| Heisman Winner Encore Seasons While the vast majority of Heisman Trophies have been awarded to seniors, there have also been juniors and a sophomore who have won the bronze sculpture. Here’s an overview of what these players did following their Heisman Trophy season. | ||
| Heisman Year | Heisman Winner/School | The Next Season’s Results |
| 1945 | Doc Blanchard (Army) | Finished fourth in 1946 voting as Blanchard’s teammate Glen Davis won the award. |
| 1948 | Doak Walker (SMU) | Walker returned to the Mustangs in 1949, but finished in 3rd place in the Heisman vote. Notre Dame’s Leon Hart won the award. |
| 1950 | Vic Janowicz (Ohio State) | Janaowicz returned to the Buckeyes in 1951 and captured All-Big 10 honors. However Janowicz was not a Heisman factor that season. |
| 1963 | Roger Staubach (Navy) | Staubach returned to action for Navy in 1964. However all Heisman hopes were sunk when Navy sailed to a 3-6-1 record. |
| 1974 | Archie Griffin (Ohio State) | Griffin struck Heisman Gold following his return to the Buckeyes in 1974. To date, Griffin is the only player to win consecutive Heisman Trophies |
| 1978 | Billy Sims (Oklahoma) | After returning to the Sooners in 1979, Sims finished a distant second to Charles White in the Heisman voting. |
| 1982 | Herschel Walker (Georgia) | Walker opted not to return to Georgia making him the first Heisman winner with eligibility not to return to the college ranks. Walker opted for the USFL. |
| 1988 | Barry Sanders (Okl. State) | Sanders began his quest for a Pro Football Hall of Fame career by joining the Detroit lions in 1989. Sanders rushed for 1,470 yards and 10 TD’s as a rookie. |
| 1989 | Andre Ware (Houston) | Ware declared for the NFL and was drafted by Detroit. The former Houston Cougar passed for 164 yards and one TD his rookie season. |
| 1990 | Ty Detmer (BYU) | Detmer returned to the Cougars for the 1991 season and finished 3rd in the Heisman vote as Desmond Howard captured the award. |
| 1991 | Desmond Howard (Mich.) | Howard leaped to the NFL following his Heisman season. |
| 1994 | Rashaan Salaam (Col) | Following his Heisman performance for Colorado, Salaam became a Chicago Bear and rushed for 1,074 yards and 10 TD’s. |
| 1997 | Charles Woodson (Mich.) | Woodson parted from Michigan and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders. The rookie garnered five interceptions and a TD for Oakland. |
| 2003 | Jason White (Oklahoma) | White led the Sooners to another national championship game appearance, but USC’s Matt Leinart won the award. White finished 3rd in the Heisman vote, but his own teammate, Adrian Peterson, finished ahead of him (2nd place). |
| 2004 | Matt Leinart (USC) | Led USC to the BCS National Championship game, but the Heisman award went to his Trojan teammate Reggie Bush. |
| 2005 | Reggie Bush (USC) | Bush was drafted by the New Orleans Saints and produced 8 TD’s and 1,307 yards of total offense his rookie season. |
| 2007 | Tim Tebow (Florida) | Returned to the Gators for the 2008 season and led the Gators to the National Championship while finishing third in the Heisman voting behind Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy |
| 2012 | Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M) | Johnny Football returned for his redshirt sophomore season and guided the Agges to a 9-4 record. Manziel entered the NFL Draft following the season and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. |