Alabama Football: Most CFB and SEC Heisman Trophies

If oddsmakers are correct, Alabama Football will not have a Heisman Trophy winner this December. USA Today recently posted Heisman odds and in the top ten are three SEC players. The three are quarterbacks Jayden Daniels of the LSU Tigers, Carson Beck of the Georgia Bulldogs and Joe Milton of the Tennessee Vols. Every player in the ‘best odds’ top 10 is a quarterback.

Given an unsettled quarterback situation for Alabama Football, having no Tide player listed above a longshot is not surprising.

The first award from the Downtown Athletic Club went to Jay Berwanger in 1935. The award was named after John Heisman the following year.

Southern Cal leads all college football programs with eight Heisman Trophy winners, the most recent being Caleb Williams in 2022. Only three other programs have more Heisman winners than the Alabama Crimson Tide. All three Ohio State; Oklahoma and Notre Dame have seven Heisman winners. A Fighting Irish player last one a Heisman in 1987.

Alabama Football and Heisman Award Winners

The Crimson Tide leads all SEC teams in Heisman Trophy winners, with four. As every Alabama fan knows, the four were all coached by Nick Saban. Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant had one Heisman winner; John David Crow at Texas A&M in 1957.

Only six SEC schools have Heisman winners. That number does not include South Carolina, because the Gamecocks were not an SEC school when George Rogers won in 1980.

Along with Alabama’s four winners, Florida and Auburn have three each; Georgia and LSU have two each. Texas A&M has one (not counting John David Crow).

SEC Heisman Trophy Winners

• Alabama Crimson Tide – Mark Ingram (2009); Derrick Henry (2015); DeVonta Smith (2020) and Bryce Young (2022)
• Auburn Tigers – Pat Sullivan (1971); Bo Jackson (1985); Cam Newton (2010)
• Florida Gators – Steve Spurrier (1966); Danny Wuerffel (1996); Tim Tebow (2007)
• LSU Bengal Tigers – Billy Cannon (1959); Joe Burrow (2019)
• Georgia Bulldogs – Frank Sinkwich (1942); Herschel Walker (1982)
• Texas A&M Aggies – Johnny Manziel (2012)

In addition to the Crimson Tide’s Heisman winners, 13 other Alabama players have finished in the top five Heisman votes.

• Running Back, Joe Kilgrow finished 5th in 1937
• Halfback, Harry Gilmer finished 5th in 1945, and in 1947
• Quarterback, Pat Trammell finished 5th in 1961
• Center-Linebacker, Lee Roy Jordan finished 4th in 1962
• Halfback, Johnny Musso finished 4th in 1971
• Quarterback, Terry Davis finished 5th in 1972
• Receiver-Quarterback-Running Back-Returner, David Palmer finished 3rd in 1993
• Quarterback, Jay Barker finished 5th in 1994
• Running Back, Trent Richardson finished 3rd in 2011
• Quarterback, A.J. McCarron finished 2nd in 2013
• Receiver, Amari Cooper finished 3rd in 2014
• Quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa finished 2nd in 2018
• In 2020, quarterback Mac Jones finished 3rd and running back Najee Harris finished 5th.

Note: Heisman records provided by Sports Reference and heisman.com

Ten other Alabama Crimson Tide players have received Heisman votes over the years.