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Very few players have won the Heisman Trophy and been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Continued excellence across college football and the NFL is tough to achieve. It requires a degree of consistency over multiple decades, and there are only ten members of that exclusive class.
Dual threat: Heisman winners and Pro Football Hall of Fame members
Here's a look at five such players:
#1 Roger Staubach, QB
In 1985, two members inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame were previous Heisman Trophy winners. The first of them was Roger Staubach.
His career was legendary, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1963. As a Navy quarterback, he had to serve in the forces, including a tour of Vietnam, before beginning his NFL career in 1969.
He played 11 seasons for the Dallas Cowboys. During that period, he won two Super Bowls and was named the Super Bowl MVP in one of them.
He was nominated to the Pro Bowl in six of his 11 seasons. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985, joining our next player on the list.
#2 O.J. Simpson, RB
Joining Roger Staubach in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985 was O.J. Simpson.
Playing for the University of Southern California, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1968. He embarked on a successful 11-season career in the NFL after being selected first overall in the 1969 NFL Draft. He played mainly with the Buffalo Bills before ending his career with the San Francisco 49ers.
He made it to five Pro Bowls and was the first running back to rush for more than 2000 yards in a season. His legacy was later marred by off-field controversies including murder trials and a prison sentence for robbery, but his talent on the field was never in doubt.
#3 Tony Dorsett, RB
Dorsett played for the University of Pittsburgh in college football and the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL followed by a year-long stint with the Denver Broncos. He was named a three-time First Team All-American in college and won the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Award in 1976.
Selected second overall in the 1977 NFL Draft, he won one Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys in his first year, when he was also selected as the Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was selected to four Pro Bowls and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
#4 Marcus Allen, RB
Of all the luminaries on this list, perhaps it'a Marcus Allen who shines the brightest. He played college football for the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy in 1981.
He was selected by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1982 NFL Draft and played 11 seasons with them. He would also play five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs before retiring.
He remains the only player in league history to win the Heisman Trophy (1981), the National Championship (1978), the Super Bowl (XVIII), the Super Bowl MVP award (XVIII) and the NFL MVP Award (1985).
He made it to six Pro Bowls and was the rushing touchdowns leader in 1982 and 1993. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
#5 Charles Woodson, CB
Woodson is the most recent entry into this exclusive club and the only one on this list who's a defensive player.
He played in college for the University of Michigan, where he became the National Champion in 1997 and won the Heisman Trophy that year. He was selected fourth overall in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, for whom he played till 2005.
Joining the Green Bay Packers next, he won a Super Bowl with them before rejoining the Raiders in 2013 and playing till 2015.
He was part of nine Pro Bowls and was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. He holds the record for most defensive touchdowns in NFL history along with Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper. He joined the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
All the aforementioned players excelled in both their college and NFL careers. Other players who also share the distinction with them are Paul Hornung, Doak Walker, Earl Campbell, Barry Sanders and Tim Brown.
