College football teams with the most Heisman Trophy winners

Since 1935, the Heisman Trophy has been awarded to college football's most outstanding player. USC leads all programs with eight recipients, followed by Ohio State, Oklahoma and Notre Dame with seven each.

Here is the complete list of the 10 colleges which have produced the most Heisman Trophy winners. Click or tap here to jump right to the list of every Heisman Trophy winner.

Southern California — 8

Winners: 1965 Mike Garrett, 1968 O. J. Simpson, 1979 Charles White, 1981 Marcus Allen, 2002 Carson Palmer, 2004 Matt Leinart, 2005 Reggie Bush, 2022 Caleb Williams

Southern Cal has been a running back factory for most of its existence. All of the Trojans' Heisman winners prior to Carson Palmer in 2002 had been running backs, and Marcus Allen added to that incredible run with his record-breaking 1981 season. Allen became the first player in FBS history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season. In total, he ran for 2,342 yards and scored 23 touchdowns.

In 2005, the Trojans became the second program in history to record seven Heisman trophy winners, tying Notre Dame. Southern Cal now sits with eight Heisman Trophy winners after Caleb Williams won the trophy in 2022 and Reggie Bush's award was reinstated in 2024.

Ohio State — 7

Winners: 1944 Les Horvath, 1950 Vic Janowicz, 1955 Howard Cassady, 1974 & 1975 Archie Griffin, 1995 Eddie George, 2006 Troy Smith

Archie Griffin did something in 1974 and 1975 that has never been matched. The Ohio State running back became the first and only player ever to win a second Heisman. At 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, he was the Buckeyes starting tailback all four years, at time in which they tallied a 40-5-1 record and four Big Ten titles. Through 12 games as a junior, Griffin rushed 1,695 yards for 12 touchdowns. As a senior, he showed more versatility, rushing 1,450 yards for four touchdowns and receiving 170 yards on 14 catches.

Oklahoma — 7

Winners: 1952 Billy Vessels, 1969 Steve Owens, 1978 Billy Sims, 2003 Jason White, 2008 Sam Bradford, 2017 Baker Mayfield, 2018 Kyler Murray

Kyler Murray, the born and bred Texan who originally signed with Texas A&M, found his footing in Oklahoma in the shadow of Baker Mayfield's 2018 Heisman performance. No pressure, right? The junior quarterback closely mirrored Mayfield's senior season, passing for 4,054 yards and 40 touchdowns and leading Oklahoma to a 12-1 record, a Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff berth. In comparison, Mayfield threw for 4,340 yards with 41 touchdowns and led the Sooners to their first CFP.

WALK-ONS: 13 of the best walk-ons in college football history

Notre Dame — 7

Winners: 1943 Angelo Bertelli, 1947 John Lujack, 1949 Leon Hart, 1953 John Lattner, 1956 Paul Hornung, 1964 John Huarte, 1987 Tim Brown

As of 2019, the two oldest living Heisman winners shared similar paths to their legendary careers. With nine years apart, John Lujack and Paul Hornung led their respective Notre Dame teams through strong senior seasons. Lujack, the oldest living Heisman recipient, completed 61 passes for 777 yards and ran for 139 yards on 12 carries, and Hornung rushed for 420 yards on 94 carries and completed 59 passes for 917 yards and three touchdowns.

Alabama — 4

Winners: 2009 Mark Ingram, 2015 Derrick Henry, 2020 Devonta Smith, 2021 Bryce Young

Bryce Young won the 2021 Heisman Trophy, becoming the first quarterback in Alabama history to win the award. At the time of the Heisman ceremony, he threw for 4,322 yards, 43 touchdowns, and just four interceptions in his first full season under center. Young followed two other Alabama quarterbacks, Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa, that were both Heisman finalists.

Young winning the Heisman Trophy made Alabama the first program since Oklahoma in 2018 to have back-to-back winners. Young is Alabama's fourth winner in 12 years, an incredible feat accomplished under head coach Nick Saban, who began his tenure with the Tide in 2007.

Auburn — 3

Winners: 1971 Pat Sullivan, 1985 Bo Jackson, 2010 Cam Newton

The namesake of the trophy awarded to the best FBS player each season belongs to John Heisman, former coach of the Auburn Tigers. The legendary name has been followed by many legendary Tigers players, including Auburn's three Heisman Trophy winners — Pat Sullivan, Bo Jackson and Cam Newton. After setting several SEC and school records, Sullivan became the Tigers' first Heisman recipient in 1971. The senior quarterback led Auburn to an undefeated season, throwing for 2,012 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was later honored SEC Player of the Year and selected to the All-SEC athletic and academic teams in 1970 and 1971. 

NATIONAL CHAMPS: College football teams with the most national titles

Bo Jackson earned his spot in sports lore as an elite two-sport athlete. Aside from baseball, it was his football career that garnered national attention. He became Auburn's first and only running back to rush for more than 4,000 yards in a career. After rushing for 1,786 and 17 touchdowns his senior year, he edged Chuck Long for the Heisman in what remains the closest vote in the award's history.

Lastly, there's Cam Newton, who won the Heisman overwhelmingly in 2010. One year removed from backing up Tim Tebow at Florida, he became the first double-transfer to win the award after throwing for 2,589 yards, 28 touchdowns and six interceptions and rushing for 1,409 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Army — 3

Winners: 1945 Felix "Doc" Blanchard, 1946 Glenn Davis, 1958 Pete Dawkins

The Heisman Trophy has been awarded to the same school in back-to-back years four times, and Army made history by being the second to do it in 1945 and 1946. Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis were both neck and neck in Heisman voting in 1945, but Blanchard, the junior fullback, rushed for 722 yards, received for 166 yards and scored 17 touchdowns to earn the Heisman, edging out his teammate. Davis took his runner-up finish in voting as redemption in 1946. He rushed for 712 yards, received for 348 yards and scored 13 touchdowns, earning the trophy in 1946.

With the Blanchard-Davis duo, Army went 27-0-1 and won three national championships.

Florida — 3

Winners: 1966 Steve Spurrier, 1996 Danny Wuerffel, 2007 Tim Tebow

Some say Tebow changed the game of football. And for the three full years he manned Florida’s quarterback position, he was the face of the college game. He opened the door for football's underclassmen by becoming the sport's first sophomore to ever win a Heisman trophy. Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Alabama's Mark Ingram then followed him in 2008 and 2009 as sophomore Heisman recipients.

The spread quarterback rushed and passed for 51 touchdowns and threw for 3,132 yards with just six interceptions in the 2007 regular season.

Florida State — 3

Winners: 1993 Charlie Ward, 2000 Chris Weinke, 2013 Jameis Winston

When mentioning a Florida Gator great, a Florida State Seminole legend must follow. For a program that has countless household names, Jameis Winston practically surpassed all. As a freshman, he led Florida State to its third national championship, becoming the first redshirt freshman to win a Heisman and national title in the same season. The two-sport athlete threw for 3,820 yards and 38 touchdowns for a 190.04 pass efficiency rating — the second-best among Heisman winners. He surpassed both his Seminole Heisman predecessors in season touchdowns while being the second freshman in history to win the trophy.

Michigan — 3

Winners: 1940 Tom Harmon, 1991 Desmond Howard, 1997 Charles Woodson

Desmond Howard was a spectacle to watch every Saturday. His acrobatic catches, key returns and high football IQ created a sound foundation for his award-winning junior season. He received for 960 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns. His Heisman pose to punctuate his score during the 1991 Ohio State-Michigan game captured the hearts of many. Well, maybe not Michigan fans. At the time, he won the Heisman with the second largest margin in the history of the award.

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Six years later, Charles Woodson became one of the few players to win the Heisman with significant minutes on both sides of the ball. In 1997, he intercepted seven passes, collected 43 tackles and received for 231 yards and one touchdown to propel the Wolverines to a national title.

Nebraska — 3

Winners: 1972 Johnny Rodgers, 1983 Mike Rozier, 2001 Eric Crouch

Noted as one of the best option quarterbacks ever, Eric Crouch combined 1,510 passing yards with a career-high 1,115 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns to secure the 2001 Heisman Trophy. In addition to the Heisman, he earned the Walter Camp Player-of-the-Year award and the Davey O'Brien quarterback award that year, as the Huskers went on to lose the Miami Hurricanes in the national title game. Crouch walked off the Nebraska campus holding 32 school records.

LSU — 3

Winners: Billy Cannon (1959), Joe Burrow (2019), Jayden Daniels (2023)

Jayden Daniels became the third player from LSU to win the Heisman Trophy, and the second in a four-year span to bring the trophy back to Baton Rouge. Daniels and Joe Burrow both transferred to LSU from other schools en route to winning the award. Daniels spent his first three seasons playing for Arizona State, but in his second season for the Tigers, he dominated college football with 50 total touchdowns. Burrow had a similar career path to Daniels, spending his first three seasons at Ohio State, before winning the Heisman in his second season at LSU, where he accounted for 65 total touchdowns.

Heisman Trophy winners from 1935 to today

Year	Winner	Team	Position	Class
1935	Jay Berwanger*	Chicago	HB	Senior
1936	Larry Kelley	Yale	TE	Senior
1937	Clint Frank	Yale	HB	Senior
1938	Davey O'Brien	TCU	QB	Senior
1939	Nile Kinnick	Iowa	HB/QB	Senior
1940	Tom Harmon*	Michigan	HB	Senior
1941	Bruce Smith	Minnesota	HB	Senior
1942	Frank Sinkwich*	Georgia	HB	Senior
1943	Angelo Bertelli*	Notre Dame	QB	Senior
1944	Les Horvath	Ohio State	HB/QB	Senior
1945	Doc Blanchard	Army	FB	Junior
1946	Glenn Davis	Army	HB	Senior
1947	Johnny Lujack	Notre Dame	QB	Senior
1948	Doak Walker	SMU	HB	Junior
1949	Leon Hart*	Notre Dame	TE	Senior
1950	Vic Janowicz	Ohio State	HB/P	Junior
1951	Dick Kazmaier	Princeton	HB	Senior
1952	Billy Vessels	Oklahoma	HB	Senior
1953	Johnny Lattner	Notre Dame	HB	Senior
1954	Alan Ameche	Wisconsin	FB	Senior
1955	Howard Cassady	Ohio State	HB	Senior
1956	Paul Hornung*	Notre Dame	QB	Senior
1957	John David Crow	Texas A&M	HB	Senior
1958	Pete Dawkins	Army	HB	Senior
1959	Billy Cannon*	LSU	HB	Senior
1960	Joe Bellino	Navy	HB	Senior
1961	Ernie Davis*	Syracuse	HB/LB/FB	Senior
1962	Terry Baker*	Oregon State	QB	Senior
1963	Roger Staubach	Navy	QB	Junior
1964	John Huarte	Notre Dame	QB	Senior
1965	Mike Garrett	USC	HB	Senior
1966	Steve Spurrier	Florida	QB	Senior
1967	Gary Beban	UCLA	QB	Senior
1968	O. J. Simpson*	USC	HB	Senior
1969	Steve Owens	Oklahoma	FB	Senior
1970	Jim Plunkett*	Stanford	QB	Senior
1971	Pat Sullivan	Auburn	QB	Senior
1972	Johnny Rodgers	Nebraska	WR/RB	Senior
1973	John Cappelletti	Penn State	RB	Senior
1974	Archie Griffin	Ohio State	RB	Junior
1975	Archie Griffin	Ohio State	RB	Senior
1976	Tony Dorsett	Pittsburgh	RB	Senior
1977	Earl Campbell*	Texas	RB	Senior
1978	Billy Sims*	Oklahoma	RB	Junior
1979	Charles White	USC	RB	Senior
1980	George Rogers*	South Carolina	RB	Senior
1981	Marcus Allen	USC	RB	Senior
1982	Herschel Walker	Georgia	RB	Junior
1983	Mike Rozier	Nebraska	RB	Senior
1984	Doug Flutie	Boston College	QB	Senior
1985	Bo Jackson*	Auburn	RB	Senior
1986	Vinny Testaverde*	Miami	QB	Senior
1987	Tim Brown	Notre Dame	WR	Senior
1988	Barry Sanders	Oklahoma State	RB	Junior
1989	Andre Ware	Houston	QB	Junior
1990	Ty Detmer	BYU	QB	Junior
1991	Desmond Howard	Michigan	WR/PR	Junior
1992	Gino Torretta	Miami	QB	Senior
1993	Charlie Ward	Florida State	QB	Senior
1994	Rashaan Salaam	Colorado	RB	Junior
1995	Eddie George	Ohio State	RB	Senior
1996	Danny Wuerffel	Florida	QB	Senior
1997	Charles Woodson	Michigan	CB/PR	Junior
1998	Ricky Williams	Texas	RB	Senior
1999	Ron Dayne	Wisconsin	RB	Senior
2000	Chris Weinke	Florida State	QB	Senior
2001	Eric Crouch	Nebraska	QB	Senior
2002	Carson Palmer*	USC	QB	Senior
2003	Jason White	Oklahoma	QB	Senior
2004	Matt Leinart	USC	QB	Junior
2005	Reggie Bush	USC	RB	Junior
2006	Troy Smith	Ohio State	QB	Senior
2007	Tim Tebow	Florida	QB	Sophomore
2008	Sam Bradford*	Oklahoma	QB	Sophomore
2009	Mark Ingram Jr.	Alabama	RB	Sophomore
2010	Cam Newton*	Auburn	QB	Junior
2011	Robert Griffin III	Baylor	QB	Junior
2012	Johnny Manziel	Texas A&M	QB	Freshman
2013	Jameis Winston*	Florida State	QB	Freshman
2014	Marcus Mariota	Oregon	QB	Junior
2015	Derrick Henry	Alabama	RB	Junior
2016	Lamar Jackson	Louisville	QB	Sophomore
2017	Baker Mayfield*	Oklahoma	QB	Senior
2018	Kyler Murray*	Oklahoma	QB	Junior
2019	Joe Burrow*	LSU	QB	Senior
2020	Devonta Smith	Alabama	WR	Senior
2021	Bryce Young*	Alabama	QB	Sophomore
2022	Caleb Williams*	Southern California	QB	Sophomore
2023	Jayden Daniels	LSU	QB	Senior
2024	Travis Hunter	Colorado	WR/DB	Junior

*first overall NFL draft pick