A look at defensive linemen in the Heisman vote

With Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver showing up prominently in Heisman polls of late, here’s a look at how past players fared at his position in the Heisman vote.

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 24 defensive linemen have made it into the top 10 of the Heisman vote — and just eight 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*

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
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)#

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, DE, Alabama

* – two-way player
# – Heisman finalist

Defensive linemen Heisman finalists
Steve Emtman, 1991
Warren Sapp, 1994
Ndamukong Suh, 2009