Have you ever been sitting around with your buddies talking about football and said, "Whatever happened to that guy? He was great in college!" Well just in case you were wondering here's what the last several Heisman trophy winners are doing, we'll start with 2006 as last year's winner (Tim Tebow) is still in college.
2006: Troy Smith (QB Ohio State) - After winning the Heisman trophy he played terribly in the National Title Game against Florida and his team was blown out 41-14. He wasn't drafted until the fifth round by the Baltimore Ravens. In his second season, Smith was scheduled to start the 3rd preseason game for the Ravens, but became ill with a rare case of Tonsillitis that caused him to lose over 20 pounds. He still hasn't been able to practice yet several weeks later.
2005: Reggie Bush (RB USC) - There was a lot of debate about Bush going first overall to the Texans. Houston went with defensive end Mario Williams and the Saints selected Bush. Williams was third in the NFL with 14 sacks last year. Bush's yards per carry for his career is a less than stellar 3.7. In his rookie year he had 88 receptions for 742 yards, but his yards per catch average dropped significantly in his second year as he had 73 catches for only 417 yards.
2004: Matt Leinart (QB USC) - After winning the Heisman as a junior, Leinart decided to go back to USC for one final season instead of entering the draft. He most likely would've been the number one overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers. After his senior year, Leinart was selected by the Arizona Cardinals. So far, he has not been able to out play a much older Kurt Warner for the starting job the last two years after playing in 12 games as a rookie. In his rookie season he threw for 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
2003: Jason White (QB Oklahoma) - In 2003 White won the Heisman after throwing 40 touchdown passes to only 8 interceptions. Oklahoma played for the National Title against LSU and lost. White had his worst game of the year completing only 35 percent of his passes, no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He returned for one more year and finished 3rd in Heisman voting. And the Sooners were demolished by USC in the title game.
White was not selected in the NFL draft and was not immediately signed by any NFL teams. He decided not to play football because of his bad knees (he had surgeries on both ACLs during college).
White is now the co-owner of a The Athlete's Foot and of A Store Divided (a store selling both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State gear) in Oklahoma City.
2002: Carson Palmer (QB USC) - Palmer won the Heisman trophy in 2002 over Iowa's Brad Banks (who in my biased opinion definitely deserved it more). Palmer and USC beat Iowa in the Orange Bowl 38-17. Palmer was then the first overall selection of the NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Although last year and this year have been struggles, Palmer has been to the Pro Bowl.
2001: Eric Crouch (QB Nebraska) - Eric Crouch won the Heisman award after breaking nearly every school record for a QB, as Nebraska at the time was still an option offense. He also set NCAA quarterback rushing records. Crouch wanted to play quarterback in the NFL. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams and was tried at wide receiver. He left the Rams before the season started. In 2005, he came back to the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, but then requested his release when the Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers. He then signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and played in Europe. He was converted to safety and made 25 tackles. In 2006 he played for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL where he was a backup quarterback. In January of 2008, Crouch was drafted 3rd overall in the All-American Football League's inaugural draft. The league will begin play in 2009.
2000: Chris Weinke (QB Florida State) - Weinke played professional baseball for 6 years straight out of high school before attending Florida State. He was the oldest player ever to win the Heisman at the age of 28. He was selected by Carolina in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL draft. He started for the team in all 16 games that season, as the team went 1-15. Weinke holds the NFL record for most consecutive losses as a starting quarterback with 17, including 14 in one season. He is currently a free agent.
1999: Ron Dayne (RB Wisconsin) - Ron Dayne set the NCAA career rushing yards record his senior year against Iowa. He then won the Heisman, and then led the Badgers to a Rose Bowl Victory over Stanford by rushing for 200 yards.
Dayne was selected 11th overall by the New York Giants. He has had moments of brilliance, but they have been few and far between in his NFL career. He is currently a free agent.
1998: Ricky Williams (RB Texas) - Williams broke the NCAA career rushing yards record his senior year, but didn't hold it for long.
Williams was drafted with the first overall pick by the New Orleans Saints and Mike Ditka, who traded all of their picks and a first and third the following year to get him. He was traded to the Dolphins 3 years later, after Ditka was fired. Williams retired early from football in 2004 after his second failed drug test.
He studied Holistic medicine during his retirement.
Williams came back a season later (and after the Dolphins decided to come after his money if he didn't play). Williams then failed a fourth drug test and was suspended for a year. During that year he played in the CFL.
Williams is back with the Dolphins now.
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2 comments:
Always weird how that works out. How could the best player in college very often not be any good in the pros?
Thinking back further: Danny Weurfel (96) only got NFL action when Steve Spurrier made his ill-fated attempt at pro coaching, and Charlie Ward (93) ended up playing pro basketball
I think it's safe to say that winning the Heisman doesn't necessarily mean you are going to become an All-Star in the NFL.
Even if Brad Banks would've won it, it still probably wouldn't have changed his path that much. He's been playing up in Canada ever since his college days ended.
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