Recruiting: How last 10 Heisman Trophy winners ranked as recruits

Sam Bradford – 2008 Heisman Winner

As an Oklahoma native, Sam Bradford got to live out his dream of playing for the Sooners. But when he was in high school, he tried to do everything at once. In addition to playing football, he played basketball with Blake Griffin, baseball – but only during his freshman year – and golf. However, when it came to football, the talent was clearly there:

While his senior season stats were great – 2,000 passing yards and 17 touchdowns – the fact that he was a four-sport athlete may have hurt instead of helped him in the recruiting process. He was a three-star recruit and had a composite ranking of 232. He received four offers, but the pull of Oklahoma and Bob Stoops was too much to resist.

Once Bradford focused on just football in college, he went from a middling recruit to a future first overall pick. His numbers in his first season – 36 touchdowns to eight interceptions – were impressive for a freshman, but it was nothing compared to his sophomore season. Bradford threw for 4,721 yards, 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2008. And although he’s not a noted dual-threat quarterback, he chipped in five rushing touchdowns.

When it came to the Heisman vote, however, Bradford had to fight off Tim Tebow’s quest for a second consecutive trophy. Tebow had more first-place votes, but Bradford had more votes overall. The two would meet again in the National Championship Game, however, where Tebow won the more meaningful trophy.

In a junior season in which Bradford played just three games due to injury, NFL teams should’ve taken that as a warning sign. Instead, the St. Louis Rams got too trigger-happy and took him first overall in 2010. It was a failed marriage from the start, as Bradford only played two full seasons, and never had a completion percentage higher than 60. After missing all of 2014, they finally dealt him to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Bradford’s last season with the Minnesota Vikings was a career best for him. He threw 20 touchdowns to just five interceptions and set a single-season record for completion percentage with 71.6. However, that’s easy to do when you’re a check down Charlie. While some might say he should’ve taken the basketball route instead, injuries probably would’ve followed him there as well.