SEC Football by the Numbers: Heisman history

SEC Football by the Numbers: Heisman history

The winner of the 2023 Heisman Trophy will be announced on Saturday night. The top four vote-getters for the 89th annual honor have been revealed, but the order of finish won’t be known until the presentation ceremony, which will be televised by ESPN at 7 p.m. CST. Given annually to nation’s best college football player, the Heisman Trophy will go to LSU QB Jayden Daniels, Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Oregon QB Bo Nix or Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. this year. If Daniels wins, he would be the 16th player from the SEC to receive the award.

SEC Football by the Numbers looks at the conference’s Heisman Trophy history:

2 Current SEC members produced Heisman Trophy winners before they joined the conference. RB George Rogers, the 1980 winner, played for South Carolina, which joined the SEC in 1992. RB John David Crow, the 1957 winner, played for Texas A&M, which joined the SEC in 2012.

3 Of the SEC’s Heisman Trophy winners wore No. 2 on their jerseys — Auburn QB Cam Newton, Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel and Alabama RB Derrick Henry. Auburn QB Pat Sullivan and Florida QB Danny Wuerffel wore No. 7, LSU QB Joe Burrow and Alabama QB Bryce Young wore No. 9 and Georgia RB Herschel Walker and Auburn RB Bo Jackson wore No. 34. The SEC’s other Heisman winners with their numbers are Alabama WR DeVonta Smith No. 6, Florida QB Steve Spurrier No. 11, Florida QB Tim Tebow No. 15, LSU RB Billy Cannon No. 20, Georgia RB Frank Sinkwich No. 21 and Alabama RB Mark Ingram No. 22. LSU QB Jayden Daniels, this year’s SEC finalist, wears No. 5.

5 LSU players have finished in the top four of the Heisman Trophy voting, including QB Jayden Daniels this year. RB Billy Cannon finished third in 1958 and first in 1959, RB Jerry Stovall finished second in 1962, QB Bert Jones finished fourth in 1972 and QB Joe Burrow finished first in 2019.

6 Of the SEC’s Heisman Trophy winners played for national championship teams in the season they received the award — Florida QB Danny Wuerffel in 1996, Alabama RB Mark Ingram in 2009, Auburn QB Cam Newton in 2010, Alabama RB Derrick Henry in 2015, LSU QB Joe Burrow in 2019 and Alabama WR DeVonta Smith in 2020.

13 Runner-up finishes in the voting for the Heisman Trophy by SEC players. LSU QB Jayden Daniels might have finished second in the 2023 balloting. The conference’s Heisman runners-up have been:

· Georgia RB Charley Trippi (behind Army RB Glenn Davis) in 1946

· Tennessee RB Hank Lauricella (behind Princeton RB Dick Kazmaier) in 1951

· Tennessee RB Johnny Majors (behind Notre Dame RB Paul Hornung) in 1956

· LSU HB Jerry Stovall (behind Oregon State QB Terry Baker) in 1962

· Georgia Tech QB Billy Lothridge (behind Navy QB Roger Staubach) in 1963

· Georgia RB Herschel Walker (behind Southern Cal RB Marcus Allen) in 1981

· Tennessee QB Heath Shuler (behind Florida State QB Charlie Ward) in 1993

· Tennessee QB Peyton Manning (behind Michigan CB Charles Woodson) in 1997

· Florida QB Rex Grossman (behind Nebraska QB Eric Crouch) in 2001

· Arkansas RB Darren McFadden (behind Ohio State QB Troy Smith) in 2006

· Arkansas RB Darren McFadden (behind Florida QB Tim Tebow) in 2007

· Alabama QB AJ McCarron (behind Florida State QB Jameis Winston) in 2013

· Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa (behind Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray) in 2018.

13 SEC players have finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting, a spot LSU QB Jayden Daniels might hold in 2023. The conference’s fourth-place finishers have been:

· Tennessee HB George Cafego in 1939

· Georgia RB Frank Sinkwich in 1941

· Ole Miss QB Charlie Conerly in 1947

· Kentucky QB Babe Parilli in 1950

· Kentucky T Lou Michaels in 1957

· Auburn FB Ed Dyas in 1960

· Alabama LB Lee Roy Jordan in 1962

· Ole Miss QB Archie Manning in 1969

· Alabama RB Johnny Musso in 1971

· LSU QB Bert Jones in 1972

· Kentucky QB Tim Couch in 1998

· Florida QB Kyle Trask in 2020

· Georgia QB Stetson Bennett in 2022

RELATED: SEC FOOTBALL BY THE NUMBERS: TOP 10 FROM THE REGULAR SEASON

14 SEC players have finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting, a position that might be filled by LSU QB Jayden Daniels in 2023. The conference’s third-place Heisman finishers have been:

· Georgia Tech RB Clint Castleberry (behind Georgia RB Frank Sinkwich and Columbia QB Paul Governali) in 1942

· Kentucky QB Babe Parilli (behind Princeton RB Dick Kazmaier and Tennessee RB Hank Lauricella) in 1951

· LSU RB Billy Cannon (behind Army RB Pete Dawkins and Iowa QB Randy Duncan) in 1958

· Ole Miss QB Jake Gibbs (behind Navy RB Joe Bellino and Minnesota OL Tom Brown) in 1960

· Ole Miss QB Archie Manning (behind Stanford QB Jim Plunkett and Notre Dame QB Joe Theismann) in 1970

· Georgia RB Herschel Walker (behind South Carolina RB George Rogers and Pitt LB Hugh Green) in 1980

· Georgia RB Garrison Hearst (behind Miami QB Gino Toretta and San Diego State RB Marshall Faulk) in 1992

· Alabama WR David Palmer (behind Florida State QB Charlie Ward and Tennessee QB Heath Shuler) in 1993

· Florida QB Danny Wuerffel (behind Ohio State RB Eddie George and Nebraska QB Tommie Frazier) in 1995

· Ole Miss QB Eli Manning (behind Oklahoma QB Jason White and Pittsburgh WR Larry Fitzgerald) in 2003

· Florida QB Tim Tebow (behind Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford and Texas QB Colt McCoy) in 2008

· Alabama RB Trent Richardson (behind Baylor QB Robert Griffin III and Stanford QB Andrew Luck) in 2011

· Alabama WR Amari Cooper (behind Oregon QB Marcus Mariota and Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon) in 2014

· Alabama QB Mac Jones (behind Alabama WR DeVonta Smith and Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence) in 2020

15 SEC players have won the Heisman Trophy, which LSU QB Jayden Daniels might do for the 2023 season. The conference’s Heisman Trophy winners have been:

· Georgia RB Frank Sinkwich in 1942

· LSU RB Billy Cannon in 1959

· Florida QB Steve Spurrier in 1966

· Auburn QB Pat Sullivan in 1971

· Georgia RB Herschel Walker in 1982

· Auburn RB Bo Jackson in 1985

· Florida QB Danny Wuerffel in 1996

· Florida QB Tim Tebow in 2007

· Alabama RB Mark Ingram in 2009

· Auburn QB Cam Newton in 2010

· Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel in 2012

· Alabama RB Derrick Henry in 2015

· LSU QB Joe Burrow in 2019

· Alabama WR DeVonta Smith in 2020

· Alabama QB Bryce Young in 2021

18 Consecutive years have featured at least one SEC player in the top 10 in the Heisman voting, including this year. This is the conference’s longest streak of having at least one player place in the released voting totals. The previous record was a 12-year string that lasted from 1956 through 1967. The 2005 Heisman balloting is the most recent in which no player from the league placed in the top 10.

28 More points for Alabama RB Mark Ingram than for Stanford RB Toby Gerhart at the top of the 2009 Heisman Trophy balloting, the closest finish in the award’s history. Ingram had 227 first-place votes, 236 second-place votes and 151 third-place votes for 1,304 points. Gerhart had 222 first-place votes, 225 second-place votes and 160 third-place votes for 1,276 points. First-place votes are worth three points, second-place votes two points and third-place votes one point. An SEC player also was involved in the second-closest finish. In 1985, Auburn RB Bo Jackson finished 45 points ahead of Iowa QB Chuck Long.

31 SEC players have been finalists for the Heisman Trophy, with LSU QB Jayden Daniels joining the list this year. The Heisman Trophy award presentation has included finalists since 1982. The procedure changed for finalists in 2021, with the top four vote-getters invited annually. Previously, the top three vote-getters were invited to the award presentation annually. Whether more were invited was determined by how close the fourth-place finisher’s vote total was to the third-place finisher and so on through the voting until a clear demarcation of support was reached.

The SEC’s Heisman finalists have been:

Alabama: David Palmer in 1993, Jay Barker in 1994, Mark Ingram in 2009, Trent Richardson in 2011, AJ McCarron in 2013, Amari Cooper in 2014, Derrick Henry in 2015, Tua Tagovailoa in 2018, Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith in 2020 and Bryce Young in 2021.

Arkansas: Darren McFadden in 2006 and 2007.

Auburn: Bo Jackson in 1985, Cam Newton in 2010 and Tre Mason in 2013.

Florida: Emmitt Smith in 1989, Danny Wuerffel in 1995 and 1996, Rex Grossman in 2001, Tim Tebow in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and Kyle Trask in 2020.

Georgia: Herschel Walker in 1982, Garrison Hearst in 1992 and Stetson Bennett in 2022.

Kentucky: Tim Couch in 1998.

LSU: Tyrann Mathieu in 2011, Joe Burrow in 2019 and Jayden Daniels in 2023.

Ole Miss: Eli Manning in 2003.

Tennessee: Heath Shuler in 1993 and Peyton Manning in 1997.

Texas A&M: Johnny Manziel in 2012 and 2013.

62 More points for Nebraska QB Eric Crouch than for Florida QB Rex Grossman in the 2001 Heisman Trophy balloting, the closest an SEC player has come to winning the award without winning it. Crouch had 162 first-place votes, 98 second-place votes and 88 third-place votes for 770 points. Grossman had 137 first-place votes, 105 second-place votes and 87 third-place votes for 708 points.

RELATED: SEC FOOTBALL BY THE NUMBERS: AWARDS SEASON

72 Heisman Trophies were presented before a sophomore won the award. Florida QB Tim Tebow became the first sophomore with a Heisman in 2007, and five more have won it since — Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford in 2008, Alabama RB Mark Ingram in 2009, Louisville QB Lamar Jackson in 2016, Alabama QB Bryce Young in 2021 and Southern Cal QB Caleb Williams in 2022.

77 Heisman Trophies were presented before a freshman won the award. Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel became the first freshman with a Heisman in 2012. A second freshman, Florida State QB Jameis Winston, won the award in 2013.

90.7 Percent of the Heisman voters in 2019 made LSU QB Joe Burrow their first-place choice, the highest rate in the award’s history. The smallest percentage of first-place votes for an SEC winner came in 2009, when Alabama RB Mark Ingram was the first-place choice of 24.5 percent of the voters.

95.5 Percent of the Heisman voters in 2019 included LSU QB Joe Burrow on their ballots, the highest rate in the award’s history. The smallest percentage for an SEC winner came in 1966, when Florida QB Steve Spurrier appeared on 57.2 percent of the ballots.

316 Third-place votes were received by Alabama WR Amari Cooper in 2014, when he finished third behind Oregon QB Marcus Mariota and Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon in the Heisman Trophy balloting. It’s the most third-place votes an SEC player has received.

1,846 More points for LSU QB Joe Burrow than for Oklahoma (and former Alabama) QB Jalen Hurts in the 2019 Heisman Trophy balloting, the largest margin of victory in the award’s history. Burrow had 841 first-place votes, 41 second-place votes and three third-place votes for 2,608 points. Hurts had 12 first-place votes, 231 second-place votes and 264 third-place votes for 762 points to finish as the runner-up.

1,871 Points were collected by Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa in 2018, the most in Heisman history for a player who did not win the trophy. Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray won the 2018 Heisman with 2,167 points — 517 first-place, 278 second-place and 60 third-place votes. Tagovailoa received 299 first-place, 431 second-place and 112 third-place votes. He polled the most second-place votes that an SEC player has received in the Heisman voting.

2,608 Points were garnered by LSU QB Joe Burrow in the 2019 Heisman Trophy balloting, the most accumulated by a player in the award’s history. Burrow set an SEC high mark with 841 first-place votes. Burrow picked up 93.8 percent of the points available in the voting, the highest in the award’s history.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.