The 18 Heisman Trophy Winners Who Played in the Super Bowl

The first Heisman Trophy was awarded in 1935 — about 32 years before the first Super Bowl was even played. Hence, even after 57 Super Bowls, the number of players who won the Heisman and played in the National Football League’s showcase event represent a tight fraternity of 18 individuals.

There were two Heisman winners who were on Super Bowl rosters and but didn’t take to the field. Florida State’s 28-year-old Heisman-winning (2000) quarterback and former minor league baseball player, Chris Weinke, was Carolina’s No. 3 quarterback during a Super Bowl XXXVIII loss to Tom Brady and the Patriots. Another Heisman-winning quarterback, Matt Leinart, backed up Kurt Warner and did not play in the Cardinals’ last-minute loss to the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.

1956 Paul Hornung, Notre Dame

The Golden Boy is the only recipient of the prestigious award to play for a team that had a losing record. The 1956 Fighting Irish went 2-8, which did not prevent Hornung from winning the Heisman and Green Bay selecting him with the No. 1 pick. Exactly one decade later, Hornung helped lead Vince Lombardi’s Packers to a Super Bowl I win against the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the final game of his career.

1959 Billy Cannon, LSU

The first Heisman winner in LSU history and the No. 1 pick of the Raiders had an 11-year professional career that included a Super Bowl II appearance with Oakland. Cannon, who had moved from halfback to tight end at that stage of his career, was on the receiving end of two Daryle Lamonica passes for 25 yards in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

1963 Roger Staubach, Navy

Four days following the assassination of President Kennedy, who was a naval officer during World War II, Staubach was the second player from the Naval Academy (Joe Bellino, 1960) awarded the Heisman Trophy. After fulfilling his four-year military service commitment — which the Dallas Cowboys were willing to wait on after drafting him in the 10th round in 1964 — Staubach began a storied pro football career that included playing in five Super Bowls. The first was Super Bowl V when the Cowboys came up short, 16-13, against the Baltimore Colts. Roger the Dodger more than made up for it by winning MVP honors in Super Bowl VI when he threw a pair of touchdown passes in a 24-3 win over Miami. Staubach went 2-3 in Super Bowl play and his eight touchdown passes are fourth all-time, one ahead of Patrick Mahomes.

1965 Mike Garrett, USC

Garrett had the distinction of winning a Heisman and playing in a Super Bowl in consecutive years. The nation’s leading rusher (1,440 yards) in 1965 was also USC’s first Heisman winner. A second-round selection of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966, the 5-foot-9 Garrett capped a memorable season with 105 all-purpose yards in Super Bowl I, albeit in a losing cause to the Green Bay Packers. He was on the winning side when the Chiefs defeated Minnesota in Super Bowl IV. Garrett had 82 all-purpose yards and a rushing touchdown.

1970 Jim Plunkett, Stanford

Stanford’s only Heisman winner led the Cardinal to the Pac-8 title and, following the award ceremony, a victory over No. 1 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. The New England Patriots selected him No. 1 overall in the 1971 draft. As a backup to Dan Pastorini in Oakland nine years later, Plunkett was pressed into service when the former broke his leg five weeks into the 1980 season. He guided the Raiders to a 13-2 mark the rest of the way capped by a Super Bowl XV win over the Eagles. Plunkett threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns and was named MVP. He led the Raiders back to the Super Bowl three years later, and threw for 172 yards and TD in a 38-9 win over Washington.

1974-75 Archie Griffin, Ohio State

Between his collegiate career and his time in the NFL, the Columbus native never left his home state. The only two-time Heisman winner in the prestigious award’s 89 years graduated as the NCAA’s all-time rushing leader with 5,589 yards. He played eight seasons with Cincinnati, which selected him 24th overall in 1976. Griffin’s lone carry in the Bengals’ 26-21 loss to the 49ers in XVI was in the third quarter and went for four yards. It was the last time he touched a football in his
NFL career.

1976 Tony Dorsett, Pitt

Griffin’s NCAA career rushing mark did not last long. Dorsett, the first player to win a Heisman and a Super Bowl in consecutive years, ran for a single-season record 2,150 yards in leading the Panthers to a national title. He finished his career at Pitt with an NCAA record 6,526 rushing yards. Selected second overall by the Cowboys in 1977, Dorsett played in the Super Bowl in each of his first two seasons. He ran for 66 yards and a TD in a Super Bowl XII win over Denver and 96 yards in a Super Bowl XIII loss to the Steelers.

1980 George Rogers, South Carolina

The first player chosen in the 1981 draft by the New Orleans Saints closed his collegiate career by leading the nation with 1,781 yards rushing and becoming what is still the only Heisman winner in South Carolina’s history. Injuries forced Rogers to call it a career after a seven-year NFL career. He rushed for 17 yards in his final game, Washington’s 42-10 win over Denver in Super Bowl XXII.

1981 Marcus Allen, USC

Allen’s remarkable football career included winning a Heisman, a Super Bowl and a Super Bowl MVP. His 2,342 yards rushing with the Trojans in his Heisman year was an NCAA single-season record at the time. The No. 10 overall pick in the 1982 draft by the Raiders, Allen enjoyed a 16-year NFL career that included a Super Bowl XVIII performance in which he rushed for a then-record 191 yards and two touchdowns in Oakland’s 38-9 demolition of the Redskins. The yardage total still ranks second in Super Bowl annals.

1987 Tim Brown, Notre Dame

The seventh and most recent Heisman winner from Notre Dame was also only the second receiver to win the award. The versatile Brown returned three punts for touchdowns as a senior, including two in an early-season game against Michigan State that planted him firmly on the Heisman radar. The Raiders selected him sixth overall in 1988 to commence a 17-year NFL career (16 with Oakland) that included one Super Bowl. The Raiders loss to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl XXXVII, the last of Brown’s 12 career playoff games. His lone touch was a reception for nine yards.

1991 Desmond Howard, Michigan

The Wolverines’ first Heisman winner since 1940 was the first receiver in Big Ten history to lead the conference in scoring. He totaled 23 touchdowns and the found the end zone four different ways: receiving, rush, punt return and kick return. The Redskins selected him fourth overall in 1992 and he would become one the greatest return specialists in NFL history during his 11-year, five-team career. In the Packers’ 35-21 win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI, Howard had 254 return yards and closed the scoring with a 99-yard, third-quarter kick return. He was named the game’s MVP.

1995 Eddie George, Ohio State

The 6-foot-3 and 230-pound George topped 100 yards rushing in 11 straight games while piling up 1,826 yards and 23 touchdowns in becoming the Buckeyes’ first Heisman winner since Griffin. George, who reached the 1,000-yard mark in eight of his first nine seasons in the NFL, was the No. 14 pick in the 1996 draft by Houston Oilers, who moved to Nashville a year later. It was with the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV that George had 28 carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-16 loss to the St. Louis Rams.

1997 Charles Woodson, Michigan

Woodson lined up on both sides of scrimmage as a defensive back and receiver while also serving as a return specialist at Michigan. He won the Heisman after a junior year in which he led the nation with seven interceptions and scored at least one touchdown receiving, rushing and on a kick return. The Raiders selected Woodson fourth overall in 1998 and his 18-year NFL career included two Super Bowl appearances. A teammate of Tim Brown’s in Super Bowl XXXVII, Woodson had eight tackles and an interception in a loss to Tampa Bay. He returned to the championship stage with Green Bay and recorded three tackles before breaking his collarbone in the Pack’s 31-25 win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.

1999 Ron Dayne, Wisconsin

The “Dayne Train” rumbled out of control at Wisconsin where he topped 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons. He ran for 1,834 yards in his Heisman year when he became the all-time leading rusher in Football Bowl Subdivision history with 6,397 yards, a mark that stood for 17 years. Dayne was drafted 11 th overall by the Giants in 2000 and it was in his rookie season he helped lead the team to Super Bowl XXXV. Dayne appeared in the game, but did not touch the ball in a loss to the Ravens.

2005 Reggie Bush, USC

The Heisman Trophy Trust returned the award to Bush earlier this year after it was vacated in 2010 when it was learned he was the recipient of benefits that were in violation of NCAA bylaws. Bush had a remarkable game toward the end of his Heisman-winning season when he totaled 513 all-purpose yards (294 rushing) against Fresno State on his way to piling up 2,890 all-purpose yards. Of that total, 1,740 were rushing and he led the nation with an eye-opening average of 8.3 yards per carry. New Orleans drafted Bush with the second pick in 2006 and he helped lead the Saints to a 31-17 Super Bowl XLIV win over the Colts. Bush ran for 25 yards and had 38 receiving in the victory.

2010 Cam Newton, Auburn

Newton was perhaps the most unlikely Heisman winner from the standpoint he attempted 12 passes in two years as a backup to 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow at Florida before playing at a junior college in 2009. Newton transferred to Auburn, won the job and led the nation in touchdowns responsible for (51) and was second in rushing TDs (21) while leading the Tigers to the national title. He was the No. 1 overall pick of Carolina in 2011 and played 11 years in the NFL. Newton led the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 where he threw for 265 yards and turned the ball over three times (two fumbles) in a 24-10 loss to Denver.

2019 Joe Burrow, LSU

Burrow set many school records in leading the Tigers to a 15-0 mark and a national title in his Heisman season, including 4,715 yards passing and 48 touchdown passes. Drafted No. 1 overall by the Bengals in 2020, Burrow led the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI where he threw for 263 yards and a touchdown in a turnover-free performance. He was sacked seven times, though, in a 24-20 loss to the Rams.

2020 DeVonta Smith, Alabama

The first receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991, Smith finished the pandemic-altered season winning the triple crown for receivers: most receptions (117), receiving yards (1,856) and touchdown catches (23). His effort helped lead the Crimson Tide to a national title. Smith was soon on his way to the City of Brotherly Love as the Eagles selected him with the 10th pick in the 2021 draft. He caught seven passes for 100 yards in a 38-35 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.