The Biggest Heisman Busts of All Time

Updated February 11, 2020 10.2k votes 1.9k voters 18.0k views28 items

List RulesVote up the Heisman Trophy winners who had the most disappointing NFL career.

The worst Heisman Trophy winners certainly excelled in the college game but failed at the next level. The biggest Heisman disappointments hail from some of the most storied programs in college football, and while many Heisman Trophy winners had great NFL careers (players like Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen and Tony Dorsett), others peaked in college and were just never the same. The biggest Heisman busts were of course high draft picks but quite obviously failed to live up to expectations. Heisman busts like Matt Leinart and Andre Ware could fall into the category of enormously disappointing QBs. Other Heisman Trophy failures in the NFL were running backs (like Rashaan Salaam and Archie Griffin) that never matched their college success at the pro level. There have been many Heisman Trophy busts over the year but which one do you think is the biggest? Vote now for the most disappointing Heisman Trophy winner!

Photo:

...more

1
855
199
Johnny Manziel
More Johnny Manziel
#4 of 69 The Best Texas A&M Football Players of All Time#19 of 66 The Most Controversial Athletes in Sports History
2
300
110
Jason White
Quarterback
Birthplace: Tuttle, Oklahoma
Age: 40
Teams: Oklahoma Sooners football
More Jason White
#23 of 74 The Best Oklahoma Sooners of All Time#4 of 32 The Best Oklahoma Sooners Quarterbacks of All Time
3
484
172
Matt Leinart
Quarterback
Birthplace: Santa Ana, California, United States of America
Age: 37
Teams: Buffalo Bills, USC Trojans football, Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans
More Matt Leinart
#17 of 104 The Best USC Trojans Players of All Time#220 of 225 The Best Arizona Cardinals of All Time
4
322
124
Gino Torretta
Quarterback
Birthplace: Pinole, California, United States of America
Age: 50
Teams: Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings
More Gino Torretta
#46 of 64 The Best Miami Football Players of All Time#6 of 30 The Best Miami Hurricanes Quarterbacks of All Time
5
358
149
Eric Crouch
Safety, Quarterback
Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska
Age: 41
Teams: Hamburg Sea Devils, Toronto Argonauts, St. Louis Rams, Omaha Nighthawks, Nebraska Cornhuskers football
6
254
94
Danny Wuerffel
Quarterback
Birthplace: Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Age: 41
Teams: New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins, Florida Gators football, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears
More Danny Wuerffel
#7 of 85 The Best University of Florida Football Players of All Time#54 of 57 The Best Washington Redskins Quarterbacks of All Time
7
297
121
Troy Smith
Quarterback
Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio
Age: 31
Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Omaha Nighthawks, San Francisco 49ers, Ohio State Buckeyes football
8
262
114
Andre Ware
Quarterback
Birthplace: Galveston, Texas, United States of America
Age: 52
Teams: Ottawa Rough Riders, Toronto Argonauts, Houston Cougars football, Berlin Thunder, Jacksonville Jaguars
9
145
4
JaMarcus Russell
Quarterback
Birthplace: Mobile, Alabama
Age: 35
Teams: Oakland Raiders, LSU Tigers football
More JaMarcus Russell
#53 of 53 The Best No. 1 Overall NFL Draft Picks Of All Time, Ranked#57 of 146 The Best LSU Football Players of All Time
10
213
97
Rashaan Salaam
Running back
Birthplace: La Jolla, San Diego, California
Age: 45
Teams: Memphis Maniax, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Colorado Buffaloes football
11
201
97
Chris Weinke
More
#16 of 81 The Best Florida State Football Players of All Time#127 of 137 The Best Carolina Panthers of All Time
12
172
100
Ty Detmer
Quarterback
Birthplace: San Marcos, Texas
Age: 48
Teams: Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles
More
#39 of 107 College & Professional Athletes Who Were Raised Mormon#13 of 51 The Best College Football Quarterbacks of the 1990s
13
396
316
Robert Griffin III
Quarterback
Birthplace: Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Age: 25
Teams: Washington Redskins, Baylor Bears football
More Robert Griffin III
#35 of 80 The Best NFL Player Nicknames#89 of 115 The Greatest Washington Redskins of All Time

14
178
114
Ron Dayne
15
298
221
Vince Young
Quarterback
Birthplace: Houston, Texas, United States of America
Age: 37
Teams: Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, Texas Longhorns football
More Vince Young
#864 of 1,323 The Best Football Players Ever#56 of 329 The Most Obnoxious Athletes
16
111
69
John Huarte
Quarterback
Birthplace: Anaheim, California, United States of America
Age: 76
More John Huarte
#38 of 82 The Best Notre Dame Football Players of All Time#53 of 59 The Best Philadelphia Eagles Quarterbacks of All Time
17
426
365
Tim Tebow
Quarterback
Birthplace: Makati, Philippines
Age: 33
Teams: Denver Broncos, Florida Gators football, New England Patriots, New York Jets
More Tim Tebow
#9 of 150 Athletes You Didn't Know Were Conservative#97 of 252 The Best Quarterbacks Of All Time
18
105
65
Gary Beban
Quarterback
Birthplace: California
Age: 74
More Gary Beban
#75 of 83 The Best Heisman Trophy Winners of All Time#7 of 44 The Best UCLA Football Players of All Time
19
89
60
Terry Baker
Quarterback
Birthplace: Pine River, Minnesota
Age: 79
20
138
153
Archie Griffin
Running back
Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
Age: 66
Teams: Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Bulls, Ohio State Buckeyes football
21
94
97
John Cappelletti
Running back
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Age: 68
Teams: Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers
22
32
8
Kyle Boller
Quarterback
Birthplace: Burbank, California
Age: 34
Teams: California Golden Bears football, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, Baltimore Ravens
More Kyle Boller
#47 of 56 The Best Los Angeles Rams Quarterbacks of All Time#11 of 30 The Best California Golden Bears Quarterbacks of All Time
23
31
10
Joey Harrington
Quarterback
Birthplace: Portland, Oregon
Age: 41
Teams: New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Oregon Ducks football, Miami Dolphins
More Joey Harrington
#12 of 98 The Best Oregon Ducks of All Time#30 of 52 The Best Detroit Lions Quarterbacks of All Time

24
215
335
Sam Bradford
Quarterback
Birthplace: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States of America
Age: 32
Teams: St. Louis Rams, Oklahoma Sooners football
More Sam Bradford
#37 of 41 The 41 Hottest Men in the NFL#44 of 70 The Best Quarterbacks in the NFL Right Now
25
59
73
Baker Mayfield
Quarterback
Teams: Cleveland Browns

Chris Weinke

Ty Detmer

Baker Mayfield