiple Heisman candidates at six.
Most important, having multiple candidates from the same team does not generally accompany a Heisman win — just 14 Heisman winners were joined by at least one other teammate in the top 10 of the vote.
The complete list of teams with multiple Heisman candidates:
| Year | Team | Players (with position) | Heisman Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Yale | Larry Kelley (E), Clint Frank (QB) | 1st, 5th |
| 1938 | TCU | Davey O’Brien (QB), Ki Aldri (C) | 1st, 8th |
| 1943 | Notre Dame | Angelo Bertelli (QB), Creighton Miller (HB), Jim White (T) | 1st, 4th, 9th |
| 1944 | Army | Glenn Davis (HB), Doc Blanchard (FB), Doug Kenna (QB) | 2nd, 3rd, 8th |
| 1944 | Navy | Don Whitmire (T), Bob Jenkins (HB) | 4th, 7th |
| 1945 | Army | Doc Blanchard (FB), Glenn Davis (HB) | 1st, 2nd |
| 1946 | Army | Glenn Davis (HB), Doc Blanchard (FB), Arnie Tucker (QB) | 1st, 4th, 5th |
| 1949 | Notre Dame | Leon Hart (E), Bob Williams (QB), Emil Sitko (HB) | 1st, 5th, 8th |
| 1952 | Oklahoma | Billy Vessels (RB), Tom Catlin (C) | 1st, 10th |
| 1952 | UCLA | Don Moomaw (LB), Paul Cameron (RB) | 4th, 6th |
| 1955 | Navy | George Welsh (QB), Ron Beagle (E) | 3rd, 7th |
| 1956 | Oklahoma | Tom McDonald (WR), Jerry Tubbs (C-LB) | 3rd, 4th |
| 1957 | Michigan St. | Walt Kowalczyk (RB), Dan Currie (RB) | 3rd, 8th |
| 1964 | Notre Dame | John Huarte (QB), Jack Snow (WR) | 1st, 5th |
| 1966 | Notre Dame | Nick Eddy (RB), Terry Hanratty (QB) | 3rd, 8th |
| 1966 | UCLA | Gary Beban (QB), Mel Farr (RB) | 4th, 7th |
| 1967 | Tennessee | Bob Johnson (C), Dewey Warren (QB) | 6th, 8th |
| 1969 | Ohio St. | Rex Kern (QB), Jim Otis (FB), Jack Tatum (S) | 3rd, 7th, 10th |
| 1970 | Ohio St. | Rex Kern (QB), Jack Tatum (S) | 5th, 7th |
| 1971 | Oklahoma | Greg Pruitt (RB), Greg Mildren (QB) | 3rd, 6th |
| 1972 | Nebraska | Johnny Rodgers (WR), Rich Glover (DT) | 1st, 3rd |
| 1973 | Ohio St. | John Hicks (OT), Archie Griffin (RB), Randy Gradishar (LB) | 2nd, 4th, 5th |
| 1973 | Arizona St. | Woody Green (WR), Danny White (QB) | 8th, 9th |
| 1974 | Oklahoma | Joe Washington (RB), Rod Shoate (LB) | 3rd, 7th |
| 1975 | Oklahoma | Joe Washignton (RB), Lee Roy Selmon (DT) | 5th, 9th |
| 1977 | Notre Dame | Ken McAfee (TE), Ross Browner (DE) | 3rd, 5th |
| 1979 | USC | Charles White (RB), Paul McDonald (QB) | 1st, 6th |
| 1982 | Nebraska | Dave Rimington (C), Mike Rozier (RB) | 5th, 10th |
| 1983 | Nebraska | Mike Rozier (RB), Turner Gill (QB) | 1st, 4th |
| 1989 | Notre Dame | Tony Rice (QB), Raghib Ismail (WR) | 4th, 10th |
| 1990 | Virginia | Shawn Moore (QB), Herman Moore (WR) | 4th, 6th |
| 1991 | FSU | Casey Weldon (QB, Terrell Buckley (CB) | 2nd, 8th |
| 1992 | Miami (Fla) | Gino Torretta (QB), Michael Barrow (LB) | 1st, 7th |
| 1992 | FSU | Marvin Jones (LB), Charlie Ward (QB) | 4th, 6th |
| 1994 | Penn State | Ki-Jana Carter (RB), Kerry Collins (QB) | 2nd, 4th |
| 1994 | Nebraska | Lawrence Phillips (RB), Zach Wiegert (OT) | 8th, 10th |
| 1995 | Ohio St. | Eddie George (RB), Bobby Hoying (QB) | 1st, 10th |
| 2001 | Miami (Fla) | Ken Dorsey (QB), Bryant McKinnie (OT) | 3rd, 8th |
| 2002 | Miami (Fla) | Willis McGahee (RB), Ken Dorsey (QB) | 4th, 5th |
| 2003 | USC | Matt Leinart (QB), Mike Williams (WR) | 6th, 8th |
| 2004 | USC | Matt Leinart (QB), Reggie Bush (RB) | 1st, 5th |
| 2004 | Oklahoma | Adrian Peterson (RB), Jason White (QB) | 2nd, 3rd |
| 2004 | California | J.J. Arrington (RB), Aaron Rodgers (QB) | 8th, 9th |
| 2008 | Texas Tech | Graham Harrell (QB), Michael Crabtree (WR) | 4th, 5th |
| 2010 | Stanford | Andrew Luck (QB), Owen Marecic (FB-LB) | 2nd, 10th |
| 2011 | Wisconsin | Montee Ball (RB), Russell Wilson (QB) | 4th, 9th |
