All-Purpose Yardage and the Heisman

Statistical production is one of the keys to winning the Heisman. Passing yardage, rushing yardage, touchdowns, receptions, kick returns and other measures give us a way to compare and contrast players. Of late, the Heisman winner has tended to be a quarterback with exemplary total offense, passing yardage and touchdown totals. However, with more running back candidates in the spotlight in 2015, there’s a chance that another measure could play a factor in the race: All-Purpose Yardage.

All-purpose yardage is the combined total of receiving, rushing, punt and kickoff returns, interceptions and fumble return yards for a particular player. Passing yards are not included in all-purpose yardage calculations, so the leaders in all-purpose yardage tend to be running backs and receivers.

The NCAA’s all-time leader in single-season all-purpose yardage is a Heisman winner: Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders, who totaled 3,250 yards in 1988 (2,628 rushing, 106 receiving, 95 punt returns, 421 kickoff returns). His per-game average of 295.5 is also an NCAA record. The mark for most all-purpose plays in a season is also held by a Heisman winner: 432 by USC’s Marcus Allen in 1981.

The following is a list of the players with the 20-highest all-purpose yardage totals in Heisman history. Category records by Heisman winners are in bold: