Defensive Linemen and the Heisman
This is one of those years where it looks possible that a defensive lineman could get some Heisman buzz.
Accordingly, it’s time to catalogue the defensive linemen who made it into the top 10 of the Heisman vote over the years. Keep in mind that most of the early linemen to garner support from Heisman voters were two-way players, including 1949 Heisman Trophy winner Leon Hart of Notre Dame and 1935 winner Larry Kelley of Yale. Since the return of two-platoon football, just 27 defensive linemen have made it into the top 10 of the Heisman vote — and just 11 since 1982. The highest finish ever by a pure defensive lineman came in 1980, when Pittsburgh’s Hugh Green placed second to George Rogers.
Here’s the overall list of top 10 finishes by defensive linemen:
1936
1st, Larry Kelley, E, Yale*
7th, Ed Widseth, T, Minnesota*
1938
9th, Whitey Beinor, T, Notre Dame*
1941
6th, Endicott Peabody, T, Harvard*
1942
7th, Dick Wildung, T, Minnesota*
10th, Dave Schreiner, E, Wisconsin*
1943
9th, Jim White, T, Notre Dame*
1944
4th, Don Whitmire, T, Army*
1946
7th, Burr Baldwin, End, UCLA*
1949
1st, Leon Hart, E, Notre Dame*
1950
8th, Dan Foldberg, E, Army*
1951
4th, Bill McColl, E, Stanford*
1953
10th, Steve Meilinger, E, Kentucky*
1955
6th, Bob Pellegrini, NG, Maryland*
7th, Ron Beagle, E, Navy*
8th, Ron Kramer, E, Michigan*
1956
6th, Ron Kramer, End, Michigan*
1957
2nd, Alex Karras, DT, Iowa*
4th, Lou Michaels, T, Kentucky*
1959
8th, Monte Stickles, E, Notre Dame*
1960
2nd, Tom Brown, G, Minnesota*
6th, Mike Ditka, E, Pittsburgh*
8th, Danny LaRose, E, Missouri*
1961
10th, Merlin Olsen, DT, Utah State *
1962
3rd, Bob Bell, T, Minnesota*
6th, Pat Richter, E, Wisconsin*
1963
5th, Scott Appleton, T, Texas*
1964
8th, Steve DeLong, Nose Guard, Tennessee
1966
9th, Lloyd Phillips, DT, Arkansas
10th, George Patton, DT, Georgia
1967
7th, Granville Liggins, NG, Oklahoma
9th, Wayne Meylan, NG, Nebraska
1968
5th, Ted Hendricks, DE, Miami
1969
5th, Mike Reid, DT, Penn State
6th, Mike McCoy, DT, Notre Dame
1971
9th, Walt Patulski, DE, Notre Dame
1972
3rd, Rich Glover, DT, Nebraska
1973
7th, Lucious Selmon, NG, Oklahoma
1974
9th, Randy White, DT, Maryland
1975
9th, Lee Roy Selmon, DT, Oklahoma
1977
5th, Ross Browner, DE, Notre Dame
1979
9th, Ron Simmons, NG, Florida State
1980
2nd, Hugh Green, DE, Pittsburgh
1981
8th, Kenneth Sims, DT, Texas
1991
4th, Steve Emtman, DT, Washington#
1992
10th, Eric Curry, DE, Alabama
1994
6th, Warren Sapp, DT, Miamia (Fla)#
2001
9th, Dwight Freeney, DE, Syracuse
10th, Julius Peppers, DE, North Carolina
2005
10th, Elvis Dumervil, DE, Louisville
2007
9th, Glenn Dorsey, DT, Louisiana
10th, Chris Long, DE, Virginia
2009
4th, Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska#
2012
6th, Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
2016
7th, Jonathan Allen, DT, Alabama
2018
8th, Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama
2019
4th, Chase Young, DE, Ohio State#
* – two-way player
# – Heisman finalist
Defensive linemen Heisman finalists
Steve Emtman, 1991
Warren Sapp, 1994
Ndamukong Suh, 2009
Chase Young, 2019
(Updated 10-28-21)
