College success doesn’t guarantee success in the NFL

Heisman trophy winners haven’t found life in the National Football League to be as hospitable as their glorious college days.

19 December 2009
Austin Bailey

There are several supposed sports “curses” or “jinx” related with athletes such as when they appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, or a player is on the cover of EA sports Madden video game.

But a more serious “curse” is the one that comes with winning college football’s coveted Heisman trophy.

Since about the beginning of the 1990’s, the Heisman winners have had very short, if any career in the NFL. Of course there are always a few exemptions, but the trend isn't unnoticed.

Starting with 1999, Andre Ware won the Heisman with Houston. His NFL career consisted of four seasons as a backup quarterback for the Detroit Lions.

Only six Heisman winners are currently in the NFL (Charles Woodson, Carson Palmer, Ricky Williams, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and Troy Smith).

Of those six, three start for their respective teams. (Woodson/Packers, Palmer/Bengals, Williams/Dolphins).

In 1993, Florida State Seminole quarterback Charlie Ward took home the Heisman hardware. But instead of being a first round NFL pick, Ward was selected in the first round of the National Basketball Association by the New York Knicks. Ward spent his athletic career as a point guard in the NBA.

Quarterbacks seem to be most susceptible to the Heisman curse.

Of the 10 quarterbacks to win the Heisman between 1989 and 2006, only two have started all 16 games in a season for a team. The two players were Carson Palmer (three times) and Ty Detmer (once).

Eric Crouch (2001) and Jason White (2003) are both out of the league.

Matt Leinart (2005) and Troy Smith (2006) are backups for their present teams.

Palmer is the only quarterback that’s currently a starter, and Detmer has not played since 2007.

Instead quarterbacks have been found later in the draft. Three time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady was picked in the sixth round by the New England Patriots.

A few other telling facts about to further support the “curse”, or coincidence.
•From 1953 – 2006, just six Heisman winners have played on the team that won the Super Bowl.
•After getting the award, the trophy winners have lost 21 of the past 34 bowl games.
•14 of the past 17 winners (excluding 2007, 2008 and 2009 as players have yet to leave college) are either not starting for their current team or are no longer in the NFL.
•Since 1986, only one Heisman winner, (Barry Sanders, 1997) has won the NFL MVP award.

But Heisman trophies are rarely won early on in players careers. Only three sophomores (none yet to enter the NFL draft) have won the Heisman. The player that receives the award is often the top player on one of the National Championship game teams.

Sometimes viewed as a career achievement award for the most outstanding player (generally a senior) on one of the nation’s top two teams. So early ware and tear on these athletes could hinder what is already a short NFL career.

56 of the 74 Heisman winners, or 76 percent, have been seniors. Only the past three seasons has a newer trend developed as three straight sophomores won, the only sophomores to ever win it.

For Mark Ingram, the 2009 winner, he will have the opportunity to become just the second player to win two Heisman’s as he returns for his junior season. Only Ohio States’ Archie Griffin (1974 - 75) has won two.

Since Tim Tebow (2007), Sam Bradford (2008) and Ingram (2009) have seem to set a new precedent when it comes to selecting college football’s best player, it will be interesting to see how, if at all, the “curse” is effected by the sophomore takeover.


My Sources:

Oklahoma University Study.

NBC Sports.

Past Heisman Winners.

NFL MVP Winners.

Heisman related blog.

Five finalist in place for Heisman Trophy

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was invited for a record third time to the Heisman Trophy ceremony set to take place at 8 p.m. ET this Saturday in New York.

Tebow and his Gators fell to the Crimson Tide 32-13 in the SEC championship game as No.1 Florida played No.2 Alabama. Tebow is looking to become the second player to win two Heisman’s since Ohio States’ Archie Griffin in 1974-75. The Gator quarterback threw for 2,413 yards with 18 touchdowns and ran for 859 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Joining Tebow is Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, Stanford running back Toby Gerhart,
Alabama running back Mark Ingram, and Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

McCoy has led the Longhorns to a Big 12 title and a spot in the BCS national championship against Alabama after nearly escaping an upset of the Cornhuskers last Saturday. McCoy has thrown for 3,512 yards with 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and ran for 348 yards and three scores.

Ingram will look to become the first Heisman Trophy winner in Alabama football history. The Crimson Tide running back is a hot pick coming off a 100-yard three touchdown game against Florida in the SEC title game as Alabama will meet Texas in the National Championship. The sophomore standout set a single season school rushing record (1,542 yards) in the victory over Florida in the SEC title game as he passed Bobby Humphrey. The only other sophomore to win the Heisman was Tebow back in 2007. Ingram rushed for 15 touchdowns and had 330 receiving yards with three scores.

Gerhart led Stanford to an 8-4 season including blowout victories over Pac 10 foes USC and Oregon. Gerhart is also a strong performer in the classroom as he is a road scholar and is taking 21 credits this semester. The Cardinal running back ran for a NCAA best 1,736 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Nebraska’s Suh is the first defensive player to be a finalist since Charles Woodson in 1997. Woodson was the first full-time defensive player to win the Heisman. Suh recorded 4.5 sacks in the Big 12 championship game against Texas. On the season, Suh has a NCAA-third best 12 sacks and is No.1 on most people’s draft boards.

Tebow and McCoy both struggled only putting up 13 points each over “championship weekend”. The hot vote right now is for Ingram. But if you’re going to vote for a running back, wouldn’t you vote for the guy who led the NCAA in rushing yards and touchdowns? And as for Suh, he is the best player in the nation, but it took for Charles Woodson to be on a national championship team before he won the Heisman, and the Cornhuskers fall way short of that at 9-4. If I had a vote, it’d go to Toby Gerhart.