After the regular season concludes in December, the Heisman Trophy Trust presents the Heisman Memorial Trophy to the best player in college football in the United States of America. Following the passing of John Heisman, the club's athletic director, the prize was renamed in 1936.
With eight Heisman trophies, USC leads the field; Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame each have seven; six different Ohio State players have received the honor. Four Heisman Trophy winners have been selected as Most Valuable Player in a Super Bowl, and ten winners are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Who can vote in picking the Heisman trophy winner?
Fans, former Heisman winners, and sports journalists are the three groups of people who can vote for the Heisman Trophy. Except for the single vote based on fan voting, the voting is based on positional voting, where each voter nominates three options and ranks them in order. In order for the ballot to be considered valid, voters must select three options, and they are not permitted to select the same option twice. Three points are awarded to the first-place finisher, two points to the second-place finisher, and one point to the third-place finisher.
Who won the Heisman Trophy in 2024?
Colorado's Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy in 2024.
Who won the Heisman Trophy in 2023?
Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy in 2023. The LSU quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., won it on 9th December 2023 after playing a brilliant season for his team.
The List of Heisman Trophy Finalists Year-By-Year
The List of Heisman Trophy Finalists Year-By-Year
YEAR | FINALIST |
1982 | Herschel Walker, Georgia John Elway, Stanford Eric Dickerson, Southern Methodist University (SMU) |
1983 | Mike Rozier, Nebraska Steve Young, Brigham Young University (BYU) Doug Flutie, Boston College |
1984 | Doug Flutie, Boston College Keith Byars, Ohio State Robbie Bosco, Brigham Young University (BYU) Bernie Kosar, Miami |
1985 | Bo Jackson, Auburn Chuck Long, Iowa Robbie Bosco, Brigham Young University (BYU) Lorenzo White, Michigan State Vinny Testaverde, Miami |
1986 | Vinny Testaverde, Miami Paul Palmer, Temple Jim Harbaugh, Michigan Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma Gordon Lockbaum, Holy Cross |
1987 | Tim Brown, Notre Dame Don McPherson, Syracuse Gordon Lockbaum, Holy Cross Lorenzo White, Michigan State Craig Heyward, Pittsburgh |
1988 | Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State Rodney Peete, University of South California (USC) Troy Aikman, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Steve Walsh, Miami Major Harris, West Virginia |
1989 | Andre Ware (Houston) Anthony Thompson (Indiana) Major Harris (West Virginia) Tony Rice (QB, Notre Dame) |
1990 | Ty Detmer, Birgham Young University(BYU) Raghib Ismail, Notre Dame Eric Bieniemy, Colorado Shawn Moore, Virginia David Klingler, Houston |
1991 | Desmond Howard, Michigan Casey Weldon, Florida State Ty Detmer, Birgham Young University(BYU) Steve Emtman, Washington |
1992 | Gino Torretta, Miami Marshall Faulk, San Diego State Garrison Hearst, Georgia |
1993 | Charlie Ward, Florida State Heath Shuler, Tennessee David Palmer, Alabama |
1994 | Rashaan Salaam, Colorado Ki-Jana Carter, Penn State Steve McNair, Alcorn State Kerry Collins, Penn State Jay Barker, Alabama Warren Sapp, Miami |
1995 | Eddie George, Ohio State Tommie Frazier, Nebraska Danny Wuerffel, Florida Darnell Autry, Northwestern Troy Davis, Iowa State |
1996 | Danny Wuerffel, Florida Troy Davis, Iowa State Jake Plummer, Arizona State Orlando Pace, Ohio State |
1997 | Charles Woodson, Michigan Peyton Manning, Tennessee Ryan Leaf, Washington State Randy Moss, Marshall |
1998 | Ricky Williams, Texas Michael Bishop, Kansas State Cade McNown, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Tim Couch, Kentucky |
1999 | Ron Dayne, Wisconsin Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech Michael Vick, Virginia Tech Drew Brees, Purdue Chad Pennington, Marshall |
2000 | Chris Weinke, Florida State Josh Heupel, Oklahoma Drew Brees, Purdue LaDainian Tomlinson, Texas Christian University (TCU) |
2001 | Eric Crouch, Nebraska Rex Grossman, Florida Ken Dorsey, Miami Joey Harrington, Oregon |
2002 | Carson Palmer, University of South California (USC) Brad Banks, Iowa Larry Johnson, Penn State Willis McGahee, Miami Ken Dorsey, Miami |
2003 | Jason White, Oklahoma Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh Eli Manning, Mississippi Chris Perry, Michigan |
2004 | Matt Leinart, University of South California (USC) Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma Jason White, Oklahoma Alex Smith, Utah Reggie Bush, University of South California (USC) |
2005 | Reggie Bush , Texas Vince Young, Texas Matt Leinart, University of South California (USC) |
2006 | Troy Smith, Ohio State Darren McFadden, Arkansas Brady Quinn, Notre Dame |
2007 | Tim Tebow, Florida Darren McFadden, Arkansas Colt Brennan, Hawaii Chase Daniel, Missouri |
2008 | Sam Bradford, Oklahoma Colt McCoy, Texas Tim Tebow, Florida |
2009 | Mark Ingram, Alabama Toby Gerhart, Stanford Colt McCoy, Texas Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska Tim Tebow, Florida |
2010 | Cam Newton, Auburn Andrew Luck, Stanford LaMichael James, Oregon Kellen Moore, Boise State |
2011 | Robert Griffin III, Baylor Andrew Luck, Stanford Trent Richardson, Alabama Montee Ball, Wisconsin Tyrann Mathieu, Louisiana State University (LSU) |
2012 | Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M Manti Te’o, Notre Dame Collin Klein, Kansas State |
2013 | Jameis Winston, Florida State AJ McCarron, Alabama Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois Andre Williams, Boston College Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M Tre Mason, Auburn |
2014 | Marcus Mariota, Oregon Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin Amari Cooper, Alabama |
2015 | Derrick Henry, Alabama Christian McCaffrey, Stanford Deshaun Watson, Clemson |
2016 | Lamar Jackson, Louisville DeShaun Watson , Clemson Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma Dede Westbrook, Oklahoma Jabrill Peppers, Michigan |
2017 | Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma Bryce Love, Stanford Lamar Jackson, Louisville |
2018 | Kyler Murray, Oklahoma Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State |
2019 | Joe Burrow, Louisiana State University (LSU) Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma Justin Fields, Ohio State Chase Young, Ohio State |
2020 | DeVonta Smith, Alabama Trevor Lawrence, Clemson Mac Jones, Alabama Kyle Trask, Florida |
2021 | Bryce Young, Alabama Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh C.J. Stroud, Ohio State |
2022 | Caleb Williams, University of South California (USC) Max Duggan, Texas Christian University (TCU) C.J. Stroud, Ohio State Stetson Bennett, Georgia |
2023 | Jayden Daniels, Louisiana State Michael Penix Jr., Washington Bo Nix, Oregon Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio |
2024 | Travis Hunter, Colorado Ashton Jeanty, Boise State Dillon Gabriel, Oregon Cam Ward, Miami Ashton Jeanty, Boise State |
FAQs on Heisman Trophy Finalists
A. College football players from all divisions nationwide are eligible, with a focus on Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institutions.
A. Sports journalists, previous Heisman winners, and fans are eligible to vote. Fans have one vote, while others put in three choices.
A. Voters rank three choices. First place receives three points; second place gets two points; and third place earns one point.
A. The Heisman Trophy has been awarded annually since 1935 to the best college football player.
A. Notable finalists include Herschel Walker, Doug Flutie, Bo Jackson, Tim Brown, Barry Sanders, Desmond Howard, Eddie George, and many more.
